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[rpd] Can the Board and the CEO please get in sync?
Owen DeLong
owen at delong.com
Fri Dec 7 03:44:53 UTC 2018
> On Dec 6, 2018, at 13:19 , Marcus K. G. Adomey <madomey at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Daniel,
>
> > In my head there is no consensus,
>
> Because, you don't like the proposal for reasons which will be known publicly soon, in your head, you will not see consensus. Which is normal. Rough consensus allows proposal to move forward even when there are objections.
>
Rough consensus allows a proposal to move forward when there are a small number of objections from a small number of people which have been addressed by the authors though not necessarily resolved.
There is not even rough consensus around this proposal, there is significant opposition from multiple parties throughout the continent and beyond.
> > but there was a verbal declaration of Last Call on the Review policy by the Co-Chairs during the Hammamet meeting.
>
> That is part of co-chairs mandate and role and in full compliance with the PDP
>
Their mandate is to apply accepted community standards in determining consensus. As a factual matter, the vast number of objections, the lack of any attempt by the authors to address said objections, and the strong record of opposition to the decision after it was announced all indicate that the co-chairs decision was NOT in compliance with the PDP as it did not apply accepted community standards in determining rough consensus.
> > With the clarification of the CEO, with abated breath we await the declaration of last call,
> > which can allow some to constructively proceed on making comments on the Policy and
> > allow others remind us of the aberration of the process that let to the last call.
>
> Just a pity that some community members who are vocal here and there are not even familiar with the PDP, do not have the decency to follow the PDP and blindly follow others.
>
I am not sure to whom you refer, though I will admit that it does appear to be a reasonable self-description in your case.
I have completely read the PDP more than once. I am following it in everything I have stated here. The co-chairs erred and failed to follow the PDP because they determined rough consensus where it did not exist by accepted community standards. The opposition to this proposal is not from a vocal few but from many community members.
> The noises and personal attacks were not needed if as a responsible community, we follow our rules and principles and show maturity
>
I think that my comment on your generalized personal attack above is the closest I have come to a personal attack in any of the discussions about this policy. I have repeatedly attacked the proposal on its merits and the proponents of the proposal (authors included) have not made any effort to address several of my issues nor several issues raised by others.
This is the second time that the PDP has not been followed WRT this proposal and the previous time was already decided as a failure by the same co-chairs in declaring consensus at the end of last call after the Dakar meeting, which decision remanded the policy back to the list for further discussion.
This same policy which had no rough consensus as determined by the appeals committee was then once again determined by the co-chairs to have consensus despite an even larger body of opposition than was demonstrated after the Dakar meeting. None of the objections raised after Dakar were addressed. None of the objections raised at the Hammamet meeting were addressed. Many of the objections raised prior to the Dakar meeting remain unaddressed.
I refer you to the following page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough_consensus
Working groups make decisions through a "rough consensus" process. IETF consensus does not require that all participants agree although this is, of course, preferred. In general, the dominant view of the working group shall prevail. (However, "dominance" is not to be determined on the basis of volume or persistence, but rather a more general sense of agreement). Consensus can be determined by a show of hands, humming, or any other means on which the WG agrees (by rough consensus, of course). Note that 51% of the working group does not qualify as "rough consensus" and 99% is better than rough. It is up to the Chair to determine if rough consensus has been reached (IETF Working Group Guidelines and Procedures).
By my estimation, without reviewing the video, there was more than 50% opposition to the proposal in the Hammamet meeting and there has been way more than 50% opposition to the determination of consensus since that meeting.
Given that, I find it very hard for you to be able to substantiate any claim of rough consensus since you have less than 51% supporting the proposal in its current form and the above definition clearly states that 51% is insufficient.
While the definition gives wide latitude to the chairs, it does not extend that latitude to determining consensus in the complete absence of a majority.
Owen
>
> God save Africa!
>
>
>
> Marcus
>
> From: Daniel Yakmut via RPD <rpd at afrinic.net>
> Sent: Thursday, December 6, 2018 12:15 PM
> To: Timothy Ola Akinfenwa
> Cc: rpd List
> Subject: Re: [rpd] Can the Board and the CEO please get in sync?
>
> In my head there is no consensus, but there was a verbal declaration of Last Call on the Review policy by the Co-Chairs during the Hammamet meeting.
>
> With the clarification of the CEO, with abated breath we await the declaration of last call, which can allow some to constructively proceed on making comments on the Policy and allow others remind us of the aberration of the process that let to the last call.
>
> We are all on course.
>
> ----- Daniel
>
>
>
>
> On Dec 6, 2018, at 12:32 PM, Timothy Ola Akinfenwa <akin.akinfenwa at uniosun.edu.ng <mailto:akin.akinfenwa at uniosun.edu.ng>> wrote:
>
>> Thanks Alan for this clarification.
>>
>> Now as we await the last call announcement from Co-Chairs, I will like to confirm if there is a time frame between the declaration of consensus and the announcement of last call by the Co-Chairs.
>>
>> Best!
>> Ti</>
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 6, 2018 at 10:07 AM Alan Barrett <alan.barrett at afrinic.net <mailto:alan.barrett at afrinic.net>> wrote:
>> Dear community,
>>
>> > On 6 Dec 2018, at 03:37, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com <mailto:owen at delong.com>> wrote:
>> >
>> > I’ve quoted two messages below which appear to contradict each other. One from SM (Board Member) stating that there is not yet a last call on the proposal in question. The other from the CEO stating that the last call decision was made public at the meeting and the 2 week clock for appeal started at that point.
