RE: [wg-c-1] Preliminaries

["Neuman, Jeffrey" <jjneuman@steptoe.com>]

	Unfortunately, my name is not published on the official list f
Wg-c-1 members.  However, I am in the Working Group.  If you would all like,
I would happy to volunteer for the "reporter" role and write up the
comments.  Unfortunately, I do not have a Website to post things to, but
would be willing to take suggestions.


Jeffrey J. Neuman
Steptoe & Johnson LLP
1330 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
v: 202.429.6206
f: 202.429.3902
jjneuman@steptoe.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin J. Connolly [mailto:CONNOLLK@rspab.com]
Sent: Friday, July 09, 1999 1:54 PM
To: wg-c-1@dnso.org
Subject: [wg-c-1] Preliminaries


Dear readers:

Someone has to break the ice, so it might as well be I.  I have some little
experience in the preparation of documents by committee, both online and
face-to-face, and I will share some thoughts on the process.

First suggestion:  Since we are charged with answering several questions
which have been framed for us, I suggest that we establish threads which are
devoted to each of those questions.  This is not to say that posts on other
threads are forbidden, but rather to suggest that the actual drafting work
of the group be conducted in these specific threads.  Let's agree that we'll
try really hard to keep posts in the "Work: xx" threads on topic, okay? :-)

Second suggestion:  I have found it useful in the past to adopt the
"reporter" model for moving discussion toward consensus and reducing that
consensus to a written form.  This is the model that is used by the American
Law Institute to produce the Restatements of [American] Law.  It is used by
the Board of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York to
produce the Pattern Jury Instructions.  It was used by the CORE ad hoc
committee to produce CORE's RFP for the development and maintenance of its
shared registration system.  It was used by the Policy Advisory Body to
develop its response to the Green Paper.  It's not perfect, but it can work.

Under this model, once we have parsed our work into manageable pieces (see
below), one person is selected (drafted/shanghaied/volunteered) to act as
the Reporter.  The Reporter's job is to weave the differing
arguments/positions/statements of the WG members into a document.  The
document covers both areas of consensus and areas of disagreement.  It is
posted (either to the list or to a website) for comments.  As comments are
received, if consensus develops, that outcome is worked into the document.
As new disagreements develop, they, too, are reflected in the document.

Eventually, it may become necessary for us to decide on a means for finding
"rough consensus" even in the presence of disagreement.  Whether this takes
the form of a votebot or the submission of a minority report on one or more
issues need not be decided now.  Once our discussions begin in earnest, it
will quickly become evident whether or not we're going to find that kind of
consensus.

Finally, in the interest of keeping the process manageable (and because the
answers to the rest of the questions depend on this first question) I
suggest that we turn our attention, in the first instance, to the threshold
question of whether there should be new gtlds at all.

Thanks for reading; as usual, please disregard that silly confidentiality
trailer, which is an artifact of this mail client and my IT department's
generally 404 character.

Kevin J. Connolly

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