Hi Ed,

You're preaching to the converted here.  The council will now vote on  
whether to hold an open or secret election. I've made clear that  
absent some sort of a legally binding gag order (in which case I won't  
participate at all) I will be announcing my vote either way, and  
hopefully all NC councilors will do likewise.  If council votes for a  
secret ballot, you or others might consider asking the corporate  
members to explain their stances at the public meeting.  That would be  
a rather revealing exercise.

Best,

Bill

On Oct 17, 2009, at 12:24 AM, Edward Hasbrouck wrote:

> Shouldn't this group try to set an example of complying with ICANN  
> Bylaws?
>
> The Bylaws require that "ICANN and its constituent bodies shall  
> operate to
> the maximum extent feasible in an open and transparent manner".
>
> The *only* criteria is whether transparency is "feasible". Whether  
> you (or
> anyone else) thinks it would be advantageous or convenient or result  
> in
> better decisions to hold a closed meeting is irrelevant. The  
> underlying
> assumption that led to this rule, presumably, was that better  
> decisions
> would be made in the open.  But whatever the reasons, that's  
> currently the
> rule.  If you don't like it, propose a change in the Bylaws.
>
> In the meantime, if you want to be a "constituent body" of ICANN,  
> set an
> example to all the other ICANN bodies that flout the Bylaws by holding
> secret meetings: Start operating in a fishbowl, as the Bylaws require.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Edward Hasbrouck
> http://hasbrouck.org/icann