[chapter-delegates] next steps after the board meeting

[James M Galvin]

Thank you Mike, well said.

Jim



--On Monday, March 14, 2005 7:46 PM -0800 Mike Todd 
<miketodd at miketodd.com> wrote:

> James Galvin, David McAuley and other Chapter Delegates,
>
> What we have experienced on this list over the past couple of weeks is a
> massive misunderstanding and/or lack of effective marketing and/or -
> well, you fill in  the blanks, chances are we have hit that wall too.
>
> As a past vice president for membership for the Internet Society I
> think I have some knowledge of the history of ISOC Individual
> Membership.
>
> James is right when he states that ISOC has always been a membership
> organization.  Whether it is the institutional members, individual
> members or chapter members we talk about there has always been ISOC
> members.
>
> While I was VP Membership, I strongly advocated free individual
> membership because of so many of the reasons that have been brought up
> on this list, recently.  The only real stumbling block I was never able
> to obliterate was the need to ensure that each individual member had
> the means to vote and that there was a way to ensure that individual
> members could only vote once, leading to a strong member identification
> system.  Since we live in an electronic world, electronic means of
> making and verifying that identification seems most reasonable.
>
> I have heard and understand all of the arguments about why this will not
> work, why it is not logical, why technology is not a democracy, and on
> and on...
>
> The basic issue is that "Internet is for everyone" dictates that we are
> a system of citizens that all deserve a vote.  It implies a political
> system. That is hard for us technologists to swallow and brings in
> issues we would rather not address, nor have the responsibility to
> manage.  It is also tough for us to imagine a way to base individual
> commitment without some kind of financial commitment but this is one of
> the biggest barriers to the "global democracy" of the Internet.
>
> If there was an easy solution, we would have done it years ago.  It is
> not easy.
>
> If the ISOC Board or the ISOC Top Management had done a bit more in
> terms of education and marketing before announcing the paid membership
> program, it may have been accepted as the reinstatement of a way for
> Individual Members to provide voluntary, monetary support to ISOC.  It
> did not have to be called "Dues" or "Membership".  It did not have to
> be the only way for an individual member to vote directly for Board
> members.  It did not have to be presented in such a way that "Global
> Members" or "Chapter Members" would feel that they were losing
> something.
>
> I have been an Individual Member of ISOC for a long time and will
> continue to make that personal commitment.  I don't expect everyone in
> the World to be able to, or to want to, make that kind of commitment.
>
> I have been a Chapter Member of ISOC for as long as the Los Angeles
> Chapter has been in existence and will continue in that status as long
> as the Los Angeles Chapter exists.
>
> I have not been a direct employee of any Institutional Member of ISOC
> but I have provided consulting and other support to many of them and am
> pleased that many of them have continued to support ISOC as
> Institutional Members.
>
> I am not a member of the IETF but I do try to support the development
> and implementation of Internet Standards in every way I can, including
> taking every opportunity to promote and protect the open and free
> development of the Internet as the only true way to make it available
> to everyone in the World.
>
> My own feelings are that we all have a lot more to agree about than to
> fight about.  We also have many opportunities to reduce the perceptions
> of barriers and to breech the artificial barriers that are blocking our
> progress.  I guess this is a plea for positive criticism, positive
> actions, and a sharing of positive feelings about the good we are all
> trying to accomplish.
>
> Mike Todd
> President, Mike Todd Associates - www.MikeTodd.com
> Supporting the Digital Coast
>
> President, Internet Society Los Angeles Chapter - www.ISOC-LA.org
>
> Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology Law
> Pepperdine University School of Law - mltodd at pepperdine.edu
>
> Technology Expert Witness - ExpertWitness at miketodd.com
>
>   310-321-5706  Office Phone
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>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James M Galvin" <galvin at elistx.com>
> To: <chapter-delegates at lists.isoc.org>
> Sent: Monday, March 14, 2005 1:17 PM
> Subject: [chapter-delegates] next steps after the board meeting
>
>
> Dear Chapter Members,
>
> As you know, the ISOC Board met this past Friday and Saturday and they
> discussed, in addition to other matters, the recent dissatisfaction that
> a number of you have very strongly expressed regarding the new paid
> individual membership level.  Historically, especially in recent years,
> the Board has strongly held the position that there should be a paid
> membership level and that this should be a vehicle through which
> individual members could have a direct vote in ISOC Trustee elections.
>
> We summarized your criticism as the following:
>
> 1. that a paid membership level was in direct conflict with the ethos
>    that the "Internet is for everyone"
>
> 2. that the payment level is a barrier to full opportunity around the
>    world for people to participate
>
> 3. that we failed to seek your input for this decision
>
> ...
>
> Thank you, for your comments and your continued participation in ISOC.
>
> Jim Galvin
> David McAuley
>
>