[NCUC-EC] Teams & EC Churn

[Edward Morris]

My response:



On Mon, Jun 10, 2013 at 7:07 PM, Edward Morris <edward.morris at alumni.usc.edu
> wrote:

> Hello Bill,
> Hi,
>
>
>
>> I don't see much relation between that characterization and what I have
>> done as chair; e.g. I laid out an agenda in the election season, ran on it,
>> and then tried to get people help to implement it.   But no matter.
>>
>
>
> And it hasn't worked. Something you privately admitted to me within the
> past week.
>
>
>
>>
>> You certainly have long range vision, the committee idea was nothing
>> less, but you're pretty flexible and adaptable in ways I'm not. Both ways
>> of doing things are not absolute, have various pluses and minuses, but
>> create a certain tension when in concurrent operation.We see that here.
>> What you may see as an opportunity, I may view as a diversion. Neither
>> viewpoint is right or wrong, merely different perspectives of the same set
>> of circumstances.
>>
>> You have led with great energy, great passion, great integrity. No one
>> should doubt that William Drake has done everything he could to make the
>> NCUC a viable, energetic, exciting place to be. I greatly admire what you
>> have tried to do and am very sad at the energy you've had to expend facing
>> opposition that has no real reason for being.
>>
>> I can't pretend any more that I'm heading a Membership Affairs committee.
>> There is no such committee.
>>
>>
>> The listserv for the Membership Team was launched 31 May and you are
>> already declaring it dead? I'm on that team, told you I would support any
>> efforts you made to lead it forward, and suggested a concrete and small,
>> doable project to start with, one which up until yesterday you were saying
>> you'd be happy to lead and guaranteed would get done.  But whatever.
>>
>
>
> So let's talk about that "concrete, small and doable" project.
>
> You come to me with a rushed request for a brochure by Durban. I had it on
> the agenda for Buenos Aires. I have two people recruited to produce it and
> a newsletter, both young, both enthusiastic. Both were waiting to be
> admitted. Thanks to the interim NPOC chair we're actually now getting
> movement on their applications. Thank God for Cintra.
>
> So I get this enthusiastic young man ready to produce a brochure. He sends
> me his cv, I forward it to you, Oops.
>
> No, we now are having ICANN produce the brochure. Sorry Viktor. What do I
> tell the kid? What do I keep telling those I've recruited who have been
> sitting on waitlists for months?
>
> The fact is we need to be building an infrastructure first before we start
> on these grandiose plans. We need to know where the money is coming from,
> how we are going to do things, before we involve others. Structured
> planning versus fly by the seat of the pants leadership. Budgets, not just
> for travel but overall.
>
> I wonder if Viktor still wants to join the NCUC after being jerked around?
>
> As far as our May 31st launch...unlike the Finance team and the Charter
> rewrite committee (which you are the facilitator) we had meetings on
> inreach and outreach. We even have minutes. People, including Roy, promised
> deliverables. None took place. I'm still waiting for my first response from
> someone over the age of 18 to the simple question "what would you like to
> do" or for someone to take over the facilitator role. Silence from all,
> including Roy. One response. I can't pretend there is a committee, I don't
> know how you can.
>
>
>> Well…Wilson and Tapani are taking the website forward
>>
>
>
> Yes, two men. With help from community members. No team needed.
>
> At least you now acknowledge their work. Last week you posted a statement
> akin to "since we won't have a website" despite previous assurances from
> Tapani we would have one. That was a day you also welcomed a member I had
> welcomed six months earlier, while suggesting other EC members (presumably
> me) should have done so.
>
>
>
>>   There were initial glimmers of engagement in the Finance Team, but the
>> lack of a coordinator soon drove it to ground.
>>
>
> Who appoints coordinators?
>
> I have a guy up in Scotland with an MBA waiting for his first Finance
> committee meeting. Still waiting.
>
>
>> Reboot the EC. If Norbert decides to step down, I would like to offer to
>> do the same.
>>
>>
>> I don't see any reason to tie a solution to your situation to whatever
>> Norbert decides.
>>
>
>
> I do. Replacing me with an individual, Roy, who failed to deliver on two
> deliverables he promised (a call to the ILA to see why they joined NPOC and
> not NCUC and active recruitment of library and i.p. professionals) is not
> going to change anything. Replacing two people with new blood might.
>
>
>
>
>>
>> I appreciate your goodwill and offer, and I think it makes sense and we
>> should act on it immediately rather than screw around drawing things out.
