Representation in Cyberspace Workshop: Details 
Notes of the Real-Time Scribe
Meeting held in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Saturday, January 23, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Introduction | Lessons from Membership Organizations | Reports from Breakout Sessions | Reflections on Membership

Introduction

19-member board
9 members from Supporting Organizations
   (3 from each of 3 SOs)
9 members from at-large membership
1 member - president

Board Members present: Dyson, Conrades
Membership Advisory Committee present: Cabell, Quaynor, Aizu, Takahashi, Robles, Kaplan

Lessons from Membership Organizations

  • Mitchel Ahern: Chairman of Association of Internet Professionals
  • Chris Morgan: consultant to Association for Computing Machinery
  • Fred Wertheimer: former president of Common Cause, president of Democracy 21
  • Scott Bradner: trustee of Internet Society
  • Seana Smith: International Trademark Association
  • Theresa Amato: founder and executive director of Citizens' Advocacy Center
  • Bob Erickson: MIS director for Watertown, a member of the Massachusetts Municipal Association

    Who qualifies for membership?

  • AIP: has a class that's appropriate for someone who's not an Internet professional. Peer review committee determines who is an Internet professional. In practice, nearly anyone who pays dues can be a full member. Individual chapters responsible for assessing qualifications of potential members.
  • ACM: Essentially the same, no litmus test. Offers non-voting memberships to students, international professionals at discount.
  • Common Cause: $25/year dues.

    Membership Issues

  • Problem of self-selected membership (not just self-selected leadership)
  • Not every interested internet user will join ICANN as a member.
  • Chapters? Problem of centralization.
  • Problem of decentralization.
  • How to reconcile individual interests with corporate interests. Do different levels of dues create a hierarchy of influence within the organization?
  • Costs $10-$12 per member per year for voting expenses.
  • What is the nature of ICANN? A regulatory agency dealing solely with technical issues? Or a governance entity for the Internet?
  • Problem of internationalization - how not to be US-centric?
  • In some countries, chapter-based organizations will not work.
  • Internet will change significantly in the future.
  • ICANN will be repsonsible for "public assets" - its membership must be more like a citizenry than that of an ordinary non-profit.
  • Hard to find comparable organization to use as a model.

    Specific Ideas

  • Allow members to directly propose policy that must be voted up or down by the board.
  • Old world model: nominating committee. Downside: can tilt process. Upside: can help realize goals such as international diversity.
  • Membership structure must plan for failure.
  • Distinguish between citizens and members.
    Translate with Altavista Babelfish: Deutsch, Francais, Espanol, Italiano, Portugues
    Wendy Seltzer, Alex Macgillivray, Antoun Nabhan, and Ben Edelman
    Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School 
    •