> fighting fiefdoms is a waste of time. the answer is to shut them the
> hell down.
a friend asked (to put it politely:-) me to clarify.
[ first, mea multi culpea, i helped start and/or served on the board (or
equivalent) of a number of the organizations against which i rail.
consider me the loyal opposition. but i try, as we say, to work for
the internet. ]
when people's livelihoods depend on an organization's existence, self-
interest is inevitable. no blame, we're all just funny monkeys. there
are no evil players here, just humans. it's not their fault, it is ours
for creating and allowing it.
yes, we need the ir function fulfilled. but i have become more and more
sceptical that we need six organizations doing it. and organizations
with large staff. we have built a privileged regulatory class. when
you have a large building, half a dozen 'coffee ladies' on staff, or a
bunch of lawyers, then it's time for a revolution.
the ietf and nanog outsource out all services in arms' length contracts.
this has responsibility and accountability built in [0]. yes, all
organizations are self perpetuating, but i prefer the model where no one
is paid (directly [1]).
and i much prefer the ietf's nomcom model, which ameliorates the board
election game of the irs, nanog, etc, which are beauty contests and do
not serve the community well. imiho, the beauty contests, the paid
fiefdoms, and the lawyers have led us from the bookkeeping model to the
regulatory.
randy
--
[0] - Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has
been subtracted. -- Pasi Sahlberg
[1] - http://archive.psg.com/051000.ccr-ivtf.pdf