>>  This way you'll be freed up entirely to work on your DT, hang with your
>> SO, and all the other stuff you mentioned on the Membership Team list.
>>
>
>
> Let's be clear about one thing: although I'm just a volunteer and not
> someone who derives my income from internet governance, I would not be
> stepping down due to lack of time, I would be stepping down due to lack of
> confidence in your program going forward. The things you mentioned are the
> reasons I can't commit to produce a brochure in two weeks. I was going to
> work my ass off to get it done in four. I will note, Dr. Drake, that you
> don't seem to be able to find time to produce a brochure quickly yourself.
> You certainly are citing time constraints in your responses to Carlos and
> Milton (no Carlos, I don't think you should have to fly into Durban a few
> days early to arrange for rush publication of a brochure, as Bill
> suggested) when they, perhaps, don't want to do things your way.
>
> As Tapani and Wilson can verify, I brought to Beijing samples from a U.K.
> publishing company for assessment. They signed off on it. I asked you to
> look at it, there was never time. If you wanted brochures done by Durban in
> a manner your volunteers could produce it you needed to act then. You
> decided to wait for ICANN money and you lost time. We are not staff. We are
> volunteers.
>
>
>
>
>
>>  Plus, since you told me you didn't actually want to come to Durban
>>
>
>
> Absolutely 100% not true and you know it. Stick to the facts, please.
>
> I was willing to step aside so others with better call on our resources
> could use the support. Tapani had first call on a trip and he's earned it.
> I felt it essential our African EC member be at a Meeting in Africa. Wilson
> needed to be there.  I only wanted to go if my need to be there was greater
> than others. As you know, I proposed a way of getting non-EC people there.
> We agreed to talk about that in Durban. When Wilson came up with the ISOC
> trip I agreed to come. The deciding factor was my belief I might be able to
> help out on the BGC issue,  requests from two fellow EC members that I come
> and lack of a viable alternative in the rushed manner we were asked to
> provide names.
>
> I then, as you know, had a lengthy to do with CT about getting there in
> time for your event. In the end, I used £1,337 of my own money to buy a
> ticket to get there for your event with the hope and prayer that ICANN will
> reimburse me in time so Genvieve and I can pay our September rent. To
> support you at a time when the only NCUC member showing up for your event,
> according to the Doodle, was Robin Gross. I thought you needed more help. I
> stepped up when others didn't.
>
> Funny, for a guy who didn't want to come to Durban I sure as heck acted in
> an unusual way.
>
>
>
>>  and would get in and out as quickly as possible, and that you're not
>> happy with the outreach event etc,
>>
>
>
> Again, I wasn't happy with the way it was done. Good soldier that I was,
> though, I risked my own money to get there to try to make it work.
>
>
>> .
>>
>> In light of your message, I shot Roy Balleste a note saying you were
>> interested in stepping down and asked whether he's accept an interim
>> replacement appointment as the NA rep on the EC.
>>
>
>
>
> The word was 'willing', not 'interested'. It was preconditioned on the
> actions of another. If I step down immediately an election would be
> required. You would not be making an appointment. IMHO you should not have
> approached others until the precondition occurred.
>
>
>
>
>>  I also asked if he'd be willing and able to come to Durban if we could
>> get Constituency Travel to reallocate the resources.
>>
>
>
> First, if I were to step down and the trip had not been allocated that
> would be a decision for the remaining EC members to make, not you.  In many
> ways this an example of one of the problems I've had with your leadership:
> you're making decisions and then  present them as fait accompli.
>
> I was offered the trip, I accepted the trip. This trip was not connected
> with any position I held in the NCUC. I have paid for my trip using
> personal funds so I could be in Durban to support you. The ticket is
> nonrefundable. If the EC no longer wishes me to go I'm happy to tear the
> ticket up upon reimbursement of my outlay. It would make Genvieve very
> happy. Me too.
>
>
>
>
>>  His answer to both was a very enthusiastic yes!!  Which is great.
>>  Having Roy sunny outlook, technical skills (he's going to do the policy
>> data base for the new website) and demonstrated willingness to actually get
>> stuff done
>>
>
>
> Such as the two items he promised to do for outreach and never delivered?
>
> I like Roy. It's a shame he hasn't stepped up to take the facilitator roll
> when he had the chance. He still does.
>
>
>  - And meanwhile, you could reposition to a space where you're more
> comfortable in all senses.
>
>
> I'd be very comfortable as a member of a real Executive Committee.
