[OpenID] Board membership limited?

[Bill Washburn]

Hi Eddy--

This is all work in progress that is being documented and finalized by the
Foundation as quickly as the Board can make it happen.  Your point
concerning balance in the representation of the community is key for
everyone and that is exactly why: a) the larger number of members of the
board are drawn from the community overall which consists, as you know, of
individuals, small and medium size companies as well as large and very large
organizations.  It is also why the Foundation is attempting to create the
kinds of policies, procedures, and practices that will ensure the community
overall has the chance to guide and inform the work and the innovative
efforts of the community in general and the specifications work in
particular.

As far as the point you make concerning the affiliations of the community
board members, please know that the chief operating principle of the
Foundation and the Board is to operate to the greatest extent possible in a
consensus mode.  This is to ensure that the various different interests are
kept in a balanced state with no favoritism shown.  It is my experience that
competitors who work together on a non-profit organization are scrupulously
keen to make certain the decisions of the board are not unfairly or unduly
tipped in any direction.  So, to my mind, it is a pretty well known and well
regarded practice for maintaining a solid base of fair and unbiased
policies.  It's not perfect, perhaps, but it is usually very, very good for
a new fledgling organization.

cheers,
-bill


On Feb 8, 2008 8:08 PM, Eddy Nigg (StartCom Ltd.) <eddy_nigg at startcom.org>
wrote:

> Is there some documentation on this or is it just an unspoken rule? What
> about balancing the corporate members a little bit with smaller
> organizations and individuals? I'd view this to be at least an interesting
> thought, to balance the steering role even further and guaranty a wider
> representation. Also most community board members are affiliated with
> various interested parties too, so this perhaps this isn't the most balanced
> setup anyway? Just some food for thoughts from me...
>
>
>  -- Dick
>
>  On 8-Feb-08, at 6:07 PM, Eddy Nigg (StartCom Ltd.) wrote:
>
>  Reading yet another nice article at
> http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3726771/OpenID+Gets+Star+Power.htmI picked up the following:
>
> "Washburn said that although the foundation will continue recruiting
> companies of all sizes to support the OpenID standard, it is not likely to
> add any more board members."
>
> Why is that? Just a week ago I was visiting the page at
> http://openid.net/foundation/join/ which invites to join the foundation,
> from student up to the kind of cooperations which just joined? A week ago
> there was a big emptiness at the "Corporate Board Members" section...
>
> Can somebody clarify what the official position is?
>
> --
>   Regards      Signer:  Eddy Nigg, StartCom Ltd. <http://www.startcom.org>
> Jabber:  startcom at startcom.org  Blog:  Join the Revolution!<http://blog.startcom.org>
> Phone:  +1.213.341.0390
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>
>
>
> --
>   Regards      Signer:  Eddy Nigg, StartCom Ltd. <http://www.startcom.org>
> Jabber:  startcom at startcom.org  Blog:  Join the Revolution!<http://blog.startcom.org>
> Phone:  +1.213.341.0390
>
> _______________________________________________
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> http://openid.net/mailman/listinfo/general
>
>
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