Dear all, In Kobe I heard from some Alternates that they found the current Adobe Connect arrangements to be unworkable for them, for a number of legitimate reasons. Ideally we would be able to resolve these issues and be able to provide the Alternates with a separate room with the ability to read the chat history from plenary. But until that happens, I'd like to note that I do not object to Alternates being able to use the main Adobe room. However, if this happens, there do need to be some basic ground rules in place. I do not object to Alternates reading the chat and using the private message function. I do not object to Alternates noting any technical difficulties in the Adobe chat or expressing general non-EPDP related pleasantries at the beginning or end of a call, i.e. saying goodbye. However Alternates must not express opinions on the issues in the main chat, raise their hand to speak, or vote with green or red checkmarks, during the call or main chat unless they are serving as a Member for the purpose of that call. It is crucially important that our Charter's carefully constructed membership composition remains balanced. The second Adobe room should remain in place for Observers. If an Alternate does interfere with the meeting in any way (and I am not suggesting they will, but we need to have some rules in place to prevent misunderstandings), they should be immediately removed from the plenary room and asked to join the Observer room. If this behaviour happens over three or more meetings, the Alternate shall not be permitted to use the main Adobe room for a period of 12 months, unless they are a Member for that call. I think this is a reasonable ask, and I also think our Alternates are reasonable and will not seek to abuse their access to the main Adobe room. I am sharing this message because I was among those who previously opposed the practice of Alternates being in the main Adobe room. I'm not sure how we go about changing this, or even if there is support from others to change this, but I thought I'd share my evolving thoughts on this matter before our Phase 2 work begins. Thanks. Best wishes, Ayden Férdeline