[governance] Reconstituting MAG

[Suresh Ramasubramanian]

> ok, I guess. potential can o worms tho.  For example, the govt of
> India could claim to "connect to" every single person in India,
> IT4Change and ISOC India could try to make the same claim.

ISOC New Delhi was all of 2 people - both of whom quit it (one of them moved
to work as apnic staff)

I think there was an attempt to start an "ISOC India" but it got shot down -
and rightly so.  And looks like another one or two person ISOC chapter
recently started in the city I live in (Chennai / Madras). Well, in the same
state at least .. the guy is based out of a smaller city about 6 hours drive
from my city so not much chance my going to a meeting there - and he says he
represents 4 states (with just two founding stakeholders - him and one of
his friends).  Never seen or heard of him, or his friend, in the Indian
internet community in the last decade or so, but well, I cant claim to know
everybody into that kind of thing in India.

http://elists.isoc.org/pipermail/chapter-delegates/2005-April/000759.html

> On his point that "most technical people work for business", well I
> have written often and extensively on this list that those people
> participate in IG fora NOT as employees of a business, but (like
> myself) as individuals, concerned mostly with the health and

Very true indeed.  And it is this kind of facile claim that keeps
marginalizing technical people in the larger "civil society" grouping, if
indeed such a civil society exists, rather than individual civ soc
organizations.

> participate in fora operated by non-profit organisations. These
> technical people may be "technically" employed by businesses, but that
> doesn't mean they aren't involved in CS activities.

Given a fairly widespread perception among some members of the technical
community re what "regular"  CS is sometimes - naïve / political /
fundamentally unaware of technical issues / a combination of all three), I
would imagine that these people - who would contribute a very meaningful
stake - would shy away from CS activities.  These two groups don’t speak the
same language, and tend to regard sections of each other with thinly veiled
contempt if at all.  Finding a middle ground between these communities is
rare.  

> > -         All stakeholders should be asked to keep in mind the need
> to
> > adequately represent diversity in terms of gender, geography, and,

With the added proviso that representation for representations sake should
be subordinated, at least at this stage, to a determination of how
meaningful a contribution can be  made by the individuals (I wont even say
"groups") represented.

I support the rest of Parminder's draft.

	suresh

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