Hi, I'm standing for the Nominet elected Non Executive Director role this year

[tomclowes]

This is literally just a “vote for me” thread. You haven’t explained why and you have ignored lots of (what I consider to be) reasonable questions..

 

[Murray]

Is this the role Invincible/David had?

Was he able to make any positive change to anything

 

[Ben Thomas]

The thing is, Anne. Is that we are the people who you supposedly want to be "serving". You in fact are one of us, but already it seems you've turned into a Nominet monkey and left us behind in your mind. You can't even address our initial questions and concerns, you'd much rather palm us off to watch some video or direct some traffic to your website.

You want people to vote for you? Give them a reason to. Don't come onto the most popular forum on the internet for domain registrars and think you can create a couple of posts asking people to vote for you for no reason. We're not your average citizens. We need logic and reason. Not gimmicks, fancy videos and empty promises.

Not to burst your bubble here, but this role is BS. You know it and I know it. We all know it. If you were really interested in doing ANYTHING for the community, why have you only just joined this forum?

 

[RobM]

Is this the role Invincible/David had?

Was he able to make any positive change to anything

No. He went the other way. A dog cannot bite the hand that's feeding it and we knew he was full of crap (he did too but he had long since left his self-respect at the door - apparently it was only worth £30k). Eventually he disappeared. Last seen outside the kitchen door of restaurants where nominet board members were spending our money on lavish 5 course meals saying 'gizajob'.

 

[Sam]

No. He went the other way. A dog cannot bite the hand that's feeding it and we knew he was full of crap (he did too but he had long since left his self-respect at the door - apparently it was only worth £30k). Eventually he disappeared. Last seen outside the kitchen door of restaurants where nominet board members were spending our money on lavish 5 course meals saying 'gizajob'.

Your find him on the nominet forum defending every post...

 

[Admin]

Timing is everything isn't it.

 

[monaghan]

Having been a candidate last year (circumstances didn't allow me to stand this year), I can understand the questions and negativity, however, if we fail to vote for the independent candidates then fewer and fewer will stand and then the entire board will have no opposition at any stage.

Yes it's a lot of money for a few days work, but I'd much rather see some of my registration fees going to an independent than as a bonus for a selected person from a big registrar.

I don't personally know Anne (but the face seems familiar from Nominet events) and have nothing to gain, I would encourage Acorn members who have a Nominet membership to cast their vote to Anne, even if it is just a protest against the system.

 

[Murray]

it seems you've turned into a Nominet monkey and left us behind in your mind.

I don't disagree with your post, but calling them a nominet monkey I think is a bit unsavoury and uncalled for

 

[stitchbob]

It's clear that there are members who just can't see a way back, or want to vote, engage, watch a video - and I'll struggle to say anything to change those peoples minds, but I wanted to have a bash at going for the role.

You're right, I don't want to email somebody, wait for a password, then watch a video on the off chance that any questions I might have are answered there. That's why I came to a discussion forum - it's easier and faster to get answers to specific questions by simply asking the questions of the representative who supposedly wants to represent us. This is your opportunity to put on public record exactly what your aims are and answer any questions from any member who cares to ask them. After all, as your election statement says, "Communication is key to a successful organisation, and all members must receive information and engagement with Nominet in a fair and balanced way."

This is my first experience of the election process, but clearly the position you're aiming for isn't a popular one, and you're going to have a struggle to get people to put faith in you. What's needed to start down that road is a strong character with clear ideas of what they want to achieve, who isn't afraid of upsetting the boardroom to get there. You'll probably still fail, but at least you'll have stood for your principals and have the respect of the people you claim to represent. Political non-answers and referrals to password-protected content just sounds like you've already had the required surgery for Nominet to use you as a puppet.

 

[RobM]

...and then the entire board will have no opposition at any stage.

A NED can't oppose them. They can only 'voice concerns'. This is just the equivalent of deciding whether you prefer to eat soil or sand.

 

[monaghan]

stichbob, that's a bit harsh! As a member you'll have had a voting link sent to you by now and can get the video statement and candidate pack and cast your vote all in 1 place. You also need to remember what the NED position actually is, perhaps you should read the requirement so you understand what it is you are voting for.

 

[stitchbob]

Alex, it may be harsh, but if I joined a forum as a newcomer and started asking members to vote for me, I would expect to have to justify why they should, not simply refer them to pre-prepared statements and videos. I would also consider it a vital part of my campaign to engage with the very people who are going to vote for me, even if that means repeating things I've already covered in my campaign pack.

I do have access to the candidate pack, but since this post is in the Introductions section of a general domain discussion forum, I believe any questions should be answered publicly, not hidden behind a paywall. If those answers aren't intended for public consumption, the tag holders section may be a more appropriate section for this post.

 

[monaghan]

A NED can't oppose them. They can only 'voice concerns'. This is just the equivalent of deciding whether you prefer to eat soil or sand.

Maybe the wrong choice of words, but I suspect voicing a concern would be seen as opposition by the "yes men".

Do you suggest that we no longer attempt to get an independent on the board and just leave Nominet to the big players? If so then perhaps we should all go home now and leave the primary and secondary markets to the likes of 123-reg!

 

[monaghan]

Alex, it may be harsh, but if I joined a forum as a newcomer and started asking members to vote for me, I would expect to have to justify why they should, not simply refer them to pre-prepared statements and videos. I would also consider it a vital part of my campaign to engage with the very people who are going to vote for me, even if that means repeating things I've already covered in my campaign pack.

I do have access to the candidate pack, but since this post is in the Introductions section of a general domain discussion forum, I believe any questions should be answered publicly, not hidden behind a paywall. If those answers aren't intended for public consumption, the tag holders section may be a more appropriate section for this post.

Agreed in part, however, this is a forum of educated and experienced domain traders and professionals who understand the system, I'd not expect to be asked questions that are covered elsewhere by members of this forum, maybe other forums it would be justified.

The candidate pack is required to be members only for GDPR compliance, this was discussed last year at this time. All those who need access to make their decision on who to vote for have access, all those who aren't eligible to vote have no need to be involved, Nominet is a member organisation, and there's no public vote on who is on the board.

 

[RobM]

No I would like to see people find out who (outside of nominet) can look into Nominet's activities, work out legalities, and see whether they are answerable somewhere - antitrust, monopolies, etc. Not much can be done from outside UK but plenty of UK members. This is just a complete waste of time. That's what they bank on - you all bicker over a NED who has NO SAY.. Shall we leave them to the big players? They are already there. I know someone (won't say who that is up to them but is aware of the forum) who is desperately compiling evidence of illegalities in their structure and behaviour and his biggest hurdle is not knowing *who* to take it to - I understand the evidence is now at least being presented to a lawyer. A NED doesn't factor one bit into any change and is irrelevant. So you carry on with pointless votes for pointless positions but don't be surprised when some people actually want a real change.

 

[deleted7/10/23]

I'd like someone whose primary interest was in helping Nominet get back to being closer to the membership again

The current direction of Nominet, the structure (4+4+4+1) of the board and the constant diversification means _at best_ we're looking at stopping any further dilution of member influence initially, it'll be a whole-board-change cycle before anything could seriously be reversed.

Nominet care more about selling domains than they do about managing the .uk namespace

Nominet are (wrongly in my opinion, but hey-ho) mostly concerned about what they're going to do when domains being their slow-death in a few years - they're fully aware the future is bleak for Registries/Registrars in the traditional sense and now have ~200 staff etc to take care of. The conflation of uk namespace, commercial otherstuff, pet-projects, and so on is why they can't see a graceful bow-out and turn the lights off when you leave should be the plan for when domains have all long since faded from memory

"Profit is the Purpose" being Nominets' interpretation of their slogan now

A NED can't oppose them. They can only 'voice concerns'

When the board votes, any of the board can vote No [ although with 4 executives, 4 appointed and only 4 members, we're "outnumbered" by the organisations people to start with so "stopping" a motion requires at least some level of disagreement within the rank and file ]

I'd like to see someone who will represent ordinary internet users

Opinions over whether the existing ALAC does anything useful is one to have over a lot of beer [ or something stronger ] sometime

Nothing stops board members being concerned with "stakeholder" interests (the nominet appointed board members are almost exclusively "outside" of the industry so should have that covered), the minimal number of board positions we as members get to fill, I think, should be with those more concerned about membership, members and that Nominet remains a member owned organisation etc.

Nominet needs people who will stand for NED (and who will succeed in getting to the board) from the various types and sizes of member - it is _not_ supposed to be a box-tick, nod-yes position, but one of providing input and steering - yes of course there are the usual committees and so on (as standard governance requires), and yes of course, you dont get elbows deep into the guts of the organisation (as you would have done 15 years ago), and yes of course (sadly) they're not going to be able to alter the direction of the organisation alone

But if you dont think a NED of any particular persuasion is going to help the organisation or you in some way (i.e. you've already given up on Nominet) then I fully understand your position and how you got to that conclusion, however I disagree - so feel free to proxy me to cast your vote if you dont want it

For disclose, I like Volker, I speak to him regularly, I think his opinions are different to many other current/previous NEDs and many NED candidates, I see that he challenges/questions things, is engaged with the membership at numerous events during the year and would have absolutely no issue with him being re-elected [ and my guestimates of numbers/support/voting rights indicate that's highly likely ]

This time however our 20,000-ish votes I'll be casting for Anne in position #1

 

[Ben Thomas]

I don't disagree with your post, but calling them a nominet monkey I think is a bit unsavoury and uncalled for

Thanks for your input, Murray.

 

[Siusaidh]

"Nominet is a member organisation, and there's no public vote on who is on the board."

Should there be?

Where is the representation of the ordinary internet user in the governance of the UK namespace?

As I asked Anne (and would love a reply): "Do you have any proposals?" as to how voice and presence could be given to ordinary internet users in the administration of the UK namespace.

 

[monaghan]

"Nominet is a member organisation, and there's no public vote on who is on the board."

Should there be?

Where is the representation of the ordinary internet user in the governance of the UK namespace?

Anyone interested can join Nominet. To be honest, based on the dealings I have with my non-acorn customers (mostly small business or private individuals) I very much doubt the ordinary Internet user would have any interest in Nominet or the UK namespace or even know the difference between a website and a domain, let alone know the difference between a .uk and a .com and based on this, I'd not actually want them to be able to have their input to the management of the namespace.

 

[Ben Thomas]

Anyone interested can join Nominet. To be honest, based on the dealings I have with my non-acorn customers (mostly small business or private individuals) I very much doubt the ordinary Internet user would have any interest in Nominet or the UK namespace or even know the difference between a website and a domain, let alone know the difference between a .uk and a .com and based on this, I'd not actually want them to be able to have their input to the management of the namespace.

I agree with this. I deal with the kinds of people you're talking about here on a daily basis, it's astounding the amount of people I have to explain to about the difference between website and domain. Honestly, just explaining Nominet, who they are and what they do and why they are important to the matter at hand is sometimes so tiring.