[ncdnhc-discuss] UDRP Revision??

[Milton Mueller]

>>> "Neuman, Jeff" <Jeff.Neuman at neustar.us> 11/04/02 04:02PM >>>
>you have completely overstated the emphasis and reliance on the 
>chair's position and his or her role.  

No, I haven't. See below.

>A Task Force does not sink or swim because of a chair, and
>for you to insinuate that the only reason your TF (on .org) delivered 
>a policy on time was because of you is an insult to those that served 
>on that Task Force.  I cannot believe that you are taking full credit 
>for the entire team.

Please don't waste people's time with rhetorical games.
Of course most of the .org team members made important
contributions to the final product. But if I had not scheduled
meetings, imposed deadlines, provoked people into making
contributions and compromises in a timely fashion, etc. it would 
not have come together. Marilyn Cade does similar work
for the TF's she chairs. I am not claiming any special expertise. 
Indeed, that is precisely the point. Anyone who is responsible 
and in possession of basic scheduling and management skills
can do it. If a TF actually CHAIRS a TF, it can work. If a TF 
Chair does nothing, it drifts. 

To use your terms, a TF Chair cannot singlehandedly 
make it "swim," but he/she sure can make it "sink."

The UDRP TF is especially sensitive to the quality of
chairing because it contains many "special" members 
(e.g., representatives of the service providers, legal
scholars, complainant and respondent reps) who are 
not on the NC and whose only intersection with ICANN
processes is the TF. These are highly reputable and
knowledgable people, but they do not know ICANN
process and cannot be expected to. They are in no
position to take up the slack.

>What I am saying is that the Terms of Reference of the UDRP 
>Task Force is (1) too broad and (2) out of date.  
>No TF chair...even you, can fix those fundamental 
>problems.  

Not true. A proper TF chair can go to the NC and ask
for a new Terms of Ref. A more active chair can draft a 
new Terms of Ref and take it to the NC. This is quite
obvious. If you were more interested in getting the UDRP
TF to work and less interested in arguing with me, you
would recognize this and direct your barbs at a more
appropriate target. 

I should add that your view that the Terms of Ref are
too broad is not shared by all on the TF. Indeed, 
Caroline Chicoine, who was largely responsible for
drafting them with input from me and the NC, 
did not agree. So if the IPCC had a major hand
in drafting these terms, it makes little sense to 
complain that the IPCC chair is now stymied by
the Terms of Reference.