[cc-community] The iCommons Lab Report

David Berry d.berry at sussex.ac.uk
Thu Nov 9 11:01:22 EST 2006


Re: The iCommons Lab Report

I had to laugh when I read the question of the Governance of an 'open  
and transparent' global community (page 1)- I presume they mean  
iCommons.

Who should iCommons ask for advice about setting up this open  
structure of governance? Sociologists? Political theorists? Political  
scientists? Us? Nope. --- They ask Hackers who release a distribution  
of the Linux operating system called Ubuntu. What?!?  And they seem  
to be taking this advice seriously. I mean like, seriously.

Which bring us to...

How was the iCommons Code of Conduct passed (page 2)? I didn't see a  
vote, debate (beyond the wiki) or any of the so called 'open and  
transparent governance and processes' that are listed as a core value  
and principle... is this an example of 'consensus and running code'?  
I really wonder why certain things are missing (fairtrade/human  
rights anyone?) and who decided what was in and what was out... and  
how do we change it if we don't like it?

What is even weirder is the iCommons community council (iCCC) which  
is open for nominations (good), but then selected by iCommons Board  
which will make the final decision of the 9-13 iCCC members (not so  
good - why the shifting number? what power will it have?).  This  
doesn't sound particularly open or transparent - how will we know the  
criteria for selection? Will the decision be made in public (i.e. we  
can attend the meeting as observers?)? Why can't the iCommons nodes  
who nominate vote? After all to quote from the iCommons Code of  
Conduct it is important that we 'avoid conflicts of interest' which  
requires clear procedures and processes to guide the election (if  
that is what it is). Where are they? Who decides?

A shame that 'open' and 'democratic' are traveling in different  
directions.

iCommons, the world is watching... and you are creating a corporate  
machine rather than a democratic one... is that what all the  
iCommoners, free culture and assorted supporters want? Success for  
Creative Commons/free culture is one thing, but lets not lose sight  
that the Means are just as important as the Ends.

David

------


iCommons Code of Conduct: The Text
iCommons and the iCommons nodes adhere to these core values and  
principles:

· iCommoners are respectful of the diversity of creativity and of  
intellectual thought. We are a diverse group of people - from civil  
society, business and governments; from the North and the South; from  
politically diverse backgrounds and cultures. We know that this kind  
of diversity is found in very few places, that it requires a very  
special kind of respect - and that we are especially mindful of this  
because it is our greatest strength.

· iCommoners collaborate and help one another. Because we are a  
global commons movement, we recognise that not every community has  
the same level of connectivity/support etc, and as such, we recognise  
how important it is to collaborate with those from diverse cultural/ 
political/economic contexts. We recognise that developing true  
partnerships between communities in the North and South is as  
important as developing cutting edge products and services.

· iCommoners are committed to ensuring the freedom of societies to  
create, build upon and share the world's knowledge, culture and  
science. iCommoners believe that, because this freedom is essential  
to the freedom of expression, that we will promote the highest levels  
of open access to intellectual products for organisations and  
individuals - especially those with a public mandate.

· iCommoners employ open and transparent governance and processes.  
Transparency is important because it encourages communal ownership of  
the iCommons network, allows us to learn from one another, helps and  
helps to avoid conflicts of interest. iCommoners will adopt  
transparent governance procedures without disrespecting individual  
privacy rights.
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