[ncdnhc-discuss] Participation without representation?

[Kent Crispin]

On Thu, Mar 14, 2002 at 10:30:03AM -0500, Rick Weingarten wrote:
> I'll tell you what will fade away. We will stop paying our dues and might
> even demand a refund. ICANN's powers-that-be should understand that there
> are many organizations that have paid their dues and that will not
> appreciate being disenfranchised. Those dues were paid based on 
> understandings of the rights and privileges they conveyed.

Indeed.  The potter-yachters paid their dues, and are being
disenfranchised by the attempts to maintain the "ideological purity" of
the constituency, using absolutely bogus claims of "conflict of
interest".  In the US, at least, the right to vote is sacred -- you can
vote regardless of who you are, or who you represent, or anything like
that.  

The whole point of the constituency is to *discover* the views of
non-commercial organizations, not to dictate them.  The powers that be
in this constituency have decided *in advance* what views are
acceptable, and are actively working to remove anyone who's interests
may "conflict" with the acceptable views.  There is no a priori reason
why non-commercial entities might not be very much in favor of ICANN and
it's policies, or that commercial and non commercial interests might
line up on any particular issue, therefore there is no a priori reason 
why membership in constituency, or employment status, should have any 
bearing at all on representation.

> There may well be a problem with uncollected dues, but silencing everyone
> whether or not they have paid is not an acceptable solution.

OTOH, The adcom and membership of the NCC are perfectly willing to
silence anyone who opposes their views, and they accept that happily. 

Kent

-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Be good, and you will be
kent at songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain