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RE: FW: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation




Mark,  I have to agree with Tony.  You can't go back and change the rules after the fact.  You announced the rules for gaining membership going into the March Plenary, and those rules determined a set of qualified voters under the WG start-up provision.  Just because those rules produced a result that you are not happy with, is not an excuse to change the rules post-facto.  I firmly believe that the voters identified for the March Plenary are now the official members of the 802.20 Working Group, and should be empowered to vote in the re-election process during the July Plenary.  

I would recommend that between now and then the various factions make a serious effort to negotiate a compromise slate of candidates that everyone can support going forward, so that the WG can refocus its energies on the real problem at hand, that of producing a first-quality standard that everyone can benefit from.  

Standards development is a consensus-based process; with no consensus there will be no standard, and we all will be worse off for it.  In the words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along ???"  

Thanx,  Buzz
Dr. Everett O. (Buzz) Rigsbee
Boeing - SSG
PO Box 3707, M/S: 7M-FM
Seattle, WA  98124-2207
(425) 865-2443    Fx: (425) 865-6721
everett.o.rigsbee@boeing.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Jeffree [mailto:tony@jeffree.co.uk] 
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2003 1:49 AM
To: stds-802-sec@ieee.org; Mark Klerer
Subject: Re: FW: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation


Mark -

Seems clear to me that, if the January meeting was indeed the first duly 
constituted meeting of the 802.20 WG, then attendance at that meeting 
should be taken into account under the "retention" rule. However, surely 
the "establishment" rule (first line of 5.1.3.1), by the same argument, 
should have been applied in January, and not in March.

Regards,
Tony.


