Re: "stakeholders" was: Re: [ga] Re: ICANN before the US Senate...

["L. Gallegos" <jandl@xxxxxxxxx>]

Karl,
What would you use in the place of the term stakeholder to describe those 
who have an interest in ICANN's decision making?

To me, it is simply a misuse of the term by ICANN that is the problem, not 
the term itself.  You are correct.  Everyone is affected by the internet 
and everyone affected is a stakeholder.  ICANN chooses to ignore the vast 
majority of us.  If ICANN should state that my name is not Leah but yours 
is Leah, does that mean the name Leah should be dropped because ICANN has 
misused it?  I'm still Leah.

If we were to describe those whom we now call stakeholders as "users."  
How would that change anything?  Every stakeholder is a user and every 
user is a stakeholder.

The question still remains as to how those affected can or will have a 
voice in decision making and elect directors to the Board.  Shall we call 
ourselves "netizens" instead?  Wouldn't that exclude all those who do not 
use the internet directly, but are still affected by it?

Leah


On 9 Aug 2003 at 15:31, Karl Auerbach wrote:

> 
> > .... Even if the manager does a good job,
> > stakeholders may want to replace it with another organization ...
>   ^^^^^^^^^^^^
> 
> May I suggest that we forever drop the word "stakeholders".
> 
> That word has been used repeatedly to disenfranchise those who are 
> affected by ICANN's positions and to create privileged classes who have
> been fortunate enough (or powerful enough) to have been anointed with the
> attribute "stakeholder".
> 
> If truth be told, *everyone* on the planet is affected by the internet,
> everyone has a stake in the internet.  Everyone is a "stakeholder" in the
> internet as a whole.  The citizens and residents of a country are
> "stakeholders" in the country code TLD of that country.
> 
> I reject the argument, an argument that is used to justify ICANN's
> structure, that certain among us are more equal than others.
> 
> There is no need to accord "intellectual property" interests, 
> "businesses", or "corporations" any special privileges by granting to them
> the status of "stakeholder".
> 
> Intellectual property creators are all of us with minds who record our
> thoughts.
> 
> Business is composed not only of sellers but also of buyers - of which we,
> the people of the internet community act in both roles.
> 
> Corporations are owned by people and act through people.
> 
> The most fundamental error in all of ICANN-dom is this concept of
> "stakeholder".
> 
> That fact that many among us blithly accept that word, and the
> disadvantaged status it confers on many, and the privileged status it
> confers on a few, is very, very sad.
> 
>   --karl--
> 
> 
>