Fwd: .org sale - bidding process

[Rob Sayre <sayrer@xxxxxxxxx>]

[with permission to forward]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Brian E Carpenter <brian.e.carpenter@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, Jan 17, 2020 at 10:12 PM
Subject: Re: .org sale - bidding process
To: Rob Sayre <sayrer@xxxxxxxxx>, Ted Hardie <ted.ietf@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: Andrew Sullivan <sullivan@xxxxxxxx>

Off list, because not an IETF issue.

On 18-Jan-20 17:33, Rob Sayre wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 17, 2020 at 5:23 PM Ted Hardie <ted.ietf@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:ted.ietf@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>
>
>     It's important to note that while different groups make appointments to the Board, Internet Society Trustees do not represent specific constituencies after elections.  Each Trustees serves the organization as a whole.   Whatever expectations you have of the board, you should have them of all of them, not simply those appointed by the IETF.
>
>
> Thank you for your opinion. It seems a bit strained to insist that appointees don't represent those who appointed them, but I would like to know more about this view.

It isn't in the least strained; it's Serving on a Non-Profit Board 101. Of course we're all human, and I worked for IBM when I was on the ISOC Board, so I'm sure that this influenced my point of view. But IBM's point of view in ISOC matters was conveyed by IBM's member of the ISOC Advisory Council, which was not me.

In fact that is exactly why the Advisory Council was created - so that the Organizational Members, who paid substantial dues, had a formal (but *advisory*) role.

As far as I can see that is still the case:
https://www.internetsociety.org/about-internet-society/organization-members/omac/

At that time (before PIR existed), the organizational members were ISOC's only source of income**, but even so they had no votes on the Board.

For the record, ISOC had no COI policy for Board members until sometime during my tenure as Board Chair. I was a bit shocked that it had been overlooked, but perhaps the world was a softer, kinder place then.

** At that time, too, individual members paid annual dues, but that cost more to administer than it yielded, so it was a dead loss.

Regards
    Brian