Consensus Development

[Wallace Koehler <willing@USIT.NET>]

I hear a great clamor for recognition/development/whatever/ toward consensus
on a variety of issues.  I think it is time for those skilled in conflict
resolution to come forward.

1. Like everything else, developing or building consensus means many things.
Usually, "taking a vote" as some suggest tends to polarize rather than lead
to consensus.

2. This listserv might have done that, but like most public fora, too many
of us have insisted on remaining on our individual soap-boxes. That
generally means little movement toward "consenus."

3. I understand the need to protect sacred icons, to protect one's position.
My vested interest in this particular process is limited. I don't
own/operate/license any ISP, company with a trademark, etc. I am concerned
with standards. (I want standards. I don't care what they are, so long as
they are applied and accepted uniformly. I am interested in the structure of
domain names as a search/retrieval mechanism -- thus I'd like a 2ld of md to
mean marc deposee or medical doc or maryland, but not all three).

4. Would the "Camp David" process work here. Let us identify (if we really
need to) each of the vested camps responding to this listserv. Let us carry
from one group to another a list of proposals. Let us then first settle on
what everyone can agree to and put those issues aside (consensus gained).
Let us then "reason together" by taking each part, piece by piece, and
seeing how we can modify to come to agreement. The "thread structure" now in
place can be so employed.

5. Let us stop flaming. If you're flamed, ignore it. A flame p.o.'s me as
much as anyone. If you gotta slap back, do it off the listserv.

6. For once, I think it will matter in 100 years what the outcome of this
process is. These are interesting times -- revolutionary times. Think to the
future. Please. 

Wallace Koehler
willing@usit.net
*****************************************************
Statistics are always true unless you personally know
who made them up --Deepak Chopra*********************