>
> When, again, will you be announcing the first of four Executive Committee
> meetings you are required by the Bylaws to schedule and hold?
>
> I have requested it Bill. Remember my month or two of saying let's follow
> the bylaws?
>
> One of the revelations for me in Beijing was how much Carlos had to offer
> when asked. I really looked forward to working with him planning Buenos
> Aires. If we had EC meetings perhaps he'd be able to give us more valuable
> input.
>
> I'm not comfortable being part of an illusion. The EC, the
> committees...illusions when we need concrete reality.
>
>
>> If this is ok with you, I will send a note to the member list saying
>> you've decided to refocus your efforts on NCUC policy work and are stepping
>> down, with thanks for your service and looking forward to working with you
>> in your new capacity etc. etc.  And write to Constituency Travel and say
>> please please reallocate the Durban ticket.  Sound good?
>>
>>
>>
> Absolutely not.
>
> I will not lie to our membership. Just as I refuse to pretend we have
> active, functioning committees I'm not going to tell the Members I'm
> resigning because I'm not honoring the obligation I made to them when I ran
> for this position, that I've found something else to do.
>
> I will tell them, should I resign, that I am doing so because I have lost
> confidence in your leadership and your plan for the Constituencies future.
> I will briefly explain that I thought your committee structure was a noble
> idea that has failed but rather than reboot you thought it best to continue
> on that path. I will note there have been no EC meetings and our bylaws
> have been ignored. I will explain my belief that we need to focus on things
> like infrastructure (i.e. creating a budget and budget process, travel
> policy, procedures for admitting members and an MIS to do that) rather than
> the grander stuff that has been tried. We're not ready for the more
> elaborate stuff.
>
> I will tell them I personally like you as much as anyone on this planet,
> that you work harder than anyone can ever expect and we're lucky to have
> you. It's because of my personal affection for you, my respect for your
> intelligence and integrity, that I've decided to step down to give you a
> chance to succeed or fail on the basis of your leadership and your ideas,
> the later of which I can no longer support. I will wish you luck and stand
> ready to help you in any way I can.
>
>
> Bill, I'm doing this not because I don't want to serve but because I can't
> serve in the way you want me to. I have 164 names of targeted recruits on
> three mailing lists ready to go out, but I won't pull the trigger until we
> can handle their applications. I'm not opposed to spending $2,000 on the
> dinner or picking up hotel costs, I am opposed to doing those things before
> we have a budget and a financial plan. There are other EC members who agree
> with this, but they are worn out.
>
> I keep my word. I will step down if it gives you a real chance to make
> your ideas a reality over the next eighteen months. That is what I stated.
> So, this is what needs to be done for me to resign:
>
>
> 1. You need to publicly state that you are running for re-election to your
> current position next year. We both know that 1) you have recently
> considered taking other positions within ICANN that would require you to
> leave this one and 2) that your project is, at minimum, a two year plan.
> I'm leaving to give you a chance to make your plan work because I can no
> longer pretend it is or will. You need to make an 18 month commitment, as
> stated in my offer,  to make it work. I'm not leaving a position I deeply
> care about for you to run away before completing your job;
>
> 2. Norbert must decide to leave. It's my call and you need two hard
> working members to have even the slightest chance of pulling this off.
> Replacing me with Roy is not going to change anything. Two new people might;
>
> 3. One of your selectees, or an existing EC member, must take over the
> role of MA facilitator before I step down. I will be resigning that
> position immediately.
>
> 4. This all needs to be done no later than June 20th so I can plan my
> commitments going forward.
>
> Until such time as I resign by notifying the membership,  I will continue
> to function as North America's elected representative on the NCUC EC.
>
>
> As far as Durban, you know me well enough to know that if I'm there I will
> work as hard as I can to support you or anyone else who can use my help. If
>  you and the EC don't want me there I'm happy not to go. I will require to
> be reimbursed the approximately $2,000 outlay I've already spent on my
> ticket. Shame I decided to come early to support you or this would not have
> been an issue.
>
> Again, I'm doing this so you can bring in your people to accomplish your
> goals. I could just stay around and be a pain in the ass or do nothing but
> that doesn't accomplish much. I also like and respect you far too much. If
> you can't or won't commit as I asked or things don't work out in a way
> where I think you have a shot of reaching your goals then I will remain on
> the EC and will work with you on areas we both agree on. I just can't
> pretend I'm heading a committee that doesn't function or have a role on an
> EC that never meets or act or be treated as line staff.
