It should be kept firmly at the forefront that the ISOC is not a private club with entirely arbitrary, capricious and whimsical rules which may benefit whomever and whatever private interests it so pleases. The ISOC is a non-profit corporation to serve the public trust.
Section 3 of the ISOC Articles of Incorporation: http://www.isoc.org/isoc/general/trustees/incorp.shtml
3. The purpose or purposes for which the corporation is organized are as follows: To be a non-profit corporation (without capital stock), which shall be operated exclusively for educational, charitable and scientific purposes. Such educational, charitable, and scientific purposes shall include carrying on activities:
A. To facilitate and support the technical evolution of the Internet as a research and education infrastructure, and to stimulate the involvement of the scientific community, industry, government and others in the evolution of the Internet;
B. To educate the scientific community, industry and the public at large concerning the technology, use and application of the Internet;
C. To promote educational applications of Internet technology for the benefit of government, colleges and universities, industry, and the public at large;
D. To provide a forum for exploration of new Internet applications, and to stimulate collaboration among organizations in their operational use of the global Internet.
To exercise all the powers conferred upon corporations formed under the District of Columbia Non-Profit Corporation Act in order to accomplish the corporation's educational, charitable and scientific purposes; and to take other actions necessary or convenient to effect any or all of the purposes for which the corporation is organized.
The ISOC is a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Charitable Organization http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=96099,00.html:
· "An organization will be regarded as "operated exclusively" for one or more exempt purposes only if it engages primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of the exempt purposes specified in IRC Section 501(c)(3). An organization will not be so regarded if more than an insubstantial part of its activities is not in furtherance of an exempt purpose."
· "The organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, such as the creator or the creator's family, shareholders of the organization, other designated individuals, or persons controlled directly or indirectly by such private interests."
Serve the public trust: ISOC Fiduciary responsibilities
http://www.isoc.org/isoc/general/trustees/conflictofinterest.shtml:
(Emphasis added)
2. Fiduciary Responsibilities. Members of the Board, officers, and employees of ISOC serve the public trust and have a clear obligation to fulfill their responsibilities in a manner consistent with this fact. All decisions of the Board and officers of the administration and faculty are to be made solely on the basis of a desire to promote the best interests of the institution and the public good. ISOC's integrity must be protected and advanced at all times.
Besides acting consistently with the ISOC policies and responsibilities, the IETF must comply with its own internal policies. Of particular relevance to this document are the following rules and policies of the IETF.
The Chair has the responsibility and the authority to make decisions, on behalf of the working group, regarding all matters of working group process and staffing, in conformance with the rules of the IETF. The AD [Area Director -ed] has the authority and the responsibility to assist in making those decisions at the request of the Chair or when circumstances warrant such an intervention.
6.5.1 Working Group Disputes
An individual (whether a participant in the relevant Working Group or not) may disagree with a Working Group recommendation based on his or her belief that either (a) his or her own views have not been adequately considered by the Working Group, or (b) the Working Group has made an incorrect technical choice which places the quality and/or integrity of the Working Group's product(s) in significant jeopardy. The first issue is a difficulty with Working Group process; the latter is an assertion of technical error. These two types of disagreement are quite different, but both are handled by the same process of review.
A person who disagrees with a Working Group recommendation shall always first discuss the matter with the Working Group's chair(s), who may involve other members of the Working Group (or the Working Group as a whole) in the discussion.
Each Working Group has a charter page which lists an email address for the Working Group Chair(s), The Area Director(s), and the Area Advisor(s), as well as any discussion group email lists.
It should be kept firmly at the forefront that the ISOC is not a private club with entirely arbitrary, capricious and whimsical rules which may benefit whomever and whatever private interests it so pleases.
Section 3 of the ISOC Articles of Incorporation: http://www.isoc.org/isoc/general/trustees/incorp.shtml
3. The purpose or purposes for which the corporation is organized are as follows: To be a non-profit corporation (without capital stock), which shall be operated exclusively for educational, charitable and scientific purposes. Such educational, charitable, and scientific purposes shall include carrying on activities:
A. To facilitate and support the technical evolution of the Internet as a research and education infrastructure, and to stimulate the involvement of the scientific community, industry, government and others in the evolution of the Internet;
B. To educate the scientific community, industry and the public at large concerning the technology, use and application of the Internet;
C. To promote educational applications of Internet technology for the benefit of government, colleges and universities, industry, and the public at large;
D. To provide a forum for exploration of new Internet applications, and to stimulate collaboration among organizations in their operational use of the global Internet.
To exercise all the powers conferred upon corporations formed under the District of Columbia Non-Profit Corporation Act in order to accomplish the corporation's educational, charitable and scientific purposes; and to take other actions necessary or convenient to effect any or all of the purposes for which the corporation is organized.
The ISOC is a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Charitable Organization http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/article/0,,id=96099,00.html:
· "An organization will be regarded as "operated exclusively" for one or more exempt purposes only if it engages primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of the exempt purposes specified in IRC Section 501(c)(3). An organization will not be so regarded if more than an insubstantial part of its activities is not in furtherance of an exempt purpose."
· "The organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, such as the creator or the creator's family, shareholders of the organization, other designated individuals, or persons controlled directly or indirectly by such private interests."
Serve the public trust: ISOC Fiduciary responsibilities
http://www.isoc.org/isoc/general/trustees/conflictofinterest.shtml:
(Emphasis added)
2. Fiduciary Responsibilities. Members of the Board, officers, and employees of ISOC serve the public trust and have a clear obligation to fulfill their responsibilities in a manner consistent with this fact. All decisions of the Board and officers of the administration and faculty are to be made solely on the basis of a desire to promote the best interests of the institution and the public good. ISOC's integrity must be protected and advanced at all times.
Besides acting consistently with the ISOC policies and responsibilities, the IETF must comply with its own internal policies. Of particular relevance to this document are the following rules and policies of the IETF.
The Chair has the responsibility and the authority to make decisions, on behalf of the working group, regarding all matters of working group process and staffing, in conformance with the rules of the IETF. The AD [Area Director -ed] has the authority and the responsibility to assist in making those decisions at the request of the Chair or when circumstances warrant such an intervention.
6.5.1 Working Group Disputes
An individual (whether a participant in the relevant Working Group or not) may disagree with a Working Group recommendation based on his or her belief that either (a) his or her own views have not been adequately considered by the Working Group, or (b) the Working Group has made an incorrect technical choice which places the quality and/or integrity of the Working Group's product(s) in significant jeopardy. The first issue is a difficulty with Working Group process; the latter is an assertion of technical error. These two types of disagreement are quite different, but both are handled by the same process of review.
A person who disagrees with a Working Group recommendation shall always first discuss the matter with the Working Group's chair(s), who may involve other members of the Working Group (or the Working Group as a whole) in the discussion.
Each Working Group has a charter page which lists an email address for the Working Group Chair(s), The Area Director(s), and the Area Advisor(s), as well as any discussion group email lists.