[ncc-services-wg] RIPE tasks

>> Indeed the board has been exploring how to allow as many members as 
possible
>> to vote. I am afraid our legal counsel advised us that electronic 
voting is
>> not legal in the Netherlands, and the current proxy mechanism is the 
only viable
>> form.

>- In Norway public votes on important questions (like joining the EU or
>not) does not have a legal foundation - they are only advisory to the
>parlament.

This type of an advisory voting process is often called polling or 
"opinion polling".

Imagine the following scenario.

1. RIPE NCC publishes an omnibus plan that will be voted on at the AGM. 
This plan is composed of several distinct items that have been grouped 
together for the single approval vote.

2. RIPE NCC sets up a website which allows registered RIPE members to 
express their opinion of each of the distinct elements of the omnibus 
plan. Because this is an electronic opinion poll, the choices are more 
than simply yes or no. Probably it would be best to have 5 choices 
(Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Don't Care, Agree, Strongly Agree). And 
because it is an opinion poll, each registered RIPE member can change 
their entries any time up to the day before the AGM.

3. The day before the AGM, RIPE NCC compiles the results of the opinion 
poll into a short simple graphical presentation.

4. At the AGM, the poll results are presented early in the agenda as an 
information only item with no discussion. There should be at least an hour 
between the presentation of poll results and the vote on the omnibus plan 
to ensure that people do not confuse the two items. They are separate 
things.

This accomplishes two things. First, it gives people an opportunity to 
express their opinions on planned actions and to see the opinions of other 
RIPE members. It isn't as detailed as the KPMG study, but it is better 
than nothing at all. Secondly, this satisfies the request for 
electronic/Internet participation in the decision-making process and 
should be acceptable under Netherlands law. It will also show how much 
real demand there is for member participation because if members don't use 
the opinion polling system then they really don't care what RIPE NCC does 
with their money.

--Michael Dillon