[Chapter-delegates] Individual vs. Trustee (was Re: Net Neutrality)

[Klaus Birkenbihl]

Eric,

thanks for your explanation. And please allow me to respectfully
disagree. I have a slightly different view on the role of a Trustee.
I is not your job as a Trustee to speak in the name of ISOC - you
are not an Officer. As the name "Trustee" suggests you are somebody
who has been found trustworthy to control the organization. And it
should be your very own opinions and your conscience that guides
you in doing so for the best of the organization. So when you
say [speaking as a chapter member, not a Trustee] it sounds like
"my private opinion might differ from what I represent as a
Trustee".

> One can think of lots of situations where a chapter member may have a
> different point of view than an organization member which could be
> different from an individual participant.

A psychologist would probably diagnose alarming symptoms of
schizophrenia. Changing my hat doesn't change my opinion.
And I'd rather not trust a person (make him a Trustee) who
changes his opinion based on the role, as a chameleon changes
its color based on the environment.

Of course an Officer might say: "speaking as Officer" indicating
that he forwards the organizations position rather than his own.
But for his mental sanity it might be good to abstain from
having one opinion as an Officer, one as citizen, one as house
owner, one as family father ...

Klaus

Eric Burger wrote on 2012-05-31 12:47:
> When I speak as a Trustee, I must speak only with the accepted, agreed
> to, vetted, and implemented position of the Internet Society.
> 
> As Carlos said:
> On May 30, 2012, at 10:30 AM, cveraq at gmail.com
> <mailto:cveraq at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Internet Society as organization can and must have a voice. An
>> official position. It must have an official channel and also an
>> official section (editorial, official letter, etc) to express that
>> vision or position. In this way no one should ask if this is or not
>> an official position.
> 
> I was making it clear that my statement is a personal statement and
> is *not* *necessarily* the official position of the Internet Society.
> It is also not to say that it differs from the official position of
> the Society. It was simply stating what my personal opinion is. More
> importantly, the disclaimer is to ensure that you knew that I was not
> abusing my position as a Trustee to make it sound like an official
> position of ISOC.
> 
> One can think of lots of situations where a chapter member may have a
> different point of view than an organization member which could be
> different from an individual participant. As a chapter member, with my
> Trustee hat off, I can advocate for the chapter position. However, as
> a Trustee, I have to consider what is best for the Internet, and that
> consideration on a particular topic may only be very good, instead of
> excellent, for chapters.
> 
> The alternative is for Trustees to not participate in any discussion
> that may be misconstrued as an official statement of the Internet
> Society. That would include most of the discussions here. In my
> opinion, that would be a step backwards, since as a society we want to
> encourage dialog, not have it strictly one-way.
> 
> Thanks for asking!
> --
> - Eric
> 
> 
> On May 30, 2012, at 8:42 AM, Klaus Birkenbihl wrote:
> 
>> Eric, what do you mean by this: [speaking as a chapter member, not a
>> Trustee]??? Do you have a different view as a (chapter) member than as
>> a Trustee? What is your position as a Trustee? I mean, you should have
>> one. Probably I'm not the only one who's curious.
> 

-- 
Klaus Birkenbihl
Internet Society German Chapter e.V. (ISOC.DE)
c/o ict-Media GmbH
http://www.isoc.de/
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