>-----Original Message-----
>From: Mark Klerer [mailto:M.Klerer@flarion.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2003 10:25 PM
>To: 'Bob O'Hara '; Sherman,Matthew J (Matthew); 'paul.nikolich@att.net'
>Subject: RE: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation
>
>Bob, Mat and Paul
>
>Bob you do raise an interesting prospect by stating that you are
>"willing to
>disenfranchise those members that can be shown not to have attended the
>requisite number of meetings at previous sessions of the WORKING GROUP."
>You
>state that this cannot be done since there were no previous sesions.
>Well,
>actually that is not correct. The WORKING GROUP had a "duly constituted
>interim Working Group session" January 13-16, 2003. So it now actually
>becomes a trivial exercise to identify those who have not "attended the
>requisite number of meetings at previous sessions of the WORKING GROUP."
>All
>one needs to do is look at the attendance roster of the January meeting
>on
>the website and compare that to the March session. There were some 60+
>attendees in January including some who attended for the first time,
>i.e.
>were not participants in the SG.
>
>I would also point that the the Operating Rules do not require the first
>session (though it says meeting) to be at a plenary. The Op Rules also
>allow
>substitution of a duly constituted interim meeting for the meetings of a
>pleanry session. So this approach would be entirley within the realm of
>interpretation of the Op rules.
>
>So I for one am willing to go with such an interpretation.
>
>Mark Klerer
>
>
>Mat: I would appreciate you forwarding this to the SEC mailing list.
>Thanks
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Bob O'Hara
>To: mjsherman@research.att.com; stds-802-sec@ieee.org
>Sent: 4/3/03 11:03 AM
>Subject: RE: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation
>
>My opinion is that the interpretation of the rules published by the
>chair of the SG appointed by Paul and affirmed by the SEC, one who
>presumably has sufficient experience in the workings of the LMSC and the
>P&P to hold the position, is valid and has granted membership to those
>that were present for 75% of the meetings of the March session.  I don't
>agree with the chair's interpretation and consider it unduly
>restrictive, given the actual language of the rule.  But, that was what
>was published to the study group and copies provided to the SEC chair
>and other members of the SEC.
>
>However, I am willing to disenfranchise those members that can be shown
>not to have attended the requisite number of meetings at previous
>sessions of the WORKING GROUP.  Given that such evidence cannot be
>produced, because there were no previous meetings of the working group,
>any interpretation of the P&P membership retention rule that would
>disenfranchise those members is clearly absurd.  Just as some might say
>that the members attended no previous sessions of the WG.  I can say
>that those same members attended ALL previous sessions of the WG.
>
>Those that were present when the existing rules were crafted have
>clearly indicated that the rules are intended to grant immediate
>membership, so that the WG can begin conducting official business at its
>first meeting (not session).  Any interpretation of the retention rule
>that immediately removes that membership is also clearly absurd, since
>the WG can no longer continue to conduct business, not even at the
>second meeting of the first session.
>
>So, we have gotten ourselves into this fine mess and Mat has asked us to
>use a procedure form Robert's Rules to interpret the P&P to get
>ourselves out of it.  Robert's says that the interpretation should be in
>accordance with the intention at the time the rule was written.  I have
>seen nothing to contrary to the statements made that membership was
>immediate and necessary to begin conducting business.
>
>In my opinion, it is not the initial membership rule that is ambiguous,
>but the retention rule, which does not account for the startup
>conditions of the working group.
>
>  -Bob
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: mjsherman@research.att.com [mailto:mjsherman@research.att.com]
>Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2003 10:35 PM
>To: stds-802-sec@ieee.org
>Subject: RE: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation
>
>
>
>Hi Everyone,
>
>
>
>So far, I haven't seen a lot of comment on my suggestion that we
>interpret the rules.  The email trail to date is given below.  To
>summarize what I have heard so far (based on the e-mail trail):
>
>
>
>1)     At least some of us believe that membership based on SG
>attendance was originally discussed by 802 and intentionally avoided in
>the current rules
>
>2)     Al least some of us believe that the intent of the current rules
>was indeed to give anyone present at the initial meeting voting rights
>under the assumption they would continue to attend
>
>3)     At least some of us believe that "meeting" really meant
>"meeting", not "session" in the current new WG membership rules
>
>4)     At least some of up believe the chair of a new WG should have the
>discretion to interpret "meeting" as "session" since participation is
>only defined per session (currently)
>
>
>
>In addition I have seen some side traffic concerning other process
>issues relevant to the upcoming 802.20 elections.  However, the focus of
>my interpretation request is really on whether or not the membership in
>802.20 is valid, not on the election process itself.  I encourage others
>to start dealing with that topic if they feel it is an issue.  Based on
