[AfriNIC-rpd] Section 3.8 of AFPUB-2010-v4-005-draft-02 - IPv4 Soft Landing

[Owen DeLong]

On May 23, 2011, at 7:01 AM, Mark Elkins wrote:

> Healthy debate! - I'm glad.
> 
> On Mon, 2011-05-23 at 15:14 +0200, Dr Paulos Nyirenda wrote:
>> On 23 May 2011 at 13:03, Mark Elkins wrote:
>> 
>>> ...x ...
>>> 
>>> I've no problem with this either - unless "participation" by people not
>>> from the AfriNIC region allows "them" to harm "us". Maybe "they" should
>>> not always be invited to "show consensus" (vote)???  Ponder this a
>>> while.
>> 
>> If you want this then the AfriNIC PDP in AFPUB-2010-GEN-005 needs to be revised because 
>> you really cannot do this right now and the policy says that you should not do this.
> 
>> 
>>> Whilst I was at ARIN a few weeks ago - participating in their Policy
>>> discussions - I didn't always put up my hand to "show consensus" - I
>>> didn't always feel it appropriate. (Might be wrong - but there was no
>>> voting at ARIN - just a demonstration of "consensus" as a guide to the
>>> AC (Advisory Council))
>> 
>> If you check the you will see that the word "vote" does not appear in the AfriNIC PDP. 
>> The  AfriNIC PDP is based on consensus and not voting. The current counting of who 
>> supports and who opposes is painting the wrong picture on how to implement the AfriNIC 
>> PDP.
> 
> Yes - many (I include myself) may have a mind set of treating the "Hands
> up" as a vote rather than as "a Show of Consensus".
> 

I think this discussion is getting too focused on particular language. There is nothing
wrong with it being a "vote". However, one must recognize that it is not an election
or a binding vote where the outcome of the vote dictates the outcome of the process.

Instead, it is what is known as an "advisory vote". The outcome of the vote serves as
advice to the chairs to help them gauge consensus.

So, whether you consider it an advisory vote or a show of consensus, I really think
that the terms are synonymous. The important thing is to have clarity on the actual
meaning of the event rather than to focus on the exact terminology used to
describe it.

Owen