[ga] Message from the Chair

["Roberto Gaetano" <roberto.gaetano@voila.fr>]

Folks,

it is time for me to take a decision about the rules for the management 
of the mailing list.

The results of the poll are before us: they are, obviously, not giving a
 clear indication. There is a slight majority of "yes", but not a clear 
indication in either sense.

My reading of the results and of the discussion on this subject is that 
the major concern is about the process: the main objections are not 
about the need for rules, a fact that is widely acknowledged, but on 
some aspects of this specific set of rules, and on the path that has 
carried us here.

On the other hand, it will be unwise to freeze the currently 
unacceptable situation of "absence of rules" while we continue our 
search for the "perfect set of rules". Deadlines are in front of us, the
 agenda is full of items to be discussed, and we need to move forward.

I have clearly stated before the election that my target was to have a 
working GA, and in particular to give a voice to those who are not part 
of any Constituency, and that therefore do not have any other forum for 
presenting their views: I would not be acting in line with my proposals 
of only one month ago if I let the debate continue further without 
taking any immediate action.

While we debate on this otherwise legitimate question about the process,
 and we try to perfect the proposal currently before us, decisions about
 questions of substance are taken somewhere else.
While we engage in endless discussion and flood with noise the only 
forum where individuals can voice their opinions, the other components 
of the complex Internet puzzle progress without us.

Therefore, we must adopt the set of rules that are before us as a first 
step. We can rivisit the situation in the future, obviously, but we need
 to start managing the list in a way that will reduce the noise and 
recreate better conditions for the debate.

We will adopt the rules for a three-months period. I am confident that 
the situation will change, and that the debate will be more productive, 
without any of the much feared "censorships". In fact, the existence of 
the ga-unfiltered list will give sufficient guarantees and visibility of
 the "filters".

In this three-months timeframe we can surely define better rules and/or 
propose alternative ones, but we must indeed lay down an action plan on 
what we want to achieve, because the next big deadline, the ICANN 
meeting in Cairo, is less than six weeks away.
This is the challenge that we have before us.

If this operation will not work, and either the "filters" put in place 
by the SAA will be proven to be "censoring" the participation, or if the
 people that have abandoned the GA are not coming back (which means that
 my analysis of the reasons of their quitting was incorrect), I will 
draw the political consequence of the facts, and resign.

Back to the practical aspects, the first step is to appoint the SAA.

Please consider this message an official call for volounteers.

Best regards
Roberto