[governance] Governance issue : InternetSociety.ORG is about to sell the PIR to a Private Company

[Bill Woodcock]

> On Nov 23, 2019, at 8:22 AM, Sylvain Baya (via governance Mailing List) <governance at lists.riseup.net> wrote:
> Since the last week, we observe a real (Internet) 'governance issue' at
> InternetSociety.ORG ; particularly the lack of inclusiveness in decision-making
> processes ; partly due to a lack of an appropriate 'governance' structure which
> would have been a foundation for real transparency, openness, bottom-up and
> multi-stakeholder approaches...

A few points and questions:

 - “It takes two to tango.”  Putting aside the question of whether this deal _should_ have been done, one cannot do it “transparently” if there are no partners who are willing to also conduct the transaction out in the public view.  And there’s frankly no reason for them to do so.  So I assert that, _if_ the transaction was to have been done, it’s unlikely that it _could_ have been done “transparently,” for lack of a buyer who would wish to conduct their business so publicly.  Remember that the non-profit side is only one side, and both sides have to be accommodated for a deal to be reached.

 - Aside from whatever dissatisfaction anyone might hold at not having been a part of something that happened, what real harm do you believe has, or will, occur?  Who are the harmed parties, and how much are they harmed?  Are you concerned that, despite continuing to be under ICANN oversight and the ongoing requirement (and public commitment) to provide a public benefit, that prices will be raised dramatically?  How much would be dramatic?  Two dollars a year?  Five dollars a year?  A thousand dollars a year?  How much of an increase would be required to have a material effect on any registrant, and how likely do you believe that to occur?

 - Do you recognize a benefit in ISOC being funded though an independent endowment, and no longer being beholden to other parties and other interests?  To me, this is a huge, huge benefit to the Internet as a whole.  An ISOC unencumbered by USG policy demands and gTLD politics is an ISOC which can serve the Internet neutrally and objectively.  That would be an excellent outcome, and one which could benefit everyone significantly, while spreading a miniscule cost across ten million organizations.  Do you believe that ISOC will not do good works, if deconflicted?  Do you not see that as worth a few dollars a year per organization?

I don’t mean to phrase those questions in a combatitive way; I’m honestly very puzzled by negative reactions to this announcement, and don’t understand the rationale by which people arrive at the judgements that are being bandied about.  I’d love to have some insight into how you arrive at your position.

                                -Bill

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