>the comments to date, I would have to say that the rule in error is the
>one that determines membership retention.  Based on that my recommended
>interpretation would be to interpret section 5.1.3.2 titled "Retention"
>to read:
>
>
>
>             "Membership is retained by participating in at least two of
>the last four Plenary session meetings.  One duly constituted interim
>Working Group or task group meeting may be substituted for one of the
>two Plenary meetings. (In the case of a new working group with less than
>4 meetings, it is assumed that the 4 plenary sessions prior to the
>formation of the group were attended by the new WG members when
>determining if membership is retained.)"
>
>
>
>I want to clearly establish before the interim what the membership
>status of 802.20 members will be for that meeting.  This interpretation
>would enforce that membership in that WG is maintained until it can
>unambiguously be demonstrated that the retention requirements were not
>met.  If anyone objects to this interpretation please state so, and why
>they believe so.  I want to have a full 30 day ballot on an
>interpretation and I want to make sure I get it right before I put it
>forward.  That is why I am trying to get inputs now.  Please tell me
>what you think.
>
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>
>
>Mat
>
>
>
>Matthew Sherman
>Vice Chair, IEEE 802
>Technology Consultant
>Communications Technology Research
>AT&T Labs - Shannon Laboratory
>Room B255, Building 103
>180 Park Avenue
>P.O. Box 971
>Florham Park, NJ 07932-0971
>Phone: +1 (973) 236-6925
>Fax: +1 (973) 360-5877
>EMAIL: mjsherman@att.com
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Rigsbee, Everett O [mailto:everett.o.rigsbee@boeing.com]
>Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 3:42 PM
>To: Grow, Bob; stds-802-sec@ieee.org
>Subject: RE: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation
>
>
>
>Bob,  I agree completely.  The practice in the past has been to grant
>voting rights based only on attendance at the first official meeting of
>the first plenary session.  But since our rules only refer to
>"participation" in the first session, I am willing to allow the WG chair
>to define exactly what is meant by participation.  In this case however
>where you only have a temporary chair who may have a stake in the
>outcome of the voting this may very well become the minefield to which
>you refer.  Already there has been quite a bit of dickering over what
>constitutes valid participation.  That's why I think we need a re-run
>with the rules clearly spelled out in advance, so that everyone has a
>fair chance to participate.  Let's hope Geoff can bring his usual
>measure of sanity to the process.   :-)
>
>
>
>Thanx,  Buzz
>Dr. Everett O. (Buzz) Rigsbee
>Boeing - SSG
>PO Box 3707, M/S: 7M-FM
>Seattle, WA  98124-2207
>(425) 865-2443    Fx: (425) 865-6721
>everett.o.rigsbee@boeing.com
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Grow, Bob [mailto:bob.grow@intel.com]
>Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 10:05 AM
>To: stds-802-sec@ieee.org
>Subject: RE: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation
>
>
>
>Buzz may be the longest term SEC member, but I think I have a slightly
>different long term perspective as having been in the 802 trenches the
>longest of any SEC member.  Since 1981 I have participated in (and I
>think had voting rights on):  802.2 (as an 802 voter), 802.3, 802.4
>(when it was part of the Token DLMAC), 802.5, 802.6, 802.9 and 802.11.
>I have had membership in two working groups at the same time.  I have
>been involved in the organization of Working Group(s) (802.5 when 802
>got dots, and either one or both of 802.6 and 802.9) becoming a member
>at an initial meeting.  My recollection is that received member rights
>at an organizational meeting, independent of session attendance during
>the plenary week.  While long term historical perspective is
>enlightening, it may also be a mine field.
>
>
>
>--Bob Grow
>
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: mjsherman@research.att.com [mailto:mjsherman@research.att.com]
>Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 7:53 PM
>To: everett.o.rigsbee@boeing.com; stds-802-sec@ieee.org
>Subject: RE: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation
>
>Buzz,
>
>
>
>Much appreciated, and very enlightening!
>
>
>
>Mat
>
>
>
>Matthew Sherman
>Vice Chair, IEEE 802
>Technology Consultant
>Communications Technology Research
>AT&T Labs - Shannon Laboratory
>Room B255, Building 103
>180 Park Avenue
>P.O. Box 971
>Florham Park, NJ 07932-0971
>Phone: +1 (973) 236-6925
>Fax: +1 (973) 360-5877
>EMAIL: mjsherman@att.com
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Rigsbee, Everett O [mailto:everett.o.rigsbee@boeing.com]
>Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 10:46 PM
>To: Sherman,Matthew J (Matthew); stds-802-sec@ieee.org
>Subject: RE: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation
>
>
>
>Colleagues,    Matt Sherman has raised some good points for us to
>consider.
>
>
>
>As our now longest-term member of the SEC, I believe I can speak to the
>intention of the current rules based on prior discussions going back to
>when the rules were created.  The intention behind section 5.1.3.1 was
>that all attendees who participated in the first official plenary
>meeting would be automatically granted full voting rights (membership)
>on a grandfathered basis (as though they had attended the two prior
>plenaries) so that there would be a pool of eligible members (voters) to
