[Chapter-delegates] An Open Letter to all ISOC Chapter Members

Wed Nov 13 16:51:01 PST 2013

Bob,

speaking only for myself: don't interpret silence as consent. Please convey this message to the Board of Trustees, whose mailing list is in copy but understandably will bouncet this posting. 

Yours,

Alejandro Pisanty

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
     Dr. Alejandro Pisanty
Facultad de Química UNAM
Av. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico DF Mexico

+52-1-5541444475 FROM ABROAD

+525541444475 DESDE MÉXICO SMS +525541444475
Blog: http://pisanty.blogspot.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pisanty
Unete al grupo UNAM en LinkedIn, http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/22285/4A106C0C8614
Twitter: http://twitter.com/apisanty
---->> Unete a ISOC Mexico, http://www.isoc.org
.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

________________________________________
Desde: chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org [chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org] en nombre de Bob Hinden [bob.hinden at gmail.com]
Enviado el: lunes, 11 de noviembre de 2013 17:17
Hasta: ISOC Chapter Delegates
CC: ISOC Board of Trustees
Asunto: [Chapter-delegates] An Open Letter to all ISOC Chapter Members

I am writing this email as the Chair of the Internet Society Board of
Trustees on behalf of the Board.  The Board listens closely to the
views of Chapters and believe that Chapters bring a tremendous value
to the Internet Society.  We see Chapters as very important to
implementing ISOC’s mission around the world.  They give the Internet
Society a voice on the ground in a way that ISOC staff cannot.  The
feedback all of ISOC gets from Chapters is an important part of
developing the Internet Society's strategy and policy positions.  We
are very pleased to see new Chapters being formed and are, of course,
saddened when a Chapter closes.

As you know there are efforts underway to establish Chapter performance
standards, finding new ways of providing assistance to Chapters, and
establishing a Chapter Advisory Council.  I think it is helpful to
summarize the role of Chapters in the Internet Society.

The Board has recently approved changes to the Internet Society's by
laws that formally recognize Chapters, equalizes the number of Board
members elected by all communities (including increasing the number
elected by Chapters to four), and authorizes Chapters to establish an
Advisory Council.  This was the result of a two year process to consult
and listen to the views of Chapters.  At the request of Chapters, we
suspended several staff efforts until the update to the by-laws was
completed.  Now that the by-laws have been approved, these efforts to
increase the Chapters’ engagement in ISOC's strategic activities are
underway.  This is a work in progress and we ask your patience in these
activities.  The problems that are being addressed have a long history
and can't be solved immediately.  You will see changes rolled out in
the upcoming months.

The Board has given the ISOC President and staff clear and strong
guidance to insure that there is strong engagement with the Chapters.
ISOC staff is fully committed to this work and has the Board’s full
support.

I have two other points I would like to make.  First, the governance of
the Internet Society has been settled since the Internet Society was
formed in 1992.  The charter, legal, and operational structure of the
Internet Society establish it as a cause-based, mission driven
organization.  It is governed by a Board of Trustees.  Board of
Trustees members are responsible for ensuring the overall success of
the Internet Society.  As such, they are not on the Board to represent
only the community that elected them; they are to represent the whole
Internet Society.  Chapters, Org members, and the IETF are all
encouraged to engage with ISOC as strong contributors to positions and
strategic programs and directions.  The decisions taken by the Board
and staff will be ultimately formulated based on ISOC’s mission and
governance structure.

Second, we are all passionate about ISOC, its mission, and the
Internet.  The Board and I value this passion.  However,  I think it is
unfortunate that some of the passion expressed on the Chapters email
list has gone over the line into personal attacks on staff, Chapter
members, and Board members.  This behavior is unprofessional and does
not create the open, respectful, and constructive environment that
should exist.  It will cause some people to withdraw from the
discussion and does not create the collaborative open environment we
need.  Everyone who posts to the chapter list is expected to follow the
ISOC elist Code of Conduct;  See:

  http://www.internetsociety.org/elist-code-conduct

The Board is committed to an ongoing dialog with the Chapters on the
issues that face the Internet.  We think the Chapters are an essential
element of the Internet Society and are critical to meeting the
challenges we are seeing every day on the Internet.  I am sure we all
agree that we want the Internet to be the open platform for worldwide
communication among everyone in the world.  We all need to work
together toward that goal.

Regards,

Bob Hinden,
Chair, Internet Society Board of Trustees