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