Council Minutes 20/02/97
Minutes of a Meeting of the Council of The Internet Society of New Zealand Inc.
held at the Ministry of Commerce Building, Wellington, on 20 February 1997
Status: These minutes have been approved as accurate by the Council. One paragraph is omitted from this published version.
PRESENT
- Jim Higgins (chair), Stephen Bell, Liam Greenwood, Mark Harris, Roger Hicks, John Hine(late), Don Hollander, John Houlker, Colin Jackson, Neil James, Andy Linton(late), Brenda Lobb, Donald Neal, Jim Shaw, Jenny Shearer, John Vorstermans
APOLOGIES
- John Hine(lateness), Rodney Prescott, Elizabeth Probert
Observer: Patrick O'Brien
The meeting was opened at 10:05am.
The presence of Patrick O'Brien as an observer was acknowledged.
Motion: That the minutes of the meeting of 14 November 1996 are a true and accurate record.
Chair/
CARRIED U
CORRESPONDENCE
a) Letter to Ministers of the Crown re Draft Treaty on Databases
b) Letter from the Secretary of Commerce re Draft Treaty on Databases
c) Letter of Intent to The University of Waikato
Motion: That ISOCNZ pursue closer collaboration with USACM on policy matters.
Shearer/
CARRIED U
Motion: That a Public Policy Committee be established, consisting of Jenny Shearer (chair), Roger Hicks, Jim Higgins, Colin Jackson and Neil James.
Shearer/
CARRIED U
MEMBERSHIP
No membership report was presented, but the Secretary said that he expected to be able to circulate one to the council shortly after the meeting.
FINANCIAL
The Treasurer, Colin Jackson, presented a brief verbal report.
The finances of the DNS activity had been entirely separated from the rest of the society's activities. Excluding the DNS activity, the society held approximately $24 000 in bank deposits. There had been very little expenditure since November 1996, mainly due to the time of year.
Most of the day to day work of managing the society's accounts was being done by the administration contractor (the New Zealand Computer Society).
PAYMENT OF CHAIRPERSON'S EXPENSES
Colin Jackson spoke briefly to his motion, on which there was some discussion. Don Hollander proposed that no one should be out of pocket as a result of being a council member. Colin Jackson emphasised that the motion did not cover floor rental or other expenses which would be incurred in any case.
Motion: That the Treasurer be empowered to pay those of the direct expenses of the Chair which are attributable wholly to ISOCNZ, such as telephone calls and use of consumable office supplies.
Jackson/
CARRIED
NC - Abst.: Hicks
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THE INDUSTRY ADVISORY GROUP
John Vorstermans reported that Arnim Littek had told him that he would not be present at this meeting, and that he wished to resign as IAG representative. The Chairperson undertook to contact Arnim Littek.
PROGRESS REPORT - REGISTRY COMPANY WORKING GROUP
Jim Higgins, chair of the Registry Company Working Group, gave a verbal report.
A secret ballot of council members had chosen Jim Higgins, John Hine and John Vorstermans from among the candidates propose by society members to be directors of the registry company. He also outlined the backgrounds of people proposed by the Institute of Directors to fill the other two positions on the company board, and indicated that directorships had been offered to David Winston Bain BCom ACA and David James Quigg LLB(Hons) LLM.
The meeting agreed that it remained desirable that the non-elected directors have legal and accounting skills.
There was some discussion of the terms for which directors should be appointed.
Motion: That the working group aim to appoint directors for a term of not less than two years and not more than five years, and to stagger directors' terms where possible.
Hicks/
CARRIED U
Jim Higgins reported on his efforts to identify providers of directors' insurance.
Motion: That the working group, when arranging insurance, should also arrange to insure ISOCNZ councillors against liabilities arising from ISOCNZ business.
Jackson/
CARRIED U
There was some discussion of the level of directors' fees to be set.
John Hine arrived at 11:10am.
Motion: That Jim Higgins, John Hine and John Vorstermans be appointed as directors of New Zealand Internet Registry Ltd.
Jackson/
CARRIED
NC - Abst.: Higgins, Hine, Vorstermans
DNS MANAGEMENT CONTRACT TENDERING
Jim Higgins advised that it did not appear likely to be possible to tender DNS management services by 1 July 1997.
The meeting agreed that the society has an obligation to obtain services by tender. There was some discussion of when this should be done.
John Houlker urged the adding of additional functionality to the registry service, such as a whois service and the provision of additional robustness in the DNS. He further argued that ISOCNZ should state or restate exactly what its role is. John Hine agreed, saying that a working group should list in general terms the services to be provided, e.g. that a whois service should be provided.
Andy Linton arrived at 11:30am.
It was agreed that the registry company was the proper organisation to carry out a tendering process. ISOCNZ had the task of creating policy to be CARRIED out by the company.
Don Hollander proposed that a working group be established to prepare a discussion paper for Council.
Motion: That a Working Group be established with the task of proposing a framework within which the management of the DNS can become contestable, and that the working group take special note of the IAHC recommendations for administration and management of global top level domains.
Harris/
CARRIED U
Motion: That the following be appointed to the Working Group: Liam Greenwood, Roger Hicks, John Houlker, Colin Jackson, Andy Linton, Patrick O'Brien, John Vorstermans.
Hollander/
CARRIED U
Motion: That the Working Group provide Council with a preliminary report not later than 20 March 1997.
Jackson/
CARRIED U
It was agreed that the working group be chaired by Colin Jackson.
FINAL REPORT - ELECTRONIC DECISION-MAKING WORKING