Re: [council] Re: NCtelecon - the straw poll and learning points

["Philip Sheppard" <philip.sheppard@aim.be>]

Roberto,
you raise an interesting question about the NC meeting. Personally I feel
too much has been made of this vote. It was not a formal vote proposed in
advance of the meeting. It followed a suggestion to have a straw poll made
by NC member Erica Roberts in order to guide the chair as to how the NC felt
on these two key issues in order to make for a more efficient meeting.

The minutes make rather too much of the vote. Further the questions were (as
you point out) ambiguous.

I certainly interpreted the question as "is there global agreement"....and
this explains the way I voted in the straw poll. I believe most everyone
wants new names (albeit some with a subject to certain rules) and I know of
much disagreement to the idea that a 6-10 mix of charters and open domains
is a good idea. Many parties recognise that you cannot have a meaningful
charter concept with a limit on numbers.

(The BC will come out with a position paper shortly which will describe the
BC's way forward.)

However, given that the NC was constructed to represent the various
stakeholders would it have been a better straw poll to vote on what each
constituency believes?  Perhaps - but that would mean consulting with
constituencies in advance and then having a formal vote.

Learning point 1 - a straw poll in a public meeting is a dangerous thing.
Learning point  2 - the NC should be given a chance to read and approve the
summary before it goes public to assist with any ambiguity in its first
draft.

Philip