Adam,

Thanks for asking. I am speaking for myself only here.

This is a FAQ in ICANN circles. We had and still have several ICANN board members (and now staff), who are also either chapter officers and/or trustees. As far as I am aware, this did not pose any problem in this context up to now. I do not see why there could be an issue in the case of the ALAC.

To me, the ICANN policy on conflicts of interest for the members of the board could be extended to also cover the ALAC representatives. In the unlikely event that an ALAC or RALO position would fundamentally conflict with a one of ISOC, I would just leave the room at the time of voting, I guess. But there are no general answers.

The case of PIR is simple. It is an independent organization. It funds ISOC yes, but the funds are mostly used for IETF work and staff, but nothing goes to the chapters. We do not even get our .org domain name for free. :-) .  PIR is but one of the gTLD registries. It needs to be treated with the same objectivity as any other competitor by ICANN and ALAC.

It is a fact of life that many of us wear different hats. As long as people are transparent on their affiliations, I am fine with that because it allows me to take their answers with a grain of salt. I am much more concerned about undercover lobbyists. In the end, it just a question of personal values and how easily one can find sleep at night.

But this is mostly theorical. ISOC has always used a very broad definition of what chapters and officers are allowed to say.  In more than 7 years, I never had a single instruction about what I was allowed to say or not, and I am not aware this has ever happened. Be reassured that, if I ever got that some of pressure put on me, it would be made public within minutes, along with my resignation.

And BTW, you could also extend the question to Desiree, who will be part of the Euralo board, while at the same time being a member of the ISOC board and an employee of a major gTLD technical operator and registry.

Patrick

Adam Peake wrote:
Do you foresee any situation where your chapter's (i.e. ALS's) 
obligations to ISOC would require you to put ISOC's interests ahead 
of the EU RALO and or ALAC?

For example, one could imagine situations where an ISOC position was 
contrary to that of the EU RALO and/or ALAC, or more extreme, perhaps 
some discussion regarding ISOC's contractual relationships with ICANN 
as the steward and beneficiary of .ORG?  Where would your obligations 
lie?
  

-- 
Patrick Vande Walle
Check my blog at http://patrick.vande-walle.eu
Jabber me at patrick@vande-walle.eu