Please read it carefully -- I would like to do a consensus call on it
within the next couple of weeks. That call will be to bless it as a
charter, which means it is what we live with until we do
something better. So special attention might be paid to the section
on how the charter may be modified.
I am attaching a text version. It is a conversion of the html
document I actually prepared, which can be seen at
http://songbird.com/pab/dc.html (dc = draft charter. Unix, you know.)
I am pushing this because I have a hint that the GP authors may not
have really looked at PAB, and PAB can be seen as one of the strong
points of the MoU organization -- it is a body chartered to be
receptive to public input -- always a good selling point in politics.
So it would be good if we had our house in order.
This may seem like a lot to deal with in a short time. It *is* a lot
to deal with in a short time.
There is a 30 day window for comment on the GP, remember. You should
be thinking about your comments...
Here's the charter:
-----------------------------------------------------------
PAB CHARTER
1. Contents
1. Contents
2. Definitions
3. PAB Role Under the gTLD-MoU
4. PAB Mission
5. PAB Deliberation and Debate
6. PAB Officers
1. Election of Officers, Their Eligibility and Terms of Office
2. Removal of Officers
3. Duties of Officers
7. Modification of the PAB Charter
8. Appendix 1: PAB Voting Mechanism
2. Definitions
1. PAB: Policy Advisory Body, a body defined under the gTLD-MoU
Structure
2. POC: Policy Oversight Committee, a body defined under the
gTLD-MoU Structure
3. CORE: Council of Registrars, a body defined under the gTLD-MoU
structure
4. GTLD-MoU: generic Top-Level Domain Memorandum of Understanding
5. PAB Member: an individual representative of a signatory of the
gTLD-MoU that has elected participate in the PAB
6. Active PAB Members: those PAB members who are subscribed to
the PAB mailing list, and who therefore may vote using the
mechanism referenced below
7. PAB Representatives on POC: any PAB Member who is elected by
the PAB Membership to serve on POC
8. rough consensus: the model of direct democracy practiced by
the IETF.
3. PAB Role Under the gTLD-MoU
1. As defined by the gTLD-MoU (Section 5), the role of the PAB is
to make recommendations to the POC regarding general policy
matters, and to advise the POC with regard to changes in the
gTLD-MoU and the CORE-MoU.
4. PAB Mission
1. The Policy Advisory Body exists to represent the widest
possible set of Internet stakeholders in the administration of the
global Internet domain name system, as limited by the gTLD-MoU.
The PAB actively solicits, debates, and where possible reaches
consensual positions on how the global Internet domain system
should be administered, and it reports its advice and
recommendations to the POC.
2. The PAB is a vehicle for bringing into the gTLD-MoU process
those groups and organizations that are not otherwise represented
within its framework, and is therefore a fertile ground for the
introduction of new ideas, and for the inclusion of new interest
groups.
3. The PAB is furthermore a mechanism through which dissent
against the existing gTLD-MoU structure can be expressed, and thus
can be powerful catalyst for change.
4. The PAB recognizes that the gTLD-MoU does not provide for
oversight of the POC, and therefore the PAB has a special duty to
give advice and make recommendations regarding the role and
function of the POC.
5. The PAB reserves to itself all powers not specifically
prohibited by the gTLD-MoU.
5. PAB Deliberation, Debate, and Decisions
1. The basic model for PAB as a deliberative body is that of
rough consensus, as practiced by the IETF.
2. All discussion and deliberation shall take place via an echoed
email list, whose administration shall be entrusted to the
Secretary of the PAB.
3. An archive of the email list may, at the discretion of the
Active PAB Membership, be made available to the public.
4. There shall be no limitation on what a PAB Member may write on
the PAB list; nor shall any censorship be imposed on PAB Members;
and no PAB Member shall be removed from the list except at its own
request. However, while content is not controlled in any way,
quantity of submissions may be, if the list is overloaded. In
such a case, all controls will be applied equally to all members.
[For example, the list may be restricted to 5 posts a day per
member, or 100KB/day per member, or some such equitable
restriction.]
5. On occasion formal elections may be held. All such elections
shall be conducted using the PAB voting mechanism, described in a
separate section. Generally, there are two classes of elections:
"yes/no" elections for policy issues, and election of officers,
though other classes are not ruled out. Policy elections are held
on demand as part of a consensus process; officer elections are
held according to different rules, described in the section on
election of officers.
6. In addition, straw polls may be called. Straw polls are not
binding, and are generally held for information gathering
purposes. Straw polls will not be further discussed; all further
reference to elections or votes will refer to those involving the
PAB voting mechanism.
7. The PAB shall arrive at recommendations, advice, resolutions,
internal policies, and other common positions by rough consensus
methods, as follows:
1. The Chair may attempt to determine a consensus concerning
a given issue by announcing a Call for Consensus to the PAB
list. The Chair must announce a Call for Consensus on a given
issue if 10% or more PAB members request it of the Chair.
