Hi,
Interesting idea.
I question that the NCSG EC is empowered to make such a change. I
rather believe that the process defined in the Charter needs to be
followed. We will soon have a voting. Get the required signatures, and
this can go on the ballot.
BTW: it is 15% of the active members, not our full membership which
includes many many inactive members.
avri
On 13-Aug-16 08:15, Edward Morris wrote:
> Hello,
>
> As many of you are aware, the Noncommercial Users Constituency (NCUC)
> is currently dealing with a very delicate situation concerning the
> membership eligibility of a member of it's Executive Committee. While
> offering no opinion at this time on the substance or procedural
> validity of the ongoing situation at the NCUC, I do want to thank the
> NCUC Executive Committee for directing our attention to the issue of
> membership criteria not only of the NCUC but also of the NCSG.
>
> Preferring to look forward rather than backwards, I believe the NCSG
> EC has identified a potential problem regarding the NCSG's
> membership criteria that we need to fix immediately. Failure to do so
> could, in the worst case scenario, result in the NCSG being captured
> by the special interest groups we traditionally have opposed and
> combatted in ICANN.
>
> I hereby propose an amendment to the NCSG Charter that will ensure
> that applicants and members of the NCSG are truly individuals and
> institutions dedicated to the advancement of noncommercial interests
> in ICANN.
>
> *PROBLEM DEFINED*
>
> The issue at hand concerns membership criteria applicable to
> individual members and applicants of and to the Noncommercial Users
> Stakeholder Group (NCSG). Although this issue pertains to membership
> requirements both of the NCSG and NCUC my proposal herewith applies
> only to the NCSG. As the Not-for-Profit Operational Concerns
> Constituency (NPOC) admits only institutional members it does not have
> the same challenges the NCUC and the NCSG face in this regard. I have
> been informed that the NCUC EC is currently revising their Bylaws and
> trust that this membership criteria problem will be addressed in their
> internal reforms.
>
> Section 2.2.5 of the NCSG Charter, concerning Individual Members,
> reads as follows:
>
> ---
>
> Individual persons who agree to advocate for a noncommercial
> public-interest position within the Stakeholder group and who fall
> within one of the following three categories are eligible to join as
> an “Individual Member”:
>
> 1. An Individual who has registered domain name(s) for personal,
> family or other noncommercial use; or
>
> 2. An Individual Internet user who is primarily concerned with the
> noncommercial public-interest aspects of domain name policy, and is
> not represented in ICANN through membership in another Supporting
> Organization or GNSO Stakeholder Group; or
>
> 3. An Individual who is employed by or a member of a non-member
> noncommercial organization (universities, colleges, large NGOs) can
> join NCSG in his or her individual capacity if their organization has
> not already joined the NCSG. The Executive Committee shall, at its
> discretion, determine limits to the total number of Individual members
> who can join from any single organization (provided the limit shall
> apply to all Organizations, of the same size category, equally).
>
> An individual who is a member of or employee of a noncommercial
> organization, which is itself a member of the NCSG, may apply for, or
> retain membership, in the NCSG only under the first criteria for
> individual membership, i.e. be an individual noncommercial registrant.
> Such membership is subject to Executive Committee review.
>
> ---
>
> The problem, which has been highlighted by the recent actions of the
> NCUC EC, is that our membership criteria does not preclude individual
> NCSG membership under §2.2.5.1 from individuals who may be conflicted
> for any reason (such as employment) if they meet the basic test of
> domain name ownership, nor under §2.2.5.2 does our current membership
> criteria explicitly prevent membership by those whose employers may be
> members of another SO/SG. Left unchanged these provisions leave the
> NCSG susceptible to a hostile takeover by another SO/SG or, frankly,
> by any organised group which may not have the best interests of
> noncommercial users at heart.
>
> *PROPOSED SOLUTION*
>
> I propose modifications to NCUC Charter §2.2.5., §2.2.5.1 and
> §2.2.5.2 so that they read (changed wording in bold):
>
> NCSG Charter §2.2.5
>
> Individual persons who agree to advocate for a noncommercial
> public-interest position* (DELETE: within the Stakeholder group*) and
> who fall within one of the following three categories are eligible to
> join as an “Individual Member
>
>
> NCSG Charter §2.2.5.1
>
> An Individual who has registered domain name(s) for personal, family
> or other noncommercial use, *is concerned with the noncommercial
> public-interest aspects of domain name policy, and is not represented
> in ICANN through membership, personally or by his or her employer,
> through membership in another Supporting Organisation or GNSO
> Stakeholder Group.*
>
> NCSG Charter §2.2.5.2
>
> An Individual Internet User who is primarily concerned with the
> noncommercial aspects of domain name policy, and is not represented in
> ICANN *personally or by his or her employer* through membership in
> another Supporting Organisation or GNSO Stakeholder Group.
>
> *WAY FORWARD*
>
> NCSG Charter §5.0 contains several ways in which the NCSG Charter may
> be amended. In 2013 ICANN instituted changes in their procedures for
> approving and recognising charter revisions that are not explicitly
> reflected in the current NCSG Charter. Things are a bit more
> procedurally complex now.
>
> Although a petition approved by five per cent of our Members, based
> upon our weighted voting procedure, is certainly an option for
> initiating a change to our Charter, at this time I would prefer to
> defer to the NCSG EC on this matter. I respectfully request that full
> consideration be given to this proposal by the NCSG EC at their next
> regularly scheduled meeting.
>
> I hope we can all agree that membership in the NCSG should be reserved
> for those whose primary interest in domain name policy is reserved for
> those non conflicted parties dedicated to our Mission, as stated in
> §1.1 of the NCSG Charter. That is, to provide:
>
> ---
>
> ...a voice and representation in ICANN processes to: non-profit
> organizations that serve noncommercial interests; nonprofit services
> such as education, philanthropies, consumer protection, community
> organizing, promotion of the arts, public interest policy advocacy,
> children's welfare, religion, scientific research, and human rights;
> public interest software concerns; families or individuals who
> register domain names for noncommercial personal use; and Internet
> users who are primarily concerned with the noncommercial, public
> interest aspects of domain name policy.
>
> ---
>
> We need to fix this membership loophole.
>
>
> *QUALIFICATION*
>
> I certainly am not wedded to any particular statutory language to fix
> this problem. I welcome any and all ideas. I also recognise that in
> the changing ICANN environment we very well may wish to be creative
> and receptive to a more flexible and adaptive membership criteria.
> That, however, I would submit is fodder for a larger and more long
> term discussion.
>
> For now I do believe it is essential that we immediately fix the
> loophole in our Charter that could conceivably allow, in an extreme
> case, members of another Supporting Organisation to join and even
> become the majority voice in our SG. That simply is too big a risk to
> take. I look forward to working with the fine members of the NCSG EC
> and our wider membership to ensure the continued independence and
> noncommercial orientation of the NCSG, both in theory and in practice.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Edward Morris
>
>
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
|
