On 2007-04-29 15:11:35 +0200, Patrick Vande Walle wrote:
I am not so sure we can reach a consensus, either through an online discussion or a telephone conference either. The fact that very few people participate in the discussion is a main issue. A consensus between a limited number of individuals would be problematic in terms of democracy.
Well, I don't think that we even claim that this is a democratic exercise. Also, I think there's nothing wrong with a community discussion that tries to achieve the best outcome, and maybe lets us avoid campaigning mode completely.
Similarly, we have no consensus as to the requirements we would expect the candidates to match. Are we selecting on the base of gender and passport, or do we expect people to have a proven experience in ICANN matters?
.. or do we maybe expect to have different communities and prespectives represented, broadly? To be frank, I'd find it a strange move to have two folks wearing ISOC hats as EURALO's choices to ALAC. I'd rather see that more balanced; in practice, that would mean that we should appoint Veronica and either Sebastien or you.
Speaking as a voter, I cannot decide between Sébastien and myself, and wish I will not have to. We both participated in a lot of ICANN meetings, work groups and organized parallel events closely linked to ICANN. As such, we have an equal market value, so to say.
I'd disagree on the equal market value. Anyway, let's not go there for the moment. ;-)
Regarding Veronica, I have not had the pleasure to meet her during the ICANN meetings I attended over the last four years. I could not find much information on ICANN-related mailing lists or Google either. I only have Wolfgang and Annette's comments. Based on the paper she wrote, I think she has a great potential for the future, though and would encourage her to join the Euralo board.
I am convinced that the ALAC needs members who can be fully operational from day one. Given the complexity of the ICANN environment, this is no simple task and experience does count.
Yes, experience counts, but then again, I've seen people join ALAC with relatively little prior ICANN experience, and do a lot of good work. I've also seen people roam around ICANN with more hats than anyone cares to count, and with difficulties to reconcile different agendas (and yes, we've had that on ALAC). Therefore, I think a combination of a relative newcomer with high potential (and, I understand, rather deep involvement with ccTLD operations) with a more experienced participant would be optimal. I guess it would be useful if Sebastian and you would both explain your respective ICANN experience in more detail, so we can pick the right "experienced player." ;-) Cheers, -- Thomas Roessler <roessler@does-not-exist.org>