Re: [soac-newgtldapsup-wg] Board resolution during retreat regarding Applicant Support

[Avri Doria <avri@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Tijani, Hi Elaine

Thank you very much for the thanks. Just doing my job.

I would like to point out that I do not think Elaine was specifically pointing 
the finger at the co-chairs. Or at this co-chair. I was.  

I believe similar to you that when a WG succeeds it is the whole group that has 
succeeded.  But I believe that when a WG fails, it is often the fault of its 
chair or co-chairs for not having organized or shepherded the work properly or 
for not having worked sufficiently diligently and continuously.  When I look at 
what got done in MaPO in a much shorter time, I wonder about this groups 
co-chairs and their performance.  Of course their work got ignored as well.

In any case, whenever a group perceives a failure in itself it should look at 
the chair or co-chairs and decide whether it would not be better off with 
others in the role - that is always the way in democratic institutions.  I.e. I 
believe in throwing the bums out if they can't do the job - even when I might 
be the bum.  

I am not suggesting that you throw Evan and I out, and I am not suggesting that 
you all tell us you don't want  to - I am neither fishing for compliments or 
insults.  What I am saying is that if the group truly believes that the Board's 
response is due to the group's failure and the group wants to make another push 
for success, it also make sense to make sure that you have the right co-chairs.

None of this is Elaine's doing.

a.



On 28 Sep 2010, at 07:25, Tijani BEN JEMAA wrote:

> Thank you Elaine for making this precision.
> I didn’t understand from your e-mail that you were blaming one or both of the 
> co-chairs. The co-chairs are members of the WG, chosen by us to facilitate 
> the meetings and to coordinate our work: When we succeed, it’s the success of 
> the whole WG, and when we fail, it’s the failure of all of us.
>  
> I don’t think it’s the time of finding the faulty party, but continuing our 
> work despite the recent Board resolutions. We had a mandate, and we need to 
> accomplish it according to our conscience. We need to present the output of 
> our work to the Board and to the community. What will be done then? it’s not 
> our responsibility.
>  
> A last word: I want to thank very much all those who made use of their time 
> and energy to contribute in the substance. Among them, a special thank to 
> Avri (even if I don’t share always her point of view) who had a very busy 
> time in the IGF, and yet put the necessary time to prepare the cover letter 
> and the excerpt.
>  
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> Tijani BEN JEMAA
> Executive Director
> Mediterranean Federation of Internet Associations
> Phone : + 216 70 825 231
> Mobile : + 216 98 330 114
> Fax     : + 216 70 825 231
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : owner-soac-newgtldapsup-wg@xxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:owner-soac-newgtldapsup-wg@xxxxxxxxx] De la part de Elaine Pruis
> Envoyé : lundi 27 septembre 2010 20:04
> À : Avri Doria
> Cc : SOAC-newgtldapsup-wg@xxxxxxxxx
> Objet : Re: [soac-newgtldapsup-wg] Board resolution during retreat regarding 
> Applicant Support
>  
>  
> Avri,
>  
> My comment was intended to bring the consideration back to our working 
> group rather than go on attack against staff. I see those three items 
> as a group responsibility.  We chose to mire in some topics rather 
> than hit consensus or deadlines.
>  
> I'm sure there are elements of truth to all the hypothesis; but I 
> think we need to search within before casting blame outside.
>  
> Elaine
>  
> On Sep 27, 2010, at 11:52 AM, Avri Doria wrote:
>  
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I am not sure the short report had anything to do with it, as I was 
> > specifically asked to keep it short.  I am not so sure that being 
> > late had anything to do with it either.  There had it in time.
> > 
> > There were some very strong opinions expressed by various Board 
> > members (quoted from private conversations at the IGF) against any 
> > price breaks for anyone.
> > 
> > There were some strong statements by various board members (quoted 
> > from private conversations at the IGF) saying that we needed a 
> > really good explanation on why those needing aid should not wait for 
> > future rounds.
> > 
> > The phrase on the "uncertainty associated with the launch of new 
> > gTLD" strikes me as the same staffism that brought us a 100,000 ISD 
> > base fee based on hand waving about the difficulty of predicting 
> > risk.  I am not sure that is due to any of the reasons you listed.
> > 
> > But as a co-chair responsible for:
> > 
> > a. not making sure we were done in August
> > b. the report being late
> > c. the report being incomplete
> > 
> > I am willing to take responsibility for the Board's lack of 
> > understanding and inability to see beyond western economic realities 
> > to the need for a level playing field for global applicants.
> > 
> > a.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On 27 Sep 2010, at 14:28, Elaine Pruis wrote:
> > 
> >> The disappointing resolution probably had more to do with: first, 
> >> missing our deadline in August, second, a late report, third, the 
> >> lack of a complete report; than anything the staff may or may not 
> >> have done.
> >> 
> >> Elaine
> >> On Sep 27, 2010, at 10:55 AM, Evan Leibovitch wrote:
> >> 
> >>> Karla, thanks for the update.
> >>> 
> >>> As co-chair of this group, I am formally requesting a full and 
> >>> accurate transcript of the staff report to the Board retreat on 
> >>> this issue, as well as any related presentations and background 
> >>> materials.
> >>> 
> >>> - Evan
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> On 27 September 2010 13:02, Karla Valente 
> >>> <karla.valente@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >>> 2.2 New gTLD Applicant Support
> >>> 
> >>> ==============================
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> Support to applicants will generally include outreach and 
> >>> education to encourage participation across all regions, but any 
> >>> direct financial support for applicant fees must come from sources 
> >>> outside of ICANN.
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> Staff will publish a list of organizations that request assistance 
> >>> and organizations that state an interest in assisting with 
> >>> additional program development, for example pro-bono consulting 
> >>> advice, pro-bono in-kind support, or financial assistance so that 
> >>> those needing assistance and those willing to provide assistance 
> >>> can identify each other and work together.
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> Owing to the level of uncertainty associated with the launch of 
> >>> new gTLDs, the fee levels currently in the Applicant Guidebook 
> >>> will be maintained for all applicants.
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >>> 
> >> 
> >> Elaine Pruis
> >> VP Client Services
> >> elaine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >> +1 509 899 3161
> >> 
> > 
> > 
>  
> Elaine Pruis
> VP Client Services
> elaine@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> +1 509 899 3161
>