Re: [wg-review] The Number 1 Problem

["Milton Mueller" <Mueller@syr.edu>]

The Names Council is often perceived as a structural impediment to compromise and bottom-up policy making because if one has enough votes on the NC there is no incentive to compromise, or even to participate in working groups. This has been a noticable factor in earlier WGs.

I agree that there are structural problems with WGs as well. However, I don't perceive off-topic posts to be a problem as serious as the others. People just ignore them. Participants learn who is worth paying attention to and who isn't. 

The more fundamental problem is that the NC has largely delegitimized the status of DNSO working groups, particularly in the wake of its reaction to WG-C on new TLDs. The NC has proven that it is afraid to allow WGs to start on the initiative of DNSO members, that is is afraid to let them come to any conclusions that might not be in accord with what the controlling majority on the NC has already decided it wants, and that it would prefer to set up highly controlled "task forces," informal if not secret committees (such as the WHOIS committee) and pre-defined agendas. 

I know you don't want to hear this, Philip, but I'm trying to make these contributions in a constructive spirit. I hope you can deal with these necessary exchanges of constructive criticism more rationally than Mr. Stubbs. 

>>> "Philip Sheppard" <philip.sheppard@aim.be> 01/05/01 05:07AM >>>
I therefore do not see how this is connected with the contention that the NC is "structural impediment to consensus" unless this is a reference to the
inadequate way DNSO WGs function.

What is flawed is current practice with WGs (all WGs). A WG which is unstructured in its debate on a series of issues, which has no sanction for
personal attacks or off topic postings and which does not work methodically from issue to issue against a given deadline, is a part of a structural problem.

Improve the structure for consensus building in combination with chairmen chosen for their expertise in chairing and we will improve.



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