[chapter-delegates] New Membership Level

[Gene Gaines]

Stefano,

Excellent statement (below).

You cover many points, and in very few words.

I think I agree with all.

Gene
gene.gaines at gainesgroup.com

On Wednesday, March 9, 2005, 8:15:15 AM, Stefano wrote:

> 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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