[chapter-delegates] New Membership Level

[Stefano Trumpy]

I am tempting here to build a simple view of the problems connected 
with the new individual paying mebership recently announced.

ISOC has been historically, and is still now, a membership 
organization (individual members and organizational members). In the 
past the
board (with some exclusions) was elected by individual members. Then, 
in the year 2000 ISOC moved, for what concerns the selection of the 
Board, to a
selection organized by constituencies, following a model similar to 
the one of ICANN and the individual members ceased to elect even part 
of the Board.
Now ISOC has decided to restore the paying individual membership and 
has declared that this new category of members will participate in 
the process of selecting Board members. They didn't say how they will 
participate; in practice there is a new constituency participating in 
selecting Board members.
Observed from outside, this basic aspect is dense of "policy" 
implications. Actually, without having any precise information on how 
this new class of members will participate in the decision making of 
ISOC, we have observed a
rebellion of a number of chapters, in particular in developing 
countries, claiming at a new money divide.
Here I see a potential increasing role for the chapters; the chapters
have to play the role of the "at large membership" of ISOC. Actually 
the free individual membership called "global members" (moving to the 
status of associate members), is not participating in the Board 
members selection while the chapter are one of the constituencies 
represented in the Board. The chapters
must have a major role in the Board and should be seen as the channel
to engage in the Board a representation of the Local Internet communities,
with special care for dev-countries. Why not proposing to have one post
in the Board for each of the 5 regions recognized in ICANN ?
Doing something like that, the discrimination between those having money
and having not should substantially decrease.

In conclusion, it appears to me that the recent moves of the Board 
on individual membership are going erratic and give a bad image now 
that the WGIG -
WSIS process is progressing and giving strong voice to dev - countries

What you thing ?

Stefano Trumpy
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Ing. Stefano TRUMPY
CNR - Istituto di Informatica e Telematica

Phone: +39 050 3152634
Mobile: +39 348 8218618
E-mail: stefano.trumpy at iit.cnr.it