Diane and all, You sometimes must excuse Robert Shaws attitudes in some areas. He is well known for his dictatorial tendencies, his comment/question is just one of many displays of those dictatorial leanings. The thought of independent thought is abhorrent to him if it differs from his own. o Diane Cabell wrote: > Shaw, Robert wrote: > > > > Because of concerns [1] regarding the centralized and > > > political nature of ICANN I hope to advance the following > > > procedural proposal [2] in whatever venue seems most appropriate. > > > > > > [1] > > http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/reagle/regulation-19990128.html#A_ICANN > > > [2] > > http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/reagle/ICANN-proposal-19990120.html > > > > Perhaps I'm the only one but I feel uncomfortable when I see some Berkman > > Center folks, on one hand, providing neutral administrative support > > functions > > to ICANN (e.g., meeting organization, scribing at ICANN meetings) while > > others > > from the Berkman Center, are taking advocacy positions. The two roles seem > > somewhat at odds but then perhaps I'm missing something... > > > > Bob > > Mr. Shaw, > > If you had actually read Mr. Reagle's statement [2] you would have seen his > clear caveat that he was *not* representing the views of any organization with > which he has professional affiliations. > > Perhaps what is missing is an understanding of US academic institutions. In > general, only the president speaks officially for the organization. Individual > faculty have always had the right to express their own opinions on any topic. > That is a key element of academic freedom in the US and one of the core > justifications for tenured positions. Authority over students' expression has > never been asserted, since they are not even employees. > > "Fellow" is not a standardized rank in academia. There are many different > kinds, even within the same institution. Some are paid, some are volunteered. > Berkman Fellows are not necessarily employees of either Harvard or the Berkman > Center. Over half of the current Fellows are completely independent individuals > of remarkable distinction in varied fields who are simply offering the value of > their expertise to the Berkman Center. In short, Berkman does not speak for > its students or its Fellows, nor do they speak for Berkman, unless by special > agreement they have specifically chosen to announce a consensus position. > > The situation is, I think, more like that of a law professor at Leuven getting > a contract to advise the ITU on Internet trademark issues. Would the law > students attending that university be prohibited from making public comments on > the subject? Would none of the Leuven scholars who are working on Internet > legal issues be permitted to share the results of their research or their > extremely valuable insight? > > I would be interested to know if this is handled differently on your side of > the pond. > > Diane Cabell > http://www.mama-tech.com > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Fausett, Gaeta & Lund, LLP > 21 School Street, 3rd Floor > Boston, MA > 1.617.227.1600 (vox) > 1.617.227.1608 (fax) Regards, -- Jeffrey A. Williams CEO/DIR. Internet Network Eng/SR. Java/CORBA Development Eng. Information Network Eng. Group. INEG. INC. E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact Number: 972-447-1894 Address: 5 East Kirkwood Blvd. Grapevine Texas 75208
