Re: [ga] Re: Travel to Stockholm
Dear Patrick (and please call me Stuart -- although in my life I've
been called lots of other things, too!):
Peace. We are all trying to do the best job we can in moving forward,
and it's easy for any of us to get carried away in our enthusiasm. As
I said, I look forward to working with you, Danny and others who
participate in the GA. We may not agree on everything, but I am sure
we all act from what we perceive to be the best interests of the
Internet community.
I hope you can find a way to make it to Stockholm, but if not I am
sure I will see you at one of the future meetings.
Stuart
At 4:25 AM +1000 5/13/01, Patrick Corliss wrote:
>Dear Mr Lynn (or do you prefer Stuart?)
>
>On Sat, 12 May 2001 09:09:28 -0700, you wrote:
>
>> Dear Patrick:
>>
>> Please do not enlarge the problem by ascribing motives to me that
>> have nothing to do with what is a straightforward administrative
>> issue.
>
>Please accept my apologies if my comments were hurtful. I am very well
>aware that you are newly appointed to the position and that I know nothing
>about you personally. I did not mean to ascribe any motives to your
>remarks. On reflection, one sentence, in particular, was misguided and I
>withdraw it unreservedly.
>
>> > However, I would have thought that you would, at least, pretend to
>> > welcome genuine grass-roots participation.
>
>I trust that you will understand this was not a well-considered remark.
>
>> This has nothing to do with anyone's views of the GA,
>> "concerted efforts to undermine the GA", potential Individual
>> Constituencies, your qualifications, or whatever.
>
>It is nevertheless true that there has been a great deal of difficulty in
>achieving effective results at a grass-roots level. I trust that we may be
>able to work together to overcome underlying structural difficulties.
>
>I mentioned my qualifications and expertise to indicate that I have the
>capacity to perform a valuable role. This opportunity would be largely lost
>were I not able to attend any of the physical meetings. I do see that as a
>worthwhile point to balance against the administrative issues involved.
>
>> It has nothing to
>> do with whether or not I welcome "grass roots participation" -- in
>> fact, I personally welcome all participation.
>
>Thank you. I look forward to your support.
>
>> Frankly, you know nothing of my views on any of these issues. You
>> have never spoken with me about any of them. To be quite candid, I
>> have not been long enough in this position to have any well-formed
>> views on these matters. My views will ultimately be formed by
>> listening to reasoned and constructive discussions, and by reading
>> what people have to say -- and I will try hard not to be influenced
>> by those who ascribe all sorts of nasty motivations to people they do
>> not even know. I understand there are lots of people out there who
>> have nothing better to do than engage in those kinds of behaviors,
>> but you I know are not one of them.
>
>Thank you. I try to be both fair and constructive. I would value the
>opportunity to provide reasoned and constructive discussion. As I
>say I am most disappointed that we will lose this valuable opportunity.
>
>> This, as I said, is a straightforward administrative matter. As I
>> understand it, ICANN's budgets are not used for covering SO expenses.
>> This does not single out the DNSO or the GA, but applies across the
>> all SO's. Perhaps your opinion is that this should change, and the
> > budget should be adapted to accommodate certain kinds of SO expenses.
> > In which case, that is a matter to be pursued through process,
> > ultimately requiring Board approval. We cannot make exceptions on an
>> ad hoc basis and be fair to all constituencies.
>
>Whilst I disagree with the last sentence I can understand that a desire for
>a systematic process would influence your thinking. Other factors would, in
>some cases, allow a different approach. There is, perhaps, a danger in
>making generalised statements as they cannot cover all likely scenarios.
>
>> My comment about expectations is equally simple. You apparently
>> "assumed" that ICANN would cover your expenses, but never checked in
>> advance. Apparently that approach fits within your framework of
>> making decisions. I can tell you that it does not fit within my
>> framework or those of most people that I know.
>
>As you know life sometimes requires muti-dimensional thinking. I would
>prefer to view the issue as decision-making under uncertainty. The reality
>is that I did make certain inquiries and balanced the results of those
>inquiries with other available information when making my decision.
>
>I do not consider my decision was incorrect although the absence of
>travel funding is certainly disadvantageous to achieving the most
>favourable outcome possible. I hope that the situation can improve.
>
>> If the acceptance of a
>> volunteer position depended upon travel for which I have no sources
>> of support, I would most certainly check in advance as to what is the
>> relevant policy before agreeing to accept.
>
>I did make inquiries and received assurances which appear to be incorrect.
>It is my view, however, that ascribing me with any faulty decision-making
>behaviour is not conducive to providing a reasoned explanation of ICANN's
>administrative processes.
>
>> My comment about no time before Stockholm was intended to mean that
>> the chance of a grant application being made and accepted in time is
>> extremely unlikely. If you know of any possible source for which this
>> is not the case, I would of course be delighted to write a letter of
>> support.
>
>My own comments had a similar intention viz that there was no opportunity to
>obtain funding from an alternative source. I would have thought that highly
>experienced ICANN staff in your employ would be more familiar with funding
>opportunities for ICANN conferences than a newly-appointed Alternate Chair
>living far away in Australia.
>
>Nevertheless I thank you for your offer of a letter of support should this
>be required. Sadly it looks as if it may not be a likely prospect.
>
>> So I suggest we focus on the matter at hand and not attribute all
>> kinds of extraneous motivations.
>
>You will find that my letter was extremely carefully written. I clearly did
>not ascribe you with responsibility for undermining the efforts of the
>General Assembly. In fact I did not make that ascription to anyone in
>particular. I wrote:
>
>> > However, it is apparent to me, at least, that there has been a concerted
>> > effort to undermine the efforts of the General Assembly both internally
>> > and externally. Any proposal, such as that for the Individuals
>> > Constituency, which has grass-roots support, is sidelined or ignored.
>> > My expertise could be useful to draw these issues together in a
>> > constructive way.
>
>It looks as if we got off to a bad start here. I suggest we start over.
>
>> I repeat what I said earlier -- I do
>> hope you, the GA, and the DNSO can find some way for you to come to
>> Stockholm. Maybe then we meet and get to understand each other's
>> views better. I am sure you have a lot to offer as co-chair of the
>> GA, -- and that is why you have been elected -- and I would look
>> forward to working with you.
>
>I certainly appreciate your words of comfort. I would be even more
>appreciative if you were to assist further in finding some way for me to
>come to Stockholm. I believe I have a lot to offer as Alternate Chair (we
>try to avoid the expression "Co-Chair") of the General Assembly.
>
>More importantly I am enormously impressed by the talent, energy and
>dedication of the members of this assembly. They are very capable and
>competent people. I truly believe that with the proper focus, and a modicum
>of support from ICANN, the GA will achieve outstanding results.
>
>I look forward to being able to channel this energy in the right direction.
>
>> Stuart
>
>Sincerely
>Patrick
--
__________________
Stuart Lynn
President and CEO
ICANN
4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 330
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
Tel: 310-823-9358
Fax: 310-823-8649
Email: lynn@icann.org
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