2. After a reasonable period of debate, generally not less
than one week and not more than one month, the Chair shall
announce either that a preliminary consensus has been reached
or that it has not been reached.
3. If the Chair announces that a preliminary consensus has
been reached, then following the Chair's announcement, a
reasonable period, generally not less than one week, shall pass
in order to allow dissenting views to be heard.
1. If 10% or more of the Active PAB Membership dissents
from the Chair's announcement of a preliminary consensus,
the Chair shall have the option of either tabling the
proposition or calling for an election on the preliminary
consensus by informing the PAB list.
2. If less than 10% of the Active PAB Membership dissents
from the Chair's announcement of a preliminary consensus,
the Chair shall announce that a final consensus has been
reached, and the Chair shall, if appropriate, communicate
the results to the POC. The Chair may further instruct
the Secretary to add the results to the PAB web site, and
also communicate the results to the public by whatever
other method the Chair at its sole discretion may deem
advisable.
4. If the Chair announces that a preliminary consensus has
not been reached, and the Chair does not decide to seek an
election on the matter, it may continue to be debated on
the PAB list, but the Chair may not be compelled to seek
another consensus on the matter for three months. But if
the Chair decides that with small modification a consensus
could be reached on the matter, the Chair has an
affirmative duty to find the correct compromise that will
allow a consensus to be reached.
5. In the event that the Chair announces that a
preliminary consensus has not been reached, the Chair may
determine, at the Chair's discretion, that the matter is
important or timely enough that a definitive position by
the PAB is required. Examples of such important or timely
matters might be: a request from the POC for a
recommendation, or a matter that is of clear and pressing
importance. In such cases, the Chair may call for an
election on the matter. The election shall be carried out
using the PAB voting mechanism, and notice shall be given
to all Active PAB Members at least one week before the
election takes place.
1. If 67% or more of the Voting PAB Members are in
favor of the proposition being voted upon, the
proposition shall have passed, and the Chair shall
announce that a Consensus has been reached; otherwise,
the proposition shall have failed, and the Chair shall
announce that a Consensus has not been reached.
2. In the event of an election, each PAB Member shall
have one vote.
8. An Annual General Meeting of the PAB may be called by the
Chair, or by a consensus of the PAB by the usual methods. All
decisions and elections must nonetheless be carried out on the PAB
list. All PAB Members attending an Annual General Meeting must
pay for their own expenses.
6. PAB Officers
The PAB shall elect the following officers:
1. Chair
2. Deputy Chair
3. Secretary
4. Liaison to CORE
5. PAB Representatives to POC
These officers together comprise the PAB Executive Committee.
2. Election of Officers, Their Eligibility and Terms of Office
1. Any member of the PAB can nominate any other member of the
PAB to be an Officer of the PAB, subject to the eligibility
requirements noted below in this section, by posting a
statement to that effect to the PAB list.
2. Nominations must be seconded by another member of the PAB
by posting a statement to that effect to the PAB list.
3. Any person nominated to be a candidate for office in the
PAB must accept the nomination by posting a statement to that
effect to the PAB list.
4. Any candidate who has accepted a nomination to be an
officer of the PAB must declare his or her qualifications for
the office in question, and to make known to the PAB
membership any conflict of interest that he or she is aware
of, by posting a statement to that effect to the PAB list.
Candidates are encouraged to take a broad view of what might
constitute a conflict of interest. Failure to declare a
conflict of interest is prima facie evidence of bad faith on
the part of the candidate.
5. No candidate who is a member of PAB shall be excluded from
office in the PAB, except as noted below in this section.
6. Officers are to be elected using the PAB voting mechanism
via the PAB email list.
7. The terms of all officers are to be one year from the date
of their election.
8. Any PAB member is eligible to be an Officer of PAB,
except:
1. Members of the PAB who have signed the CORE-MoU, or
whose employer has signed the CORE-MoU.
2. Members of the PAB who are also members of POC, unless
they have been elected to the POC by the PAB.
3. Members of the PAB who are employed by organizations
which are members of CORE
4. Members of the PAB who are employed by organizations
which have the power to appoint or elect members of POC,
the PAB itself excepted.
5. Members of the PAB who hold any executive position in
any organization, the PAB itself excepted, which has the
power to appoint or elect members of POC.
9. The Chair, Deputy Chair, and Secretary must be elected by
more than 50% of the PAB Members who vote. In the event that
no candidate reaches more than 50%, the two candidates
receiving the most votes will meet each other in a run-off
election. If the run-off election results in a tie, the
chairman of the POC may cast 1 vote to determine the winner.