>allow for quorum establishment and transaction of committee business.
>Otherwise a new working group would be unable to transact any business
>for two meetings, something that was deemed unacceptable.  There was
>consideration given to having a participation requirement based on the
>preliminary activities of an initial Study Group, but my recollection is
>that study groups were viewed as possibly transitory and unstable
>entities, which were subject to changes and might not be fully attended
>by the major players until such time as a PAR was officially approved.
>So the intention was that the fairest basis was to allow everyone who
>was willing to commit to active participation at the first official
>meeting should be treated as equal participants and granted full
>membership.
>
>
>
>Every new Working Group and TAG that has come aboard has had this same
>basic rule, so it has worked fairly well.  However this is the very
>first instance that I'm aware of, in which all of the officers elected
>had not been participants of the prior Study group which created the
>PAR.  With the exception of Peter Tarrant, who led the Hi-Speed LAN
>Study Group that ultimately morphed into 100BASE-T and 802.12, the
>person who was chair of the Study Group has always been elected to Chair
>the Working Group or TAG.  There was some serious controversy about that
>particular dynamic as well.
>
>
>
>I personally believe that the correct course for us will be to maintain
>the voters list from the Dallas meeting and run a roll call election at
>the July plenary.  Anyone who qualified as a voter in Dallas should be
>entitled to vote in SF whether they attend the interim or not.  Once the
>outcome is officially recorded, the SEC can address any remaining issues
>of block voting based on the data, rather than on a lot of hearsay and
>opinion.  At least there is some opportunity in the meantime to find
>some compromise solutions which may allow the problem to solve itself.
>Time heals all wounds.    :-)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Thanx,  Buzz
>Dr. Everett O. (Buzz) Rigsbee
>Boeing - SSG
>PO Box 3707, M/S: 7M-FM
>Seattle, WA  98124-2207
>(425) 865-2443    Fx: (425) 865-6721
>everett.o.rigsbee@boeing.com
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: mjsherman@research.att.com [mailto:mjsherman@research.att.com]
>Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 6:14 PM
>To: stds-802-sec@ieee.org
>Subject: [802SEC] WG Initial membership interpretation
>
>
>
>Gentle-folks:
>
>
>
>I wish to call to your attention to a particular section of Robert's
>Rules.  That section is the following from Article IX of Robert's Rules
>(10th edition):
>
>
>
>             "If a bylaw is ambiguous, it must be interpreted, if
>possible, in harmony with other bylaws.  The interpretations should be
>in accordance with the intention of the society at the time the bylaw
>was adopted, as far as this can be determined.  Again, intent plays no
>role unless the meaning is unclear or uncertain, but where an ambiguity
>exists, a majority vote is all that is required to decide the question.
>The ambiguous or doubtful expression should be amended as soon as
>practicable."
>
>
>
>I am of the opinion that our "bylaws" (the LMSC P&P) are in fact
>"ambiguous or doubtful" regarding the process of obtaining membership at
>the start up of a working group.  In particular we have from section
>5.1.3.1 titled "Establishment":
>
>
>
>             "All persons participating in the initial meeting of the
>Working Group become members of the Working Group."
>
>
>
>On the other hand we have from section 5.1.3.2 titled "Retention":
>
>
>
>             "Membership is retained by participating in at least two of
>the last four Plenary session meetings.  One duly constituted interim
>Working Group or task group meeting may be substituted for one of the
>two Plenary meetings."
>
>
>
>As was so well explained by Tony (thank you for the excellent analysis)
>in an earlier e-mail, these two rules clearly seem to be at odds with
>one another.  Setting aside for a moment the question of whether or not
>we intended "meeting" or "session" in section 5.1.3.1 (a topic for yet
>another interpretation) these two rules seem to conflict with one
>another.  Even taking the liberal view that meeting means session, after
>the first session the general rules would kick in and all "members"
>would seem to lose their membership in the WG.
>
>
>
>All this said, we already have a P&P change ballot which should "fix"
>this problem by the end of the July meeting.  My concern is for the
>beginning of the July meeting.  Given what happened in March to 802.20,
>I would like to have a clearer interpretation of these "bylaws" so that
>we don't have a repeat of the last meeting.  As indicated by Robert's
>Rules, an interpretation can be established by majority vote.  I believe
>a motion could be put forward and then approved electronically prior to
>the July meeting.  But before I do that, I wanted to open this issue for
>debate prior to making any motions so that I can make sure I make the
>right motion (or perhaps chose not to make a motion at all).
>
>
>
>Any comments on this topic?
>
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>
>
>Mat
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Matthew Sherman
>Vice Chair, IEEE 802
>Technology Consultant
>Communications Technology Research
>AT&T Labs - Shannon Laboratory
>Room B255, Building 103
>180 Park Avenue
>P.O. Box 971
>Florham Park, NJ 07932-0971
>Phone: +1 (973) 236-6925
>Fax: +1 (973) 360-5877
>EMAIL: mjsherman@att.com
>
>

Regards,
Tony