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Re: [atlarge-discuss] DNSO-GA arguments belong elsewhere!



I agree with you, Bruce.

I've been elected with a 90 day mandate and I do not regard that as
extendable
without a further vote.

I'd like to formally request the publication of timescales for completing
agreed
and defined tasks.

Otherwise there is a risk of drifting.

I request the publication of the tasks we intend to carry out during the
life of our
90 day mandate, along the lines of my post to the panel list on 2nd May.

I also request the publication of deadlines for completion of those tasks,
along the
lines of my proposed action plan, posted to the lists on 6th May.

I feel that we have lost a month since I posted those messages, and although
other useful things have been accomplished (in relationship to ICANN and
through the GA) OUR specific mandate is to establish the bylaws and
elections
(which have to be carried out by 27th July). As has been pointed out, this
date is
hardly ideal because it's high summer vacation time, but one way or another
our
mandate is running out.

Vittorio, please could you bring us to agreement on tasks and timescales,
and please
could we publish our dates and intentions? Our membership must start to
wonder how
on earth elections will be accomplished within the mandate we've been given.
Do we
need to ask the membership for an extension of our mandate. If so, a vote
would be
obligatory. This is NOT a direction I want to take.

Instead, I request we simplify our agenda, limit our scope, and leave the
completion of
tasks to a newly-elected committee. The election is, in my opinion,
essential - we need
an agreed date and we need agreement on rules and process.

Richard Henderson


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


For information -


>From my post to the panel list on 2nd May:

To: <atlarge-panel@lists.fitug.de>
Subject: [atlarge-panel] Response to Satya's Request for Agenda Items
From: "Richard Henderson" <richardhenderson@ntlworld.com>
Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 23:00:29 +0100
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The following is a non-prioritised list which I invite the panel and the
membership to
consider as potential items in our agenda:

1. Name of our organisation.

2. Protection of that name through domain name registration etc.

3. Summary of the organisation's aims - a 'mission statement' if you like -
(a) in popular
terms, which can be marketed to our target audience (b) in more detailed
terms.
(We need to know where we are going : what are we for?)

4. Outreach Campaign : targets, methods, timescale, immediate actions.

5. Procedures and ByLaws
(a) Definition of membership
(b) Rights and authorities of membership
(c) Regional/National self-organising rights, and relationship to global
organisation
(d) Member access to information, and processes of consultation and openness
(e) Procedures for resolutions and decision-making, including the advance
time
allowed for consultation
(f) Election organisation and procedure
(g) Office-holders and structure of representation
(h) Terms of Office
(i) Functions and Administration of Websites
(j) Functions and Administration of Mailing Lists/Forums
(k) Representation on external bodies
(please add other elements for ByLaws, including legal/financial)

6. Management of Finances.

7. The Next Election. Structure, Timing, Procedure, Security, Impartial
Verification,
Initial Terms of Office.

8. Relationship to the ICANN At Large initiative involving Denise Michel.

9. Medium-term agenda ('seeing beyond the first 12 weeks') - the need for
vision -
(where are we going?)

10. Information Policy (what opponents would call the generation of
propaganda):
(a) press relations (b) the case for user representation (c) the case
against ICANN
(d) the cause of internet democracy.

11. Proactive development and stimulation of the public forums, the regional
initiatives,
the involvement of members, inventory of skills and resources, and a quality
newsletter
which informs and clarifies and mobilises.

(Comment on Panel List: I suggest that once an agenda is agreed upon, we try
to post
and thread according to agreed headings as far as possible, in order to make
it easier
for members to read and track discussions. My worry is a chaos of unrelated
messages
which become almost impossible to navigate! What do you think?) (Another
Comment!
Please understand that I am not trying to impose the agenda items above! I'm
just trying
to kick something off, to which items can be added and from which items can
be
removed. Please do not think I am being pushy.....! Some of these items may
only just
begin in the first 12 weeks - my main concern is for some sense of clarity
and direction
and definition - albeit in the context of a membership with diverse views
and ideas.
I think there is a need for calm urgency, and I think there is so much to do
that we should
not be ashamed to ask for assistance from membership, to help get things
done. I'm also
concerned, as I think others have expressed, to make sure that all
significant decisions
and particularly anything of a policy nature, are preceded by a time-period
of advance
notice to members and member participation in discussion.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[atlarge-panel] Proposed Action Plan for Bylaws and Election

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To: <atlarge-panel@lists.fitug.de>
Subject: [atlarge-panel] Proposed Action Plan for Bylaws and Election
From: "Richard Henderson" <richardhenderson@ntlworld.com>
Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 14:45:32 +0100

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My friends

There is a growing call for action on Bylaws and the next Elections, and so
I'm
offering you the following 'Action Plan' which will obviously need
amendments.
Even I don't feel certain or dogmatic about all the ideas below, but I think
it's time
for us to agree on timescales and actually get results within those
timescales.