3. Removal of Officers
1. The power to remove Officers of the PAB is reserved to the
Membership of the PAB. If 25% of the Active PAB Members
support a resolution to remove an Officer, the Chair (or, if
the Active Members wish to remove the Chair, the Deputy Chair)
shall call an election on the issue, to be conducted via the
PAB Email list using the voting rules and procedures used for
all elections except the election of officers.
4. Duties of Officers
1. The duties of the Chair shall be as follows:
1. To attempt to discern consensus among the PAB, and to
call for consensus, and declare a consensus to have been
reached, according to the methods described in
"Deliberation and Debate" above.
2. To make periodic reports, not less than one month
apart, to the PAB Membership via the PAB list. The
Chair's reports must be comprehensive, and must include
summary results of all actions undertaken by the Chair on
behalf of PAB, and summary results of all interactions
with the POC.
3. To make or cause to have made public statements, press
releases, and the like.
4. In the event that the POC requests PAB's
recommendation or advice, the Chair must consult with the
membership immediately. If the POC requires a reply
before the PAB can reach a consensus, the Chair may
communicate his best guess of the PAB's recommendation or
advise to the POC, but in such a case the Chair must
communicate to the POC that PAB's recommendation is
entirely provisional pending ratification by the
Membership.
2. The duties of the Deputy Chair shall be as follows:
1. To assume the function of the Chair temporarily in the
event that the Chair is indisposed or unavailable, or, in
the case where the Chair has been removed or has resigned,
until new elections have been held.
2. To assume the function of the Chair regarding any
measure by the Membership to remove the Chair.
3. To perform any duties of the Chair that the Chair may
from time to time delegate to the Deputy Chair.
3. The duties of the Secretary shall be as follows:
1. To maintain the PAB website. The website will include
such information as follows:
* A list of all PAB members
* A list of the Active PAB Members
* A list of the PAB officers
* The text of PAB resolutions
* A record of the votes in elections, whether for
officers or for other matters
* PAB recommendations and advice to the POC, and
responses by the POC as reported by the Chair
* An archive of PAB email.
2. To maintain a copy of this charter, and any subsequent
amendments.
3. To administer and maintain the echoed email list that
the PAB uses to deliberate amongst itself, and any archive
of the list that the PAB Membership shall decide to keep
4. To administer and maintain the echoed email list that
the PAB Executive Committee uses to deliberate amongst
itself, and to maintain an archive of this list.
5. To maintain a complete list of PAB Members and their
designated email addresses, and to respond to PAB Members'
requests to modify their designated email addresses, or to
subscribe or unsubscribe themselves from the PAB list.
4. The duty of the CORE Liaison shall be as follows:
1. To inform the PAB Executive Committee of developments
within CORE
7. Modification of the PAB Charter
1. This Charter can be modified only by the Membership of the
PAB, and by no other body, via the usual methods the PAB employs
to determine consensus.
Appendix 1: PAB Voting Mechanism
PAB strives to reach rough consensus on an issue before making any
recommendation to the POC or taking any other action. At one time or
another it will become apparent that there is no consensus on a
particular issue and the Chairman will declare that the issue will be
put to a vote.
A draft ballot will be prepared by the Secretary and forwarded to the
vote taker.
The vote taker prepares the final ballot, editing only for consistent
wording and compatibility with the voting software.
Prepared ballots are mailed to the voting contact of all PAB members
four times at X day intervals. Using X=3 and having 4 days after the
mailing of the final ballot gives a two-week voting period.
(The voting contact is defined as the first, of possibly several,
e-mail address an organization has subscribed to the PAB list.)
Votes are cast by Replying to the ballot e-mail and indicating their
choice from the various options available.
When a completed ballot is received by the vote taker an
acknowledgement is returned to the voter. The completed ballot is
added to an archive message store established for this one vote and
the vote is also parsed and a voting database updated to reflect the
ballot.
If a ballot is deemed unacceptable for any reason it is returned to
the sender with an explanation. (In our first vote the only errors
encountered were votes from non-voting contacts (these were all
resolved) and ballots received after the close of the voting period.)
Please note that all decisions are built into the voting software, no
allowances are made for any reason.
A voting member may submit multiple ballots, the last ballot received
is the only one counted.
At the end of the voting period the results are tabulated and an
e-mail containing the results is sent to the list. Web pages
containing the results are generated at the same time. See
www.pab.gtld-mou.org/votes/index.html
As you can see the ballots are completely open once the voting period
has ended. This allows everyone to verify that their vote was counted
as cast. Members may only protest their own ballot. In the event of
a protest, the original ballots complete with full headers are
available for audit
The voting software was prepared by Dan Busarow.
-------------------------------------------------------------
-- Kent Crispin, PAB Chair "No reason to get excited", kent@songbird.com the thief he kindly spoke... PGP fingerprint: B1 8B 72 ED 55 21 5E 44 61 F4 58 0F 72 10 65 55 http://songbird.com/kent/pgp_key.html