Re: [wg-d] Overview

[Joop Teernstra <terastra@terabytz.co.nz>]

At 09:42 AM 18/10/1999 -0700, Mark C. Langston wrote:

>Now, to "chair discretion":  As long as chairs are appointed, and not
>democratically elected (and by democratic, I am not implying the current
>DNSO election process), this should not be allowed.  ICANN is supposed to
>be a "bottom-up" organization.  Chair discretion with appointed chairs
>is entirely top-down, and extremely unbalanced.
>
Completely agree.

>Make no mistake:  ICANN in general, and the DNSO in particular, are 
>very political groups, with opposing camps at every turn.  Rules and
>guidelines designed for groups that share a common goal simply will not
>work in this setting.  Every time it's been tried, it's failed, and added
>to the growing unease with ICANN.  The press latched onto the problems
>with, and ultimate halting of, the DNSO BoD seat elections.  That entire
>fiasco occurred because of procedure, or lack thereof.
>
>How many more times must we travel this road before we begin to realize
>that procedure MUST come first?  This isn't a test-run.  This is the
>real thing; it's something that we should be getting right the first
>time.  And the only way to do that is to make VERY sure that a good set
>of procedures is in place BEFORE substantive decisions are made.
>
>Honestly, I'm weary of those who don't want to learn what is, in essence,
>a simple set of rules because it's too much work.  Which would you
>prefer, a little work up front, or a lot of spin-doctoring ex post
>facto?
>
>Of course, that's just my opinion.  I'm sure those used to closed-door
>meetings and "go-along, get-along" policies will rip into me now.
>I'm sorry if I seem a bit bitter, but sometimes I really believe I'm
>shouting down a well.
>
>-- 
I am of exactly the same sentiment. Having experienced the power that
individuals can exert on a mailing list when proper procedural rules are
lacking, I can only repeat: agree on procedure first.
All else is going to be contested forever.



 
--Joop Teernstra LL.M.--  , bootstrap  of
the Cyberspace Association,
the constituency for Individual Domain Name Owners
http://www.democracy.org.nz/idno/