Nominet EGM - is 1 hour enough?

[willbon]

I read with interest the arguments for and against the proposal at the EGM... but I don't see much 'debate' backwards and forwards about the proposal.

It seems to me that the allocated 1 hour for all business to be discussed... and voted on is a very short time to spend debating such an important issue.

As there is no Nominet forum for this.. is there anywhere else where this debate is going on (besides here on Acorn) that I've missed?

 

[Siusaidh]

There is lively discussion at Hostmasters 'Discourse' forum, which is run for Nominet registrars. It is predominantly 'in favour' of a YES vote, but then again the majority of members who actually and openly engage in these issues ARE in favour of 'YES'. That said, the Nominet director David Thornton has posted from time to time (including his proposal to change Nominet into a for profit company where people can buy shares in it), and there are other intelligent and thoughtful contributors like Volker Greimann of Centralnic, who are less convinced by the arguments for 'YES' but make well-rounded points.

I'm not aware of any other forum where anything like intelligent discussion is going on, and the 'Discourse' forum became the home for discussion because Russell Haworth had the 'brainwave' of closing down the Nominet Members' Forum right in the middle of the last AGM.

 

[willbon]

There is lively discussion at Hostmasters 'Discourse' forum, which is run for Nominet registrars. It is predominantly 'in favour' of a YES vote, but then again the majority of members who actually and openly engage in these issues ARE in favour of 'YES'. That said, the Nominet director David Thornton has posted from time to time (including his proposal to change Nominet into a for profit company where people can buy shares in it), and there are other intelligent and thoughtful contributors like Volker Greimann of Centralnic, who are less convinced by the arguments for 'YES' but make well-rounded points.

I'm not aware of any other forum where anything like intelligent discussion is going on, and the 'Discourse' forum became the home for discussion because Russell Haworth had the 'brainwave' of closing down the Nominet Members' Forum right in the middle of the last AGM.

Thanks I'll apply and take a look...
I still think that trying to get it 'done' in an hour is a bit ambitious!
Thanks

 

[dee]

Edit..... Found it.

 

[martin-s]

It seems pretty apparent to me that Mark and Russell are refusing to engage in any real debate publicly. I wonder why? Because the whole basis of their defence against the EGM is to refuse to acknowledge the depth of the issues?

Their "2 days to go" email (oh great, we're getting daily propaganda spam now) just popped into my inbox along exactly those lines.

 

[jmcc]

It seems pretty apparent to me that Mark and Russell are refusing to engage in any real debate publicly. I wonder why? Because the whole basis of their defence against the EGM is to refuse to acknowledge the depth of the issues?

Their "2 days to go" email (oh great, we're getting daily propaganda spam now) just popped into my inbox along exactly those lines.

Does look a bit like an attempt to control the narrative by Nominet. It is also e-mailing members who have already voted.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Johnp]

Nope, it really isn't long enough to have a true debate with proper member engagement - not that we will get that or an outcome at the end of meeting.

What we will have is a stage managed event, think of something a bit like one of the current downing street press conferences, but without journalists allowed to ask awkward questions. The publicbenefit side proposing the EGM apparently being offered the opportunity to make their case via a 3 minute pre-recorded video only (which I believe they have declined - they want to appear live).

Then pre-selected friendly softball questions to the board where they ram home message about 'Vote No', 'Keep the lights On', 'Save Nominet and the NHS' and then the time is up they close the meeting awaiting confirmation of result.

Two hours later they will announce this by twitter, and probably next day we get a press release issued where they announce what they plan to do.

Sorry don't hold your breath. There will be more twists to come and Nominet's Plan G. I am sure has already been pulled from the safe.


JohnP

 

[Siusaidh]

Surely if people want to ask Simon Blackler a question about the Resolution which he proposed, they have a right to do so, and he has a right to answer them? Sure they both get to have a short video at the start, but when the Q&A begins, if questions are asked about the resolution and its issues (as proposed) surely Simon Blackler gets to answer questions about the Resolution he himself is proposing. Especially if Mark Wood assumes the same right to oppose the Resolution and answer the said questions. If Simon is not being given that right, this is corrupt process. It was the same with the one-sided video of Mark on the voting page.

