Nick Ashton-Hart wrote:
you are correct that it is not dictated by the Bylaws - however, as the Bylaws are silent on this point the Bylaws clearly do not prevent the ALAC from voting in the manner they have chosen to follow, either. So, because the bylaws don't mandate transparency, it's not to be considered (let alone advocated)?
There is clearly a gap between doing the minimum necessary and doing what is right. Fixing the ICANN bylaws to add transparency (that it claims to want) is one thing; asking for basic accountability and transparency within our own constituency -- even when not demanded by the bylaws -- is far more straightforward, and IMO quite reasonable. The Bylaws may offer a legal crutch but they sure don't offer an ethical one, especially if ICANN wants any credibility in its stated desire to be more transparent. Or does it speak one way but act another by design? Is it staff practice not to itself be transparent -- and to recommend against transparency and accountability in internal procedures -- unless the bylaws absolutely and specifically demand it? Is doing the absolute minimum necessary Standard Operating Procedure? - Evan