[Chapter-delegates] "Sphere-Consult" draft Consultation paper - feedback requested on blog

[Anne Lord]

Dear Colleagues,

The introduction below "Consulting you about a proposed consultation  
process" is posted for Fred Baker, who is writing on behalf of the  
Sphere Consultation project group:

For a French version of his introduction see :
http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=58

For a Spanish version of his introduction see:
http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=59

The Sphere Consultation committee, which consists of people from three  
continents, several Chapters, one Individual member, and ISOC HQ, as  
part of the Sphere project was asked to discuss and formulate a  
proposed protocol or procedure for consultation in ISOC. We have  
formulated a proposal, and solicit your constructive comments on it.  
You will find it at:

http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=54    
(English)
http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=55  (French)
http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=56 (Spanish)

We propose to use the proposed procedure first to discuss the  
procedure, and then to discuss a couple of other topics (to be  
determined) and then with that experience to finalize it. The final  
documents will be sent to the Sphere-SIT team to present to the ISOC  
Executive Team as a recommendation for ISOC to use.

We already recognize some issues with the proposed procedure, which  
limits itself to discussing policy when it could easily be expanded to  
cover any topic, and talks a lot about Chapters when it really should  
be discussing all ISOC constituencies - Chapters, Organizational  
members, Individual members, the board, and the staff. There have also  
been calls for it to be part of a procedure formalized by the Board of  
Trustees. We feel, however, that it is ready to be reviewed, and  
changes of that type can be incorporated along with the comments from  
throughout the Society.

Ultimately, we don't think the real need is for a formal procedure;  
what we need is a vehicle and guidelines for having constructive  
conversations. As such, this is more an outline of how one might have  
a constructive discussion on a topic than a set of rules that must be  
applied in rote order. The term "consultation", (according to several  
dictionaries) means "to discuss", especially "to seek expert opinion  
on a stated topic with a view to saying and doing the right thing".  
For any given question that a group wants to ask ISOC for it's opinion  
on, we recommend that someone - staff, Organizational members, Chapter  
leaders, or whoever - make a statement in a formal sense and invite  
commentary on it, using Internet-based tools like blogs, wikis, or  
direct communication via email, instant messaging, or applications  
like Marratech. The important components are that:

1.     An appropriate statement is made,

2.     The discussion happens in the open,

3.     Sufficient time is allowed for deliberation and discussion to  
in fact happen (this being weeks to months in most cases)

4.     In time, results or conclusions are reached,

5.     The statement is updated to reflect the conversation, and

6.     The result is archived for later access, potentially by parties  
outside of ISOC.


The way that statement is used is something that should have been  
stated up front; if we are developing an ISOC position or a Chapter  
position on a topic, discussants should know that we are doing so and  
what the question is, and the outcome should be posted and used as  
that position. Also, any relevant information should be made available  
in as fair and neutral a manner as possible; the questions " Should GM  
crops be banned until proven 100% safe? " and “Should GM crops be  
encouraged as a solution to growing world hunger?" will get very  
different answers depending on the information available and wording  
of the question.

We think that any ISOC body should be able to ask a relevant question  
of the remainder of ISOC and use the outcome for purposes that are in  
line with ISOC principles. We suspect that the outcomes will be  
helpful to other bodies as well; if one of the questions has to do  
with, say, issues related to IPv4 addressing and the transition to  
IPv6, one could imagine the OECD referring to the discussion and  
learning from it.

We would recommend against trying to regulate the comments made in  
excessive ways. If a given consultation is conducted using a blog, for  
example, one will need to guard against trackback spam, and one might  
want to moderate the responses to ensure that the discussion remains  
on topic. ISOC's principles of openness call for erring in the  
direction of inclusiveness as opposed to exclusion. If one takes IETF  
discussions as a model, the IETF welcomes all participants, discards  
identifiable spam, and makes the few decisions to deny posting  
privileges very publicly and very deliberately. The IETF's procedure  
for that is documented in RFC 3863.

We would then suggest using the procedure to address one the several  
topics that have been proposed in the Sphere context. For example, if  
there is interest in having informed discussion on Net Neutrality, one  
might have a proposed ISOC statement prepared and invite articles by  
proponents of the various viewpoints, and then ask ISOC's various  
constituencies to read the material and comment with a view to  
constructing a statement by ISOC that is both informed and  
informative, and helpful to the various communities concerned with the  
topic. We will ask the SIT Team to select two or three topics it would  
like to see discussed. We would like the members of Sphere-Consult to  
be active participants in those discussions, with a view to  
understanding the dynamics and the effectiveness of this discussion  
approach.

After those trial runs have completed, Sphere-Consult proposes to come  
together again to discuss the results and make any changes to the  
procedure that seem warranted, and then consider that outcome our  
final product.

At this point, we would very much appreciate your feedback on the  
guidelines we have developed - what you like and what you would like  
to change.  Most importantly, if you want a change, we need to know  
what what text you would delete, replace, or add and what the new text  
would be. We would like to see a comment, if only "works for us", from  
everyone.   We encourage all Internet Society members of whatever  
category to contribute to making these guidelines the best that they  
can be.

Please post your comments to the Blog at:

http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-view_blog.php?blogId=2

Fred Baker
Speaking for the Sphere "Consultation" group.

More information about the Sphere Project:

Visit: http://wiki.chapters.isoc.org/tiki-index.php?page=Sphere+Project
Email <sphere-project-admin at elists.isoc.org> if you would like to join  
a group or have any questions.



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