And they wonder why 467+ members have called for their resignations?

 

[Edwin]

Bear in mind, the more it seems likely that Nominet will lose, the less incentive there will be for those at the top and about to be booted out of their directorships to fight fair.

What also seems under-discussed is that they're only losing that particular role, they're not being forced to quit the company. Not suggesting they should be obliged to quit, but if they go for a scorched earth defence they're then going to have to keep working there with the stink of burnt earth in their nostrils.

 

[jmcc]

Linx is now in favour of a 'yes' vote.

https://www.linx.net/contact/linx-news/statement-concerning-the-forthcoming-nominet-egm/

Looks like there is some momentum now.

Regards...jmcc

 

[Siusaidh]

And this from the Internet Commerce Association: read here

As of this evening, the call for the return of Nominet to its core functions, stands at:

Members supporting the Resolution to remove 5 directors: 468 and still rising

Voting Rights pledged: 2,032,872

Percentage of the top 50 UK members: 75%

Among members who support the Resolution: Tucows, Namecheap, Gandhi, 20i, Coherent, Krystal, ANY-web, Hosting Concepts BV, Zen Internet, UKFast.net, Freeola, Twenty Twenty Media, Nokta, 3DWeb and 454 others.

Meanwhile, in other anomalies:

The Voting Register, and who can vote what, has not been provided, despite repeated requests - why? They have had many weeks, but they now say it won't be disclosed until sometime after the vote.

In contravention of normal voting protocol, the video of only one side was added to the voting portal, and only Mark Wood got to put his case (a bit like the voting sheet in the booths in a General Election saying 'Vote Labour').

And at the EGM, only the Board will be allowed to answer members' questions about the Resolution, while Simon Blackler who presents the Resolution will not be allowed to answer questions about it.

When does this regime ever learn?

 

[martin-s]

Even if there wasn't anything else wrong at Nominet at the moment, I think the board need to go just for their shambolic handling of the EGM. The lack of transparency on voting rights and lack of engagement with debate on the resolution is all quite shocking really.

 

[JMI]

I think they have something up their sleeve to pull out at the EGM to negate this process, something we overlooked, even if only temporary to kick it down the line.

It's gone quiet, it's all looking a bit too easy..

 

[Siusaidh]

I think they're fucked on Resolution 1.

Then stage 2 begins..

 

[Edwin]

What happens if most people appointed Simon as their proxy, but he is barred from connecting to the meeting at that point? Would that mean all those millions of votes are lost?

 

[jmcc]

I'm still trying to figure out the implications of some of the bigger players voting 'no'. This EGM seems to have united the membership quite well and that will be noticed by ordinary registrants as well. If the motion is passed, then there might be some fallout for some of the registrars who voted against it with shifts to other registrars. Switching registrars (in the gTLD markets) is not as common as hosting/dns switching. Some of the larger undecided registrar operations are not UK owned and may not want to get involved in the issue. As a result, it might make more sense for them to abstain rather than vote one way or the other.

Regards...jmcc

 

[jmcc]

What happens if most people appointed Simon as their proxy, but he is barred from connecting to the meeting at that point? Would that mean all those millions of votes are lost?

That would cause a lot of problems for the board and could trigger government intervention as people might suspect the worst. The media would also put Nominet and the board under a microscope.

Regards...jmcc

 

[TinkyWinky]

What happens if most people appointed Simon as their proxy, but he is barred from connecting to the meeting at that point? Would that mean all those millions of votes are lost?

Bet he'll be sat outside the building ready to run in during his 3 mins and make a dramatic scene .

Unfortunately, I guess he woudl have to print out all the proxy votes - but at least we know he'd plant the trees to make up for it !!!