Hello All,
The
term "administrative" work in the GNSO Council motion was perhaps in hindsight
a bit cryptic.
In
simple terms the WHOIS task force carried out a great deal of analysis of
WHOIS issues over 2 years. The Task Force produced a set of consensus
recommendations that went on to become the first outputs of the new GNSO to be
approved by the ICANN Board. This was an important step forward in
establishing the GNSO and ICANN as an effective policy development
body.
At
the meeting in Rio, members of the WHOIS task force (Marilyn Cade, Tony
Harris, and Thomas Roessler) requested that the WHOIS task force members
be able to use GNSO resources (ie the mailing list and support from the GNSO
secretariat) to complete some documentation (the "administrative work")
that captures some of the work of the WHOIS task force on issues where
consensus was not able to be developed. The purpose of this
documentation, as I understand it, is to take advantage of the expertise of
the current WHOIS task force members to capture knowledge on other WHOIS
issues that will serve as reference material in future policy work.
For example the documentation created on the privacy issue is being used as
one of the inputs into the staff manager's report on privacy. The GNSO Council
is thankful that the task force members are willing to stay on a little longer
to ensure that the knowledge gained over the past 2 years is captured.
In a way it is similar to a software engineering project, when after the
project is delivered, project staff could spend a couple of weeks creating any
additional documentation before the team members move onto other
projects.
The
exact nature of the "administrative work" or documentation is for the task
force as a whole to decide. It is up to individual task force members as
to whether they are willing to contribute to this work, but good documentation
of any policy issues are of value to the GNSO as a whole.
Note
the present WHOIS task force is not creating any new consensus policy
recommendations, so in that respect the work is complete. Any new policy
development will be subject to the GNSO policy development process, and new
task forces will be formed as necessary. I hope that current members of
the WHOIS task force will be able to contribute to future policy initiatives
of the GNSO council that relate to WHOIS issues.
As
the GNSO motion specifies, the WHOIS task force mailing list will be closed on
1 May 2003. Individual members of the task force can of course continue
to collaborate using their own resources (e.g create their own mailing lists)
in the development of any documents for consideration by the GNSO (not just
the GNSO Council) as a whole. The more important issues are
discussed within the GNSO the more likely we are to create effective
policy.
Once
again, I would like to thank the WHOIS task force members for their voluntary
work. You are now all WHOIS experts!
Regards,
Bruce Tonkin
Dear Bruce,
The
GNSO meeting minutes state:
Bruce Tonkin, seconded by
Marilyn Cade, moved that:
- The WHOIS task force complete the
administrative work
- The WHOIS task force list remein open until the
administrative work is complete
- A Period of two weeks be allowed for
this
- The WHOIS task force be closed as from May 1, 2003
Votes:
21 votes in favour, Milton Mueller against, Chun Eung Hwi abstained, no vote
from Gabriel Pineiro (absent, no proxy)
Decision 6:
Continue
WHOIS task force until completion of administrative work. The WHOIS task
force be closed as from May 1,
2003