[ga-abuse] Decision

["Danny Younger" <webmaster@babybows.com>]

When we individually agreed to become members of the General Assembly, many
of us understood the burden and toll that this would place upon us - the
need to undertake research and steep ourselves in documents, the need to
devote considerable time to reading and responding to messages, the need to
make certain sacrifices (both financial and personal) in order to become a
better participant in the ICANN process.

I regret that Patrick appears not to be willing to undertake such effort,
and has repeatedly called upon others to keep him informed, "How can I
possibly know what's going on unless Danny (or somebody) tells me?"  "All I
am asking is to be kept properly informed.  Preferably consulted."

As Joanna Lane wrote in her response to Patrick, "Sorry, it is not my job to
bring you up to speed on issues about which you, of all people, as an
officer of the GA, should be fully informed."    Being a Chair is a
full-time responsibility.  I have had to read every appendix in every
registry contract, the NAIS 130-page report, all of the independent studies,
all of the 3328 comments to the Review Working Group, all of the comments
posted to every other prior working group, and to every official list,
(council, agenda, intake, plan, etc.).  I have had to listen to each Names
Council teleconference, review Scribe Notes from every single Board meeting
going back over several years, monitor constituency and other policy mailing
lists, and every list of the GA.

With the job comes the responsibility of being sufficiently informed.  In
the event that the Chair is not able to carry out his duties, the Alternate
Chair is expected to take over that function.  At one point Patrick wrote,
"Do I have to trawl through 3328 emails to find out.  I will if I have to
but I will never forgive Danny if he makes me do that."  Sorry, but that
comes with the territory, and so does the obligation to preside over plenary
sessions of the Assembly if so required.  This was a fact known to every
candidate that ran for the office of GA Chair - ignorance is no excuse.

Most of us are members of this Assembly because we believe in ICANN, in its
mission and goals, and because we seek to improve our organization, to make
it more efficient and responsive.  Others that participate on our lists have
different agendas.

I have been criticized by Patrick for placing a priority on Policy
Recommendations for Operation of the .org TLD.    Patrick writes:  "you will
note that he is pressing ahead with a huge 52K posting to the .ORG list.  I
would have preferred that he spent the time building bridges with me first."

Sorry, but I disagree.  We only have 20 days time within which to forge a
community consensus on policy matters relating to the .org TLD, as we must
respond to the Names Council by the 29th.  This project requires an
intensive analysis of background documents so that all policy implications
may appropriately be examined.

As a result of the Stockholm session, the Names Council has responded to our
plea for greater involvement in the processes of the DNSO and has reached
out in an effort to involve the GA.  Our duty is clear; our focus should be
upon our obligation to both properly research this matter, and to arrive at
a documented consensus while engaging in the outreach required under the
Bylaws.

Our DNSO Secretariat understands that very well.  Elisabeth Porteneuve has
been an ardent supporter of the General Assembly and knows that if we are to
accomplish our goal, we need to satisfy the requirement of outreach.  In her
capacity as the Secretariat, she has prepared the structure to allow for
both outreach and meaningful discussion of this topic - the ga-org list.
This action did not require the approval of the Chair nor consultation with
the Alternate Chair.  This action is an independent decision of the
Secretariat, within her purview, and one that I fully support.

With regard to the general topic of lists... it is important to understand
the nature of our Assembly.   We as a group are not generally receptive to
top-down decrees.  Our members are uncomfortable with officials that attempt
to dictate to the Assembly.  It is one of the lessons that I am trying to
learn.  While Patrick has taken his role as List Administrator seriously, I
am concerned by the heavy-handedness in his approach and by what appears to
be an effort to "force" participants onto certain lists.

Patrick writes:  "Unfortunately two persons insist on posting all of their
mail to the main GA list...  The other is Danny Younger.  I see that as
sabotage of the worst sort."  Let me make my position clear -- No one will
dictate to me the venue in which I will make my comments, and I am under no
obligation to consult with the Alternate Chair prior to posting any of my
comments.

I choose to consult only with those that respect our efforts, those that
refrain from the use of vulgarity, profanity, and personal attacks.   As
Chair, I posted an informative message regarding the Names Council decision
to invite the General Assembly to select a representative for their
Individuals' Constituency Task Force on the main GA list.  I received the
following message from Patrick:

Hi Danny

Why the fuck didn't you post this message on GA-ICANN?

You could have referenced it on the GA list.

And who has approved the new GA-ORG ?
What's the point if you won't use the sublists?

Patrick

If this is how Patrick has chosen to communicate with me, and if he has
"written thousands of private emails to people like Jim  Fleming"  and has
"invested a huge amount of time and energy in it", as part of his "Stage
One" strategy, I am deeply concerned (as I would be by the actions of any
given zealot for any given cause).  A List Administrator should not be
sending out thousands of private emails - this is not his job, nor is it a
practice that I have sanctioned.

Neither have I agreed to a "Stage Two" strategy "to get the participants
using the right mailing lists".  It is not the role of a List Administrator
to force compliance.  If a comment posted to the main list also deserves to
be posted on a topic-specific list, then the Administrator may take it upon
himself to re-post the document for everyone's benefit - that should be the
extent of his involvement.  While Patrick argues that his actions have
caused "a bit of angst", I would argue that his actions are downright
objectionable and are not favorably viewed by the membership as a whole.

I do not agree with Patrick's conclusion that "All items relating to ICANN,
including ICANN restructuring, must go to GA-ICANN."  Our membership is at
liberty to post wherever they wish.  I will not condone dictating to our
membership where they can or cannot post - that would be an abuse of
authority.

Patrick has taken the point of view that certain members in our Assembly are
to be regarded as "dangerous opponents", and points with pride to the fact
that "the only person being attacked" is Patrick.   This is not a healthy
perspective, nor a wholesome strategy.   The goal (calming the list), is
laudable, the approach is not.  When our membership focuses upon a task,
when we decide to generate work-product as a result of consensus-building
discussions, the flaming dies down rather rapidly.  We do not require a
single human target to be the recipient of our collective venom.

I am further concerned by Patrick's unabashed course of action that begins
with threats, personal attacks on list, and continues with swearing, ranting
and raving.  This is not behavior appropriate for anyone selected to serve
as a List Monitor.

It is for these reasons that I am asking Patrick to offer his resignation as
List Monitor, and to end his duties as List Administrator.

Patrick and I are in disagreement over several matters (and occasional
disagreement is to be expected in an organization such as ours), but I do
hope to arrive at suitably civil relationship with him because he is to be
respected as our elected Alternate Chair.   I will not however respond to
any more messages that are laden with vulgarity and threats.   I have my job
to do, and Patrick needs to get on with the business of making himself
sufficiently informed so that he can replace me if and when circumstances
warrant.  I hope that by freeing Patrick from these other duties, he can
focus upon this mission.