Re: [atlarge-discuss] ...the last several days' posts

["Richard Henderson" <richardhenderson@ntlworld.com>]

Thank you very much for publishing your resume at the Forum, Joe.

You, more than most people, clearly understand the need for openness,
transparency, and accountability. Given the experiences of vote-rigging
you've known in your own life, maybe you'll have some interesting input when
it comes to developing our own processes of verification, and the democratic
"proof of concept" we need to evolve as an example for ICANN and the general
public?

Maybe you should volunteer to work on a Task Group on verification? (Maybe
you feel your gifts are better used elsewhere!)

A big issue, as far as I see it, is: how do you involve as many as possible,
while still protecting the integrity of democratic processes in an online
environment.

I think we need some lateral thinking here. I think we may need to think
along the lines of multiple ways of verifying member identity.

But we cannot afford the equivalent of a late ballot box arriving at a
re-count with the seals already broken.

Richard

----- Original Message -----
From: **star*walker** <starwalker@gay.com>
To: <atlarge-discuss@lists.fitug.de>
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 9:28 PM
Subject: [atlarge-discuss] ...the last several days' posts


Thursday, August 08, 2002 * 4:25 PM EDT USA

Everyone:

I must apologize ahead of time if I use words from time to time that may
send some of you to dictionaries. However I cannot think and write at my
best without running that risk.

I will also say that I hope that I will only write, to the icannatlarge.com
list and elsewhere, when there truly is a point to be made, a useful and
useable point, and to do so in the most reasoned, gentle and precise, if
sometimes passionate, way.

It is my desire to contribute to the discourse and work in the
icannatlarge.com list and organization, to recognize, acknowledge and
actively value and respect everyone, regardless of any differences I may
come to have with them, in all I say and do.

Having said all of the above, this is NOT always an easy thing for me to
do, and certainly not as easy as I would like it to be. I hope my failures
will be gently brought to my attention.

Notwithstanding having a B.A. in Political Science; one year of Law School;
run for and held public and private political office; trained and practiced
as a psychotherapist; and survived and thrived to the age of 58 as a gay
man in a repressive-oppressive culture -- notwithstanding all those things
-- I've acquired exquisite perception, sensitivity, intuition, compassion
and actual knowledge of-and-about a few things, people and "politics" chief
among them.

It is these generalist offerings I am gifting the icannatlarge.com list and
organization with. Specific gift offers to or requests from
icannatlarge.com will come later I trust.

I will just as quickly acknowledge that not having my gifts accepted is
likely the most psychically painful thing there is for me, so that all will
aware, AND that is my personal challenge to grow with and not anyone else's
responsibility.

It is necessary for me to say this because I am always full of idealism and
bright ideas and many of the ideas prove to be less than fully baked.
However, when I know that what I offer is fully baked, that it is right on
the mark, yet proves repeatedly ineffective or even impotent in this list
and organization then I will eventually withdraw and secede. I am fully in
charge of myself at all times and have the greatest integrity in complement
of my unflagging loyalty.

That concludes my preamble to this post. As I am newly active here, though
certainly not new, I think it important in context to let people better and
better know who I am. It seems to me that getting to know each other as
real live in-the-flesh human beings in this all too virtual world is our
foremost, immediate and on-going challenge, at least for those of us, me
especially, who have not yet had the opportunity to get to know others in
person, in real time.

[The above is being contemporaneously posted to my "Bordo, Joe . aka Joey
Borda . icannatlarge.com . Profile" now begun at
http://www.icannatlarge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=250]


I write on this occasion to address a number of things in the last several
days' posts.

First, the trashing, pejorative, and corrupted use of the word politics is
being used in this forum, without appreciative understanding, as a weapon.
This is unnecessary, counterproductive and saddens me.

Properly, ethically, politics refers to the artful activity of two or more
people openly, guilelessly, respectfully deciding what to do about
something of mutual importance, interest and benefit.

EVERYTHING is political!

Instead the word is used with its most scurrilous meaning in this list to
attack, impugn and invalidate people.

I DON'T CARE how angry anyone is at anyone else in this organization there
is no excuse for any of the attack behaviors, and I would like to see them
STOP. I will never initiate such, and if it happens to me they will lay
there because no matter how hurt I may feel, I will NOT respond in kind.

Second, it is simply at the least bad form not to have published the
complete panel vote with all candidates' names and panel member votes for
each. The way the results were announced, and still so far un-corrected,
omitting the non-winning candidates' names and voters is in my conviction
disrespectful and devaluing of those individuals. I would like to see this
corrected.

I do not think it useful to speculate as to the possible worst significance
of the faux pas so I will not. I know that in that respect time will tell
all to the observant if indeed there is anything to be observed.

Third, one of the burdens taken on by each of the new panelists, whether
they are aware of it or not or whether they are comfortable with it or not
or whether they like it or not, is to read every last post of every member
to this list and respond to the merits of suggestions and proposals made in
any such posts, however lame brained or "late to the party" they may think
an offering is within the limits of this marvelous near-instantaneous
medium.

Either an idea or a point of view has merit to each of you or it does not.
In my view you are obliged to say so, singly or collectively, with reasoned
response. You cannot simply ignore someone, or hope they will go away.
Above all, this is THE first and greatest burden you all carry.

Fourth, I would like to soon see others follow my step in creating my forum
profile and personal space, most especially the panel members. I was
surprised that I am the first to do so. Since we are all of us volunteers,
the current forum "VOLUNTEERING" would be the appropriate space for all of
our use.

I see a great creative and synergistic potential in that space.

/s/ Joey




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