Seems to me we are at a classic choice point: is it productive to try to work within the system or not? If we participate and push back against the worst, and perhaps succeed in avoiding the worst but still end up with something bad, does that start us on the slippery slope to ruin, institutionally? Can we "have our cake and eat it too" -- simultaneously finding some way to make a meaningful statement against the "process" as a whole, while still working within the process such as it is to ameliorate the downside to the extent possible? If not, then is it more effective in the long run to actively recuse ourselves from the process in protest, to try to de-legitimize the institution and policies that result from the process, abjectly? Or is it more effective to participate, and try to push back against the worst while making what could be an ineffectual protest statement? I agree with those who say there should be no special (especially no ad hoc) consideration for IOC/RC in principle. At the very least, it should not be ad hoc under any circumstances -- if so, say goodbye to the "rule of law" such as it ever existed at ICANN. At the end of the day, if I thought total recusal would make a difference, I would favor it. But I'm not sure it would do anything other than make NCSG (or perhaps only NCUC?) even less relevant in the total scheme of things, and certainly within GNSO. For those who still believe in the principle of "the consensus process" how do we use whatever influence we have to shift the consensus in our direction? If we abandon the ad hoc process, by virtue of that we also abandon the consensus process and effectively declare it absent and void. I'm not sure what the correct source of action is, here, but it's sounding as if this choice may have lasting institutional ramifications, at least with regard to NCSG's relationship to GNSO and ICANN as a whole. Just how extraordinary is this ad hoc process, compared to prior BoardStaff actions? Is it really unprecedented? Is it worth really recusing, or do we play and protest the best we can? Dan -- Any opinions expressed in this message are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect any position of the author's employer.