A number of us here: 1) value the formation of a RALO 2) value face-to-face meeting as part of that process The Vancouver meeting was shot down, some being reasonable but individual objections, others being irrelevant and obstructionist I favor more active involvement among US partners, however, whether there are enough US ALSs now is not the point. When the RALO is formed, the RALO cannot preclude forrmation of additional ALSs anywhere, and would work with them as they form. If the RALO takes form and doesnt bind itself in ways that it doesnt need to, and it forms in a way that becomes of value to its constituents, then others will see tha value of its effort and judge accordingly whether to involve themselves and even whether to attain ALS status if they dont have it. This is all very clear to me, so i propose we begin planning for a future face to face meeting, and simultaneously advance the documents. I would like to propose a process whereby we can explore the development of the documents in online mode... is anyone familiar with "BeyondYes"? http://beyondyes.org I'm net married to it, I am just offering this as an online process grounded in principles of consensus, or perhaps more aptly termed, "Dynamic Alignment" Be assured, as an ALS applicant, and as someone involved in Community Networking and Internet and Media Policy - I am committed to a useful RALO, and I am committed to partnership among ALSs. I am also committed to friendship with colleagues across the border. I dont think we need to rehash old battles - and it sounds to me that some are burned by past processes that have disenfranchised. Together we have to build our collective power to counter that. It is precisely for this reason we must take action now, and that we must not unneccessarily constrain our scope of action or that of the RALO. We're having a family crisis - the health of my father-in-law - so please forgive me if I am delayed in reply. My best to all, Michael Maranda, President Association For Community Networking