[governance] individuals

[Vittorio Bertola]

Danny Butt ha scritto:
> Bret's email, and Vittorio's that I originally responded to, is a  
> vivid example of why this group has not been a welcoming environment  
> for new expertise during the time I've been on it. No one ever  
> suggested not having individuals here. But the mere mention of the  
> word "NGO" raises a kneejerk response, 

I'm not sure why you think so, but I want to put to the records that my 
feeling is the exact opposite: I've found this caucus increasingly 
unwelcoming for those who are not members of any of the biggest NGOs of 
this sector (excluding the Internet Society, which seems to be quite 
unpopular).

But perhaps, as a second thought, it is just the absence of established 
common criteria to define what is or is not "fair" in terms of process, 
that leave everyone with the feeling of having received less attention 
than they ought have.

 > You can talk about the "legitimacy" of the individual versus the NGO
 > - but I can list a number of occasions here where individuals were
 > essentially made to feel illegitimate because they didn't share the
 > dominant culture of this group. To me, this is a serious problem, and
 > the hysterical defenses of indivdualism from those who do well in the
 > current regime are a symptom.

Then I'm not sure why you're mentioning me, given that I'm the only 
member of this caucus who underwent a sort of public trial for heresy at 
a caucus meeting by (part of) the caucus leadership... I was very very 
near to be flamed away by the caucus at that time. Actually, I still 
have my farewell message draft (keep it handy, you never know).

To me, however, there's more: I'm still wondering how this caucus can 
claim to represent the civil society of the Internet when, just to make 
an example, the single biggest lobbying victory for civil society in 
Europe was the rejection of the software patents directive by the 
European Parliament, and absolutely no one from that campaign is active 
here. The "individualistic philosophy and culture" you refer to has been 
able to shape the Internet and the information society in deep, not just 
by talking, but also by changing reality. I still have to see any 
significant practical impact of the actions of any of us who are 
involved here, doesn't matter if individuals or NGOs.
-- 
vb.             [Vittorio Bertola - v.bertola [a] bertola.eu.org]<-----
http://bertola.eu.org/  <- Prima o poi...
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