>>
>> The decision to send the audit proposal to last call was made public on Thursday 29 November 2018, but the last call has not started. The start of the last call is typically announced by the co-chairs several days after the meeting, and we are now in the gap between the decision to go to last call, and the beginning of the last call.
>>
>> The earlier message from the CEO focused on the date of the decision; the earlier message from SM focused on the fact that the last call has not yet started. I think that both messages were accurate, but I can see how it may be confusing.
>>
>> > These two positions appear to contradict each other, is I ask that the CEO and the board confer and that the board respond with a single clear statement as to the situation. Such statement should include:
>> >
>> > 1. Is there a last call now active on this proposal or not?
>>
>> The co-chairs made a decision to declare rough consensus in a public policy meeting, and to send the review proposal to last call. The last call itself has not yet started; it will start only after a separate announcement by the co-chairs, and that has not yet happened.
>>
>> > 2. When did the 2 week clock on the ability to appeal start ticking?
>>
>> If the appeal will be against the decision to declare rough consensus in the meeting on 29 November, then the clock started on 29 November 2018. If the appeal will be against some other decision, then the clock starts on the date of that other decision.
>>
>> > 3. In light of the amount of confusion around this issue and the delays in getting clarification, could we
>> > please reset the 2 week clock to start no sooner than the day that this clarification is provided to
>> > the community?
>>
>> That’s not my call.
>>
>> > Further, since the two quotations come from two different lists, I request that the clarification be sent to both lists.
>> >
>> > Thanks for your attention to this matter,
>> >
>> > Owen
>>
>> That’s rpd and members-discuss. OK, I’ll send to both lists.
>>
>> Alan Barrett
>>
>> [quoted messages appended for context]
>>
>> > We have this quote on the members list from a board member:
>> >
>> >> From: S Moonesamy <sm+afrinic at elandsys.com <mailto:sm%2Bafrinic at elandsys.com>>
>> >> Date: Wednesday, 5 December 2018 at 22:02
>> >> To: Andrew Alston <Andrew.Alston at liquidtelecom.com <mailto:Andrew.Alston at liquidtelecom.com>>, "members-discuss at afrinic.net <mailto:members-discuss at afrinic.net>" <members-discuss at afrinic.net <mailto:members-discuss at afrinic.net>>
>> >> Subject: Re: [members-discuss] PDP Co-Chair Elections
>> >>
>> >> Dear Andrew,
>> >>
>> >> My response to your question is that there was an election for the
>> >> position of PDP Chair in Dakar. I read the messages on the relevant
>> >> mailing list sent over the last week. There are messages about
>> >> "opposing the last call" [1] on one of the proposals under
>> >> discussion; there isn't any Last Call at the moment.
>> >>
>> >> If a Resource Member has a concern about a proposal, the Resource
>> >> Member can raise it through its representative during a Last
>> >> Call. There is also an appeal process for disagreements about
>> >> actions taken by the Chair(s). From what I understand, a concern
>> >> might be about what is written in a proposal instead of the person(s)
>> >> taking the decision.
>> >>
>> >> Regards,
>> >> S. Moonesamy
>> >>
>> >> 1. https://lists.afrinic.net/pipermail/rpd/2018/008653.html <https://lists.afrinic.net/pipermail/rpd/2018/008653.html>
>> >
>> > We have this quote from the RPD list from the CEO:
>> >
>> >> From: Alan Barrett <alan.barrett at afrinic.net <mailto:alan.barrett at afrinic.net>>
>> >> Subject: Re: [rpd] Query on appeal
>> >> Date: December 5, 2018 at 05:21:06 PST
>> >> To: rpd List <rpd at afrinic.net <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>>
>> >> Cc: "pdwg-appeal at afrinic.net <mailto:pdwg-appeal at afrinic.net>" <pdwg-appeal at afrinic.net <mailto:pdwg-appeal at afrinic.net>>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On 1 Dec 2018, at 14:04, Andrew Alston <Andrew.Alston at liquidtelecom.com <mailto:Andrew.Alston at liquidtelecom.com>> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Hi PDWG Appeal Committee.
>> >>
>> >> I am replying because I think that the Appeal Committee may consider the questions out of scope for them.
>> >>
>> >> The policy actually says – within 2 weeks from public knowledge of the decision – does a pronouncement on the floor constitute public knowledge in a streamed meeting?
>> >>
>> >> Yes, the announcement on the floor of the public meeting was the instant that the decision became public knowledge.
>> >>
>> >> Secondly – I wish the PDWG Appeal committee to comment on what happens to a last call process if the decision to last call is under appeal pending adjudication. I would assume that the last call process would be suspended and cannot proceed until the adjudication of the appeal has been completed, but I wish to have a formal clarification on this.
>> >>
>> >> According to AFRINIC’s legal advisor, an appeal would have the effect of suspending the last call process whilst awaiting the decision of the appeal committee on the issue of whether the Co-chairs were right or wrong.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Alan Barrett
>> >> CEO, AFRINIC
>>
>>
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