Of course I don't mean to suggest that At-Large should not encourage any organisation that is eligible from joining the NCUC, just that At-Large should not turn down organisations that are clearly modelled around a mission and purpose that is very "At-Large". On 21/03/07, Wendy Seltzer <wendy@seltzer.com> wrote:

Nick Ashton-Hart wrote:

...

It is important to say, though, that the ALAC's admission of applicants

and

...

the criteria which it uses to decide admission actually do not have anything to do with NCUC or any other constituency - and vice versa. If they were meant to do so the Bylaws would provide for that to be the case, and they do not. As has been pointed out, those who qualify for membership in both are entirely welcome at present to join them both if they wish to do so so - as a result of which there cannot be any competition for members. That would only be possible if membership in one constituency precluded membership in the other.

That may be true in the abstract, but as the NCUC is a member-supported constituency, while the ALAC is ICANN-supported, non-commercial organizations offered a choice between the two might incorrectly choose ALAC (incorrectly because they'd then get no path to GNSO votes), which is a real and valid concern of NCUC. Even if the bylaws don't explicitly provide for the situation, I think we have an independent obligation to Internet users not to further weaken the voting non-commercial civil society component of ICANN.

--Wendy

-- Wendy Seltzer -- wendy@seltzer.org phone: 718.780.7961 // fax: 718.780.0394 // cell: 914.374.0613 Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html http://www.chillingeffects.org/

-- -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom UK Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011 USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 Win IM: ashtonhart@hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart@mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart