[ga-full] Re: [ga] Matters to discuss

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

On Mon, Feb 21, 2000 at 03:03:37PM +0100, Harald Tveit Alvestrand wrote:
> Now that the list is a quiet place to work, it would be a shame if we still 
> couldn't get any work done.......
> 
> the immediate questions confronted by the GA (and therefore valid items for 
> discussion on the GA list) are:

[various process issues]

On the other hand, we could discuss some actual business, instead of 
the endless stuff about process.  Here's what I think is a real 
business item:

I would like to call people's attention to 

http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/council/Arc03/msg00428.html

entitled "[council] DNSO budget proposal".  I reproduce the salient 
parts, below:

> Staff
> * 2 persons:
> - 1 Senior Assistant Elisabeth (1/2 time)
> - 1 Junior Assistant (full time)
> - Sub contracts for the technical tasks (< engineers)
> 
> Salaries: 75  000
> Charges and Offices accomodation: 75 000
> 
> * Web Hosting/Machines/Connectivity: 25 000
> * Teleconference: 20 pers x 2hours x 25tele/year  15 000
> * Travels: 10 000$ x 2 persons 20 000
> * GA Chair + Alternate chair:
>   Only Travels and telephone are paid. 20 000
> * Unexpected 10 000
> * Accounting and Billing 5% of all expenses 12 000
> 
> TOTAL ~ 250 000U$
> 
> Benefits:
> 
> 125 000 to be paid by Constituencies
> 125 000 to be paid by ICANN
> 
> To be negotiate with the ICANN Board
> Names council = the travels and arrangements? Who is paying?
> All public meetings : 4 annual meetings + webcast to be charged to ICANN +
> Legal advice if needed
> 19 Persons in NC

With some exceptions, these costs seem high.  I am especially concerned
because, bluntly, some constituencies have much more money than others.
But perhaps more important than the cost per se is the basic appoach 
being taken -- different constituencies have different ways of
getting work done; some depend a great deal on volunteer efforts.

- Concerning "Web Hosting / Machines / Connectivity": In the US *very*
full-featured web hosting can be had for < $100/month, with multiple
email lists, and so on.  More directly, excellent colocation space can
be had for ~$500/month -- that would include space for two powerful
machines, which would give a complete redundant backup.  High quality,
powerful server machines can be had for about $3000 each. 

- What are the tasks that the full-time junior assistant would 
perform?  Currently I know that maintaining the DNSO site occupies a 
great deal of Elisabeth's time, but there must be a bunch of new tasks 
predicted for this new person, and it would be good to know what they 
are -- I am having a hard time imagining what they might be.  

- Since there is a lot of overhead in office space, I wonder if
economies might be achieved by using ICANN's office space, instead of
separate office space.

Finally, I have a more general concern -- "lockin".  If there is 
anything we should all be *very* aware of, it is the danger of 
committing yourself to a single vendor for provision of service.  
Please understand that I think that Elisabeth has done a great job.  
But if we are transitioning from a volunteer service to a hired 
service, then we must consider things from a different angle.

Kent

-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Do good, and you'll be
kent@songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain
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