At 08:29 AM 2/2/99 +0000, you wrote:
>On Mon, 1 Feb 1999, Bill Lovell wrote:
>
Yadda yadda. In the face of evidence which says that a closed meeting
to do whatever could well be the time and place at which all the significant
decisions were made -- and never mind what the agenda says -- why I
would of course have to concur with your position.
Bill Lovell
>> >
>> Well, I guess I didn't stress the tongue-in-cheek, exaggerated nature of
>> my examples enough -- past midnight the brain goes. The point is that
>> corporate officers DO bring administrative issues to boards, or a board
>> member sees something he doesn't like and raises it -- matters that
>> are really internal to the management. My suggestion simply boils
>> down to: "open" and "closed" need to clarify to what kinds of meetings
>> reference is being made. This little thingee here is not rocket science.
>
>This isn't just any board. This is the ICANN board, which is in a
>unique position of global public trust; which wishes to take a central
>role in administering the Internet, with its traditions of openness;
>... and which has refused to make any of its proceedings public, offering
>a number of points which boil down to "we would not be comfortable if
>people knew what we think". One of the board members said in Boston
>that if the board's meetings had to be open, they would just make all
>of their decisions outside of the meetings. In other words, they are
>above the rules.
>
>The first two points are sufficient to require that the ICANN board's
>meetings should be open. The third makes it clear that if there are
>any loopholes, the ICANN board will use them to keep the real decision
>making private. Under these circumstances, what is needed are strong
>rules requiring the board's proceedings to be completely open, and
>forbidding the kind of back room dealings that they prefer.
>
>The alternative is a continuation of the status quo, in which there is
>precious little trust in ICANN and its board.
>
>--
>Jim Dixon Managing Director
>VBCnet GB Ltd http://www.vbc.net tel +44 117 929 1316
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Member of Council Telecommunications Director
>Internet Services Providers Association EuroISPA EEIG
>http://www.ispa.org.uk http://www.euroispa.org
>tel +44 171 976 0679 tel +32 2 503 22 65
>
