Re: [802SEC] Electronic participation in meetings
At 08:05 PM 1/27/2009 , Bob O'Hara wrote:
>To separate the general discussion of electronic participation
>from the experiment run in the Whitespace SG, I have created
>this new email thread. Please move the general discussion here.
>
>I have read the emails from Tony, John, Geoff, and others.
>They all cite valid issues with the tool used and the problems
>it created running an efficient meeting. I agree that the tool
>has issues and causes inefficiencies in the meeting.
>Tool issues are not a reason to not consider how we can open
>our meetings to more participants, unless we are just against
>that idea on general principles.
I very strongly disagree.
>
>I believe that more participation generates better discussions,
>Which then generate better standards.
Not necessarily. If more participation requires a lower quality, more
cumbersome discussion process for the most interested and most committed
parties, then broader participation is not necessarily a win. That is the
issue we are discussing here. If we open the process to anyone in the world
who is casually interested, perhaps not in a constructive way, then we lose
in terms of our goals, which is producing innovative and relevant new
standards.
> If electronic participation
>will allow more people to participate, or even to observe, why shouldn't
we enable that?
For precisely the reason above.
It is a balance.
We try to do invention by committee.
It is not a given that the larger the committee, the better the output.
>
> -Bob
>
Best regards,
Geoff
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