Evan Leibovitch wrote:
Wendy Seltzer wrote:
I'd still like to see more room for individuals. To say that all the unaffiliated individuals equal just one ALS in the GA seems to discourage their direct contribution.
I'd prefer to stay away from hypotheticals and stay in the realm of what's real. Offer a single name of an individual who really wanted to get involved but couldn't find any avenue to do so, and I'll give you a name of someone who didn't really try.
Danny Younger, as an individual, doesn't have groups that he can bully into applying as ALSs, is rejected when he tries to apply as an individual, yet might plausibly want a say in the selection of ALAC members. Students (law, computer science), not members of organizations that are proper ALS candidates, but interested in the subject, would be great individual participants, especially if they found areas where their research could contribute to ICANN discussions. Why should they face the hurdle of finding and joining yet another organization in order to participate in the ALAC and NomCom selections? --Wendy
ICANN is a thick bureaucracy. In reality, few people will take it on their own initiative to get involved; the disincentives to participation are in the effort needed to pick up ICANN culture, not in the lack of avenues for expression. And those people who do want to get involved would be welcomed with open arms by groups like mine, where active participants can not only express their own POV but help to generate interest in many others.
Please, let's not get caught up in symbolic gestures, actions designed to "send a message" to some amorphous audience without actually getting anything done. And let's especially not get caught up in "speaking up for those who want to but can't", when
1) we have no idea whether we're really expressing their interests 2) we haven't established whether any such people actually exist
Of course, one can get into the "we can't find them because they have no voice" logic loop, but that resembles a conspiracy theory more than a real cause for action.
- Evan
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-- 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/