OVERVIEW:
I propose the following timescales. The Panel (with full contributions from
the
whole membership) will present a draft of proposed Bylaws by 17th May 2002.
This will be followed by a further week for consultation and possible
amendments.
The final Bylaws will be voted for on 27th May 2002. (One question here: who
votes
for these Bylaws, the Panel or the Membership, and do you vote for the
entirety or
section-by-section?) The vote on Bylaws will be followed by the immediate
opening
of the election process, leading to a vote closing on 27th June. I am in
agreement with
Jamie, that it would be better to bring forward the date of the Election if
possible.
July 27th (original proposed date) is very bad regarding summer vacations
and besides,
I feel that this Interim Steering Panel lacks authority (at a time when we
need to represent
ourselves very strongly at ICANN and elsewhere) so the sooner we get a
permanent
elected Council the better.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DECIDED:

1. I take the view that everything else follows from a "Mission Statement".
We have to
have some kind of definition of who we are and what we are for and where we
are going.
I therefore propose the drafting of a "Mission Statement" at the start of
the Bylaws
construction. I will suggest one such statement for your consideration:

"To provide a Voice and Representation for Ordinary Internet Users all over
the World"
(to which in italics I would personally like to add: "...with a commitment
as well to those
who do not yet have access to the Internet because of poverty, political
repression or
other lack of necessary resources."

2. Name of Organization. I would personally like urgent discussion on this,
but it may be
that this is something to be done slowly and carefully, after a mission
statement has
clarified our goals, and possibly something to be left to the permanent
elected Council to
develop and propose. However, if some kind of consensus can be formed on the
best
alternatives, I would not be opposed to a vote on this on 27th May or 27th
June.

3. Bylaws.
I propose the following areas for definition, consultation and editing into
final statements:
(a) Definition of Membership. How to become a member. Who may become a
member.
Minimum age limits. Postal address verification (or at a future stage).
(b) Rights of Members. Access to lists and forums. Right of
self-organisation. Right to
call for a vote (need to define). Right to call for elections (need to
define).
(c) Organisation - Global. Elected executive. I propose 6 members voted on
as global
candidates by the entire global membership. I propose 6 regional
representatives voted
for at the same time in a centrally-conducted election, but voted for only
by the membership
of that particular region (however, these elections would NOT be conducted
by the Region
itself). These 12 members would form the voting component of an Elected
Executive.
I propose their initial term of office would be ONE year - they need that
much time to
develop and see through initiatives without the rush which we ourselves face
at present.
In addition, I propose that the Council (Elected Executive) would have
powers to co-opt
up to 6 Non-Voting Advisory Members representing interests/areas of
expertise. These
Advisory members would not be allowed to vote but would be treated as full
participants
in Council discussions and panel mailing lists etc.
(d) Organisation - Regional/National/Provincial/Local. Self-organising
rights. Limits and
constraints if necessary.
(e) Election organisation, procedure, security, validation.
(f) Procedures for motions, consultation with membership, and
decision-making.
(g) Rules for open management of finances at global and local levels.
(h) Openness and Transparency. All votes, all substantive discussion, all
information to be
archived online.
(i) Rules for global administration of website, forums, mailing-lists and
newsletters. Rules in
event of abuse of these facilities. (Please note that I am referring only to
the Global versions
- obviously the administration of more local resources would belong to the
membership
involved at that more local level.)
(j) Rules when members represent the organization on external bodies etc.

Clearly there will be other Bylaws issues for people to propose and add. All
the above are
simply detailed to stimulate discussion and get things going, and may not
even be my own final
position. We need to listen to each other!

As stated above, I propose that the Panel (with full contributions from the
whole membership)
will present a draft of proposed Bylaws by 17th May 2002. This will be
followed by a further
week for consultation and possible amendments. The final Bylaws will be
voted for on
27th May 2002.

4. Outreach. To me, this is the most important issue on our agenda -
however, it is clearly
a task that will 'spill over' into the summer and will depend on the views
and resolve of those
elected to the Council (as well as all the expressed views of the
membership). Issues include
target membership, scale of outreach, methods, regional initiatives
(fundamental), timescales.

I personally believe that we should encourage immediate outreach right away
and propose
some methods / groups.

One further comment on outreach and representation : I have a concern about
the possibilities
of regional imbalances and "capture" of the organisation. For example, if
one national group
obtained 1000 new members over the next month (and I think I could do that
here in UK if
I was mandated) then you could have a situation where the sub-group
hi-jacked the entire
organization. I could (for example) approach Greenpeace or an
anti-Globalisation group, and
persuade them to enter their entire membership, so that they gained control
of our organization.
Obviously that is in no way my intention, but I believe we need to define
some common
policies for recruitment, or failing that, we need to draft some kind of
protection against
"hostile capture" of our organisation. Having said all that, I am very eager
to formulate some
principles, because I have a lot of plans for UK recruitment, but it would
seem wrong and
unfair on everyone else, to run ahead of the pack. We need some definition
of how we want
to proceed with the issue of outreach, and that is also tied in with the
kind of organization we
want to be and how broad and populist that organization is intended to be.

Hope the above Action Plan is of some help! Obviously I am not the Chairman,
and these are
just proposals. People will want to change a lot of what I've written here I
expect! What I
suggest is that each of the subsections 3 (a) to (j) should be posted to the
panel / discuss forums
individually, under a Header: "Bylaws Discuss - Membership Rules" "Bylaws
Discuss -
Membership Rights" "Bylaws Discuss - Global Organisation" etc... and just
let the threads
develop from those stems. I think for the sake of clarity and ease of
navigation, we need to
do something like this, otherwise the mailing-lists and the consultation on
various sections of
the Bylaws may become chaotic. Of course, this kind of approach could be
developed more
simply in the Website forum, but I suspect a lot of people prefer to use the
mailing lists.

Richard Henderson



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