[governance] Vote on proposed amendment to IGC charter

[Avri Doria]

Hi,

I can give an answer of what I think the consideration was from my  
perspective as the person  was the coordinator at the time the charter  
was adopted.

Both the 2 month rule and this rule are meant to be rules against  
capture in a open group that has an interesting form of membership -  
i.e. signing on to the charter.  It was also part of the balance  
between keeping an open list and a members only list.

An election takes about a two months between opening for candidates  
and preparing for a vote.  So two months seems a safe gap to prevent  
election capture.

Amending the charter, which by requiring a 2/3 level, was meant to be  
very hard to do.  It was also expected that the process of discussing  
and putting together amendments could take anything from a month or  
two to a year or more.  For example we have been discussing the issue  
behind this proposal for a long time now.  So again, the previous  
election list, which assumes that people were not inspired to join  
specifically for the charter amendment seems a safe capture prevention  
mechanism.  Note: I am not accusing anyone of having joined to make an  
charter change, only that it could happen and is thus protected against.

Without some capture mechanism, it would be trivial some some very  
vocal group to do a massive amount of recruiting and change the rules  
on an group they were not committed to.  So two months on the list  
without ever having even taken part in an activity like the election  
of coordinators seemed too short.  By having required at least one act  
of participation that was not directed at the charter change (and that  
included at least the 2 month interval), the charter restricts changes  
to those who have been committed to the charter for a while.

Another way of looking at it.: As important as a coordinator is, their  
term is only 2 years and they can be voted out.  The charter on the  
other hand determines the character of the group and is meant to be  
more stable then any coordinator's term.

Yes, I know this is a character some will accuse in no uncertain  
terms, and that is fine, they shouldn't join - of course  i am  
assuming that everyone who joined read the charter first since they  
had to sign that they accepted it.  In fact we are but one of two, or  
maybe three or more, open groups I know of committed to representing  
civil society interests in Internet governance.  And those who find  
themselves committed despite feeling the charter can be improved, will  
commit themselves to accept it and then work to change it when they  
can according to the rules defined in it.

a.





On 24 Aug 2009, at 12:26, Fearghas McKay wrote:

>
> On 24 Aug 2009, at 17:15, Charity Gamboa wrote:
>
>> I joined IGC January 2009.  Please correct me if I am wrong if I  
>> assumed that when you are a member for at least 2 months with the  
>> IGC you can vote. It says in the Charter that "Each person who is  
>> subscribed to the list at least two (2) months before the election  
>> will be given a voter account." The list of IGC members was last  
>> updated January 29 but I do not see my name as member of that list.  
>> Does this mean then that I cannot vote? Or basically I am not a  
>> member of IGC because I am not on the list? Will definitely  
>> appreciate any clarifications.
>
> Apparently that is not the case for changes of Charter, merely for  
> elections.
>
> Which I have to say I find more than very disappointing.
>
> Is there some justification that anyone would like to make for this  
> state of affairs?
>
> Regards
>
> 	Fearghas
>
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