RE: [ga] Veni, Vidi, Wiki

["Gomes, Chuck" <cgomes@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Karl,

Your point about the value of getting to know one another in person is
very much on target in my opinion.  As you will recall, many years ago,
even before ICANN came into existence, many of us participated in the
old Domain Policy List.  I personally found it extremely beneficial when
I was able to meet and talk with some of the people from that list
in-person.  It really did make a difference.

Fortunately, you and I have had that opportunity.  It would be helpful
if many more of us could do that as well.

Chuck Gomes
VeriSign Information Services

 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Karl Auerbach
> Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2006 11:27 PM
> To: George Kirikos
> Cc: ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ga] Veni, Vidi, Wiki
> 
> Let's not be to harsh.  Being on ICANN's board is rather a 
> difficult act 
> of juggling.
> 
> When I was on the board I found myself in a rather strange position - 
> although I could speak for myself I could not speak for the 
> corporation. 
>   This meant that I had to be very careful to make it clear 
> that I was 
> offering *my* opinion and *my* perspective and *my* 
> intention.  And in 
> my online "diary" of what I had done on the board I was 
> careful to try 
> to indicate what I had done and not what others had said or opined.
> 
> I felt quite it rather odd to be in a position in which I was called 
> upon to try to articulate the internet needs and goals of nearly 
> 400,000,000 people.
> 
> Electronic discussion is a very dangerous art - a few slips of the 
> keyboard and people get angry or read things into text that were not 
> intended.  And once people start to get these kinds of 
> perceptions, it 
> is very hard to bring the discussion back into focus.  Direct 
> face-to-face talks are far less likely to go awry.
> 
> And we speak many different languages.  We need to always 
> remember that 
> not all of us use English with perfection, so we ought to 
> always beware 
> that our words might be misunderstood, or that the 
> connotations might be 
> rather different.
> 
> That's why these e-mail discussions need to be taken slowly, 
> with lots 
> of interaction to ensure that we really understand one another.  That 
> can be frustrating, and people may feel as if they are being attacked 
> when it is merely an attempt to clarify a point.  So it is 
> important to 
> be gentle.
> 
> These kinds of things are hard - I know that I violate these precepts 
> far too often.
> 
> What we really need is for there to be ICANN meetings that have 
> absolutely no business content - the sole purpose should be for us to 
> get together, meet face-to-face, share meals and good wine (for those 
> who drink alcohol), and otherwise get to know the people behind the 
> email addresses.  (We'd probably discover that we somehow managed to 
> accomplish a lot of business without really trying.)
> 
> 		--karl--
> 
> 
>