>
> I'll immediately resign as facilitator of your Membership Affairs
> committee and we'll wait for the rest.
>
> I hope it all works out for everyone. Those who we represent need a real,
> functioning NCUC if they are to have the type of internet they want and
> deserve.
>
>
> Ed
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>> Respectfully,
>>
>>
>> Ditto,
>>
>> Bill
>>
>>
>> Ed
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Jun 9, 2013 at 10:09 AM, William Drake <william.drake at uzh.ch>wrote:
>>
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> I was just looking for something in Sent Mail and stumbled across this,
>>> thought I would share it with the EC list in light of the view expressed
>>> here last week that there'd not been enough consultation about the decision
>>> to not do a policy conference in Durban but instead partner with APC and do
>>> a smaller outreach thing.  A train of messages followed this one on
>>> different lists and bilaterally over the next two months.
>>>
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>> *From: *William Drake <william.drake at uzh.ch>
>>> *Subject: **[NCUC Finance] Budget Requests for Policy Conferences*
>>> *Date: *March 22, 2013 5:42:54 PM GMT+01:00
>>> *To: *Finance Team NCUC <finance at lists.ncuc.org>
>>>
>>> Update: we will not file a FTR for Durban
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>> *From: *William Drake <william.drake at uzh.ch>
>>> *Subject: **[NCUC Beijing conference] Budget Requests for Policy
>>> Conferences [URGENT]*
>>> *Date: *March 22, 2013 12:56:48 PM GMT+01:00
>>> *To: *EC NCUC <ncuc-ec at lists.ncuc.org>, Program Team NCUC <
>>> beijing2013 at lists.ncuc.org>
>>>
>>> Hi
>>>
>>> While I hate conversations that spill across two listservs with only
>>> partially overlapping memberships, Fast Track Budget Requests are due
>>> today, and I would like input from the Program Team as well as the Exec.
>>> Comm.  Decisions have to be made and potentially implemented and this will
>>> take time, so  I would really appreciate any and all helpful inputs from
>>> anyone here.
>>>
>>> After the Toronto policy conference went well, some folks here got all
>>> enthused and started saying hey let's organize a conference at every ICANN
>>> meeting, NCUC's full of academics who organize meetings all the time and
>>> this will be our special market niche, ICANN staff loved the conference and
>>> wants us to do more, etc.  First stop was to be Beijing.  Mary and I
>>> expressed strong reservations about how easy it'd be to do this there,
>>> whether ICANN really would want to 'risk' its charm campaign for Chinese
>>> engagement by having the 'trouble makers' from NCUC organizing something
>>> where unpredictable types could make comments about FoE and such, etc.  But
>>> everyone else was psyched, so we shut up and rolled with it.  And so it
>>> turned out that ICANN in fact didn't want us to do this and would only give
>>> us two hours, the programming of which seems not to be progressing too
>>> rapidly.
>>>
>>> But, I understood, staff were ok with us doing something in Durban,
>>> lights were green.  However, since I'm working on FT requests I thought hmm
>>> better be sure lights really are green and we don't need to do anything,
>>> so..
>>>
>>> On Mar 22, 2013, at 8:07 AM, William Drake <william.drake at uzh.ch> wrote:
>>>
>>> On another note, I sent a message to Xavier yesterday just to check and
>>> be sure that ICANN support for a policy conf. In Durban is locked in (I'd
>>> understood the traffic to mean that when they shot us down in Beijing it
>>> was sweetened with 'but Durban is ok').  Uh, no.  He says no commitment of
>>> support was made and of course we have to submit a Fast Track request.
>>>  Glad I asked...Ay yi yi...
>>>
>>>
>>> I'm now wondering about the wisdom of rushing out a request for a
>>> meeting in Durban.  I would like to suggest a different path, which is to
>>> hold off and try to do one serious policy conference per year at the Annual
>>> Meeting.  Buenos Aires is in November, so we'd be asking for support via
>>> the regular budget cycle (requests are due 19 April).  Some reasons:
>>>
>>>    - I don't believe the staff really thinks NCUC has some special
>>>    market niche with conferences and panels, as lots of (preferred) parts of
>>>    the 'community' are doing this now and will be in the future.  To me, it
>>>    actually seems like they're in a rather different place, as evidenced by
>>>    this terse reply from Xavier, "I am not aware that any approval for funding
>>>    has been given by anyone for Durban or Buenos Aires. The requests for such
>>>    have not yet reached us and I don't know any other channel that could have
>>>    appropriately been used to obtain such approval."  So right after there's
>>>    been some testy back and forth about what they did or didn't commit to do
>>>    for us in Beijing, it's not obvious that it'd be good timing to immediately
>>>    turn around and ask for money for the same thing in Durban.  We might not
>>>    get the desired response if we're viewed as just pushing pushing all the
>>>    time on this.  And if we start making multiple regular budget requests for
>>>    conferences, I suspect things could get more difficult.  To me, it'd make
>>>    more sense to make one patently 'reasonable' request per year, which is to
>>>    do a conference as part of the annual meeting.
