[governance] Membership

[Deirdre Williams]

Since the Charter specifies two months

"Voting Process

Each person who is subscribed to the list at least two (2) months
before the election will be given a voter account."

the membership list dated January 2009

"List of members

Members as of 29 January 2009"

should be updated. Also the time limitations for voting should be
stipulated, or at least mentioned, under "Membership" which currently
reads

"Membership

The members of the IGC are individuals, acting in personal capacity,
who subscribe to the charter of the caucus. All members are equal and
have the same rights and duties."

I don't think I have been "here" for quite 2 months yet so I have no
personal agenda to follow. However, since I am entitled to an opinion,
I agree with Sivasubramanian Muthusamy, whose message should be
included below. I understand that message to be in support of
flexibility, and perhaps a warning against very stringent rules that
may in the end hang you.

My job is teaching. One of the lessons learned in an interactive class
situation is that there are times when it is very useful to be deaf
:-)

Deirdre

2009/8/26 Sivasubramanian Muthusamy <isolatedn at gmail.com>:
> Hello Coordinators, Moderators and Members of the Caucus,
>
> The discussion on list behavior has dominated discussions here for the last
> few weeks. This happens to be a microcosmic representation of the larger
> issue of Internet Governance. The issue is a Participation issue, it is a
> Freedom of Expression against Censorship issue, Rights and Privileges issue
> - it is an overall Governance issue.
>
> We need to go beyond simple solutions such as a 5 messages per member per
> day to tackle this issue. The Charter or the Rules of Posting are broad
> indications of what the list is meant for and how it would function. The day
> to day functions are more 'governed' by implied obligations, conventions and
> etiquette.
>
> If someone confirms to 5 messages per day limit but talks nonsense, then he
> or she is violating the fundamental norms. If someone confirms to the
> language and expression guidelines but happens to be posting acceptably
> worded nonsense, then he or she is violating the norms of the list. What is
> important is to determine if the participant shows evidence of understanding
> about the importance and significance of the list.
>
> Fifteen years ago US Consulate in Chennai had a one page leaflet outlining
> the process of decision for a VISA. It said something that amounted to
> APPROXIMATE HINTS on what the Consulate was looking for. It said we may look
> for evidence that the applicant has more reasons to return to India than to
> extend his stay. Proof of Income or Property papers or evidence of
> employment, or evidence of family commitments - everything could help the
> VISA officer decide that the applicant would limit his stay in the United
> States and not become an illegal immigrant. The leaflet said, "We can't tell
> you what we are looking for, but we need to be convinced that ... " [the
> applicant would not become an illegal immigrant.] So, the Consulate was not
> asking for anything specific - there were no rules that a visa application
> has to have a statement of income or a marriage certificate as attachments.
> If someone could step in without even an Invitation Letter or a clear travel
> itinerary but could impress the VISA officer that he or she is respectable
> and would return back to India after two or three weeks, the officer had the
> freedom to grant the VISA. If someone else applied for VISA with exhaustive
> paperwork with letters from sponsors etc., all of which looked very good as
> paper work, but if the VISA officer didn't get the impression that the
> applicant would return, the officer had all the freedom to reject the
> application.
>
> The arbitrariness granted to the Consulate Offices could always be abused.
> But the reality of the situation is that no country can afford a visa
> process that is reduced a set of rigid rules. If any country says "show me a
> bank statement with ten thousand dollars available for your travel, show me
> a round trip ticket and show me an invitation letter, and your visa will be
> granted automatically", any one can create a deceptive initial appearance
> and there would be chaos every where BECAUSE it is all by rules, and rules
> are rigidly followed.
>
> The point is only about the need for judgment in the absence of rules or
> precedent situations. If Milton Mueller posts six messages on a certain day
> it is not even necessary to send him a gentle mail informing him of the
> count. If Ginger writes a few lines with a new thread headline to say
> something light about a movie that she watched last night, we all understand
> that this rare and wouldn't raise objections or protest that it does not
> confirm to the rules of posting. On the contrary if someone destructive
> posts five message PER MONTH and one line, or one word in any of these
> messages happens to be intentionally destructive and motivatedly goes
> against the essential principles, then he or she could be unsubscribed.
>
> If the coordinator/moderator's decision is right, the list can always
> understand that the situation beyond the provisions of the charter, beyond
> rules and guidelines.
>
> What the list now needs is judgment.
>
>
> Sivasubramanian Muthusamy
> India.
>
>
>
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>



-- 
“The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir
William Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
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