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RE: [wg-c] We have no Emperor: Re: The Emperor's NewConsensus(w a s:Re: [wg-c] IMPORTANT MESSAGE RE: WG-C )
Kevin, I agree with Caroline's comment. VERY eloquently put,but also very
helpful in reminding us to think about different customs/different
expectations. Marilyn
-----Original Message-----
From: Chicoine, Caroline [mailto:chicoinc@PeperMartin.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 1999 8:12 PM
To: 'Kevin J. Connolly'; wg-c@dnso.org
Subject: RE: [wg-c] We have no Emperor: Re: The Emperor's NewConsensus(w
a s:Re: [wg-c] IMPORTANT MESSAGE RE: WG-C )
Very eloquently put!
-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin J. Connolly [mailto:CONNOLLK@rspab.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 1999 11:17 AM
To: wg-c@dnso.org
Subject: RE: [wg-c] We have no Emperor: Re: The Emperor's NewConsensus(w
as:Re: [wg-c] IMPORTANT MESSAGE RE: WG-C )
Dear Readers:
One of the things I learnt at an early stage during the domain name
wars is the importance of maintaining a global perspective. Indeed,
one of the primary criticisms of Jon Postel's Internet-Draft was that
it was too US-centric, not sufficiently international. I point this out
because perceptions regarding the polling process are not uniform
when considered internationally.
In the United States, there has grown up a perception that a voter
is obligated to vote, and that, accordingly, a failure to exercise the
franchise taints the non-voter as somehow obloquious. No such
taint applies in Western Europe. In Western Europe, there is a long-
standing tradition of staying away from the polls to express a
withholding
of support for _any_ outcome. The significance attached to voting/not
voting explains why during the existence of the USSR, so much emphasis
was laid on the fact that over 97% of eligible voters cast their ballots
during legislative elections. I will also remind those North Americans
who snicker at this example that by most objective standards, the USSR
was more democratic during the last 20 years of its existence than the
USA was or is: the rate of turnover in the membership of Soviets (both
Supreme and local) was far in excess of the rate of turnover in the
United
States Congress and most State legislatures. Neither do most North
Americans suppose that the United States could possibly undergo the
kind of fundamental change which unzipped the USSR into the diversity
which now exists. I am not saying that the unzipping was good or bad:
I
am saying that the unzipping reflects democracy of a calibre which
is unimagined in the United States (except by some right-wing
militiamen in the Pacific Northwest).
Consequently, I reiterate my earlier hypothesis: the lack of responses
during the time that our chairmen believe rough consensus was emerging
may reflect nothing more or less than that many members of this WG were
not paying attention, or otherwise consciously were refraining from
stating an
opinion. There are lots of reasons why they might not have been paying
attention, including, most particularly, that a proposal was being
touted to
reduce/restrict the membership of WG-C. The fact that the membership
has not been winnowed does not detract from the validity of members'
decisions not to waste their time or that of others by continuing a
debate
in which their voices and/or votes would play no dispositive role.
Please note that I am not saying that there is no rough consensus for
the
6-10 rollout. Neither am I saying that 6-10 is a bad idea. What I am
saying is that the _way_ in which a finding of rough consensus was
established and promulgated reminds me of the criticisms that were
leveled at the IAHC. (Again, I am not saying that the criticisms of
the IAHC were correct; in fact, my opinion of the IAHC and its work
is quite to the contrary.) I should think that by now, participants in
the domain name war would have learnt that the conflict is more
about method than about substance. I should also have thought
that the chairmen of this WG would have refrained from using their
power to marginalize anyone who chooses to differ with the 6-10
rollout as being out of touch with the rough consensus.
Ultimately, though, I find it ironic that some have chosen to enshrine
the
process that took place as "democratic" while at the same time recoiling
from the thought of actually taking a vote. Again, this is not about
substance,
it's about process. A lack of attention to process has resulted in a
great deal
of hard work in the domain name wars coming to grief already.
Let's not perpetuate the mistake.
Kevin J. Connolly
Verbum sapientiae satis est; encyclopedia gikae non est satis; este
sapientiae, non gikae.
<As usual, please disregard the silly trailer>
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