>>>
>>>
>>>    - I worry that we might overplay our hand with Fast Track Requests
>>>    if we ask for Durban money and lose out elsewhere.  Robin already has Fast
>>>    Track Requests she's planning on submitting today for NCSG EC travel to
>>>    meetings, NCSG brochures and communiques per meeting, and NCSG travel to
>>>    the IGF.  In parallel, I'm submitting for NCUC brochures and travel to the
>>>    IGF.  Plus we are submitting SG and UC replies to the GNSO Tool Kit
>>>    Services survey asking for new money for webcasts, wiki support, record
>>>    keeping and member data base…So we're hitting them with a lot of requests,
>>>    and while the amounts aren't large perceptions may be, plus they'll be
>>>    getting many other requests from across the community at the same time to
>>>    divide up a fixed Fast Track pie.  I would be pissed if we got turned down
>>>    on expenses that might really raise our profile among new audiences and get
>>>    new members, like the IGF workshops I mentioned and the brochure, because
>>>    we also asked for $ for Durban.
>>>
>>>
>>>    - I am somewhat skeptical that we actually have the capacity to be
>>>    constantly organized policy conferences.  SF and Toronto took a good deal
>>>    of time, Beijing planning is just inching forward with just two weeks to
>>>    go, and there are other drains on our respective ICANN bandwidth
>>>    allocations, such as the constituency building effort.  Once a year I think
>>>    we can do and do well, the other meetings we can ask for a workshop in the
>>>    main program like we have now. Seems like enough to me.
>>>
>>>
>>>    - *In the particular case of Durban, if we're really pumped to do
>>>    something outreach oriented, we probably can do it without an all day
>>>    conference with ICANN support.  If we work with the APC folks we could try
>>>    to organize a meeting with African civil society off site, it'd not be hard
>>>    as they have a big presence there.  Maybe something in the afternoon with a
>>>    work component and then an evening social component...*
>>>
>>>
>>>    - And even if you all disagree with me and really want to ask for
>>>    Durban money, here's the thing: I just found out we'd have to request it
>>>    today, and I have absolutely no idea what I'd be asking for, which
>>>    conference logistic components funded at what levels etc.  I've had zero
>>>    interaction with staff on these matters previous, and being eight hours
>>>    ahead of California am not going to be able to get trained up by Robin
>>>    (who's probably in bed at the moment) before going out for the evening in a
>>>    few hours (other commitments, life).  I can get out the FT Requests I'd
>>>    planned on, but realistically cannot pump out a credible Durban request
>>>    today.  So the only way it could be done is if Robin submitted it on behalf
>>>    of NCUC.  Personally, I'm not persuaded that'd be a good idea, and would
>>>    rather hold for Buenos Aires and a regular budget request in April.
>>>
>>> Thoughts, please?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Bill
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Beijing2013 mailing list
>>> Beijing2013 at lists.ncuc.org
>>> http://lists.ncuc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/beijing2013
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Finance mailing list
>>> Finance at lists.ncuc.org
>>> http://lists.ncuc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/finance
>>>
>>>
>>> **********************************************************
>>> William J. Drake
>>> International Fellow & Lecturer
>>>   Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ
>>>   University of Zurich, Switzerland
>>> Chair, Noncommercial Users Constituency,
>>>   ICANN, www.ncuc.org
>>> william.drake at uzh.ch
>>> www.williamdrake.org
>>> ***********************************************************
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Ncuc-ec mailing list
>>> Ncuc-ec at lists.ncuc.org
>>> http://lists.ncuc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/ncuc-ec
>>>
>>>
>>
>> **********************************************************
>> William J. Drake
>> International Fellow & Lecturer
>>   Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ
>>   University of Zurich, Switzerland
>> Chair, Noncommercial Users Constituency,
>>   ICANN, www.ncuc.org
>> william.drake at uzh.ch
>> www.williamdrake.org
>> ***********************************************************
>>
>>
>
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