[ARIN-consult] Consultation on Expanding the Size of the ARIN Board of Trustees

[John Curran]

On 6 Apr 2018, at 5:19 PM, William Herrin <bill at herrin.us> wrote:
> 
> On Fri, Apr 6, 2018 at 4:59 PM, John Curran <jcurran at arin.net> wrote:
>> For example, when the NANOG community was maturing and the concept of having
>> a formal NANOG organization was raised, the ARIN Board had to discuss
>> various options, such as supporting the initiative (which was the ultimate
>> decision including initial organizational and financial support), but the
>> options discussed also included possible directions that could have
>> adversely impacted the initiative simply by being brought before the entire
>> ARIN community.   While we had a Board which had sufficient breadth of
>> knowledge to consider the options in confidence, that was not assure to be
>> the case given its relatively modest size.
> 
> Respectfully, this is a perfect example of mission creep. ARIN was
> long ago asked to coordinate meetings with NANOG for the convenience
> of folks who wish to attend both. Greater interaction exceeded ARIN's
> mission scope.

I disagree:  it was quite important for ARIN to consider whether aid the transition, such lending NANOG the initial funds it needed for operation, agreeing to be its hotel contractor for first few meetings (as the new organization lacked credit history), etc.  Even making a decision _not_ to provide such support would have equally required confidential Board discussion, so it would appear that the breadth of the Board is important regardless of your view of the right outcome. 

> There was no call for the ARIN board to debate anything
> at all about whether NANOG decided to move out from under MERIT.

See above.

> Far from offering a bulwark, more board members would offer idle hands
> to exacerbate this problem.

I’m unaware of how more Board members would automatically create more Board activities at ARIN; there’s very little considered by the ARIN Board that isn't initiated from myself, the Board Chair, or the members (e.g. via the consultation/suggestion process)

Thanks,
/John

John Curran 
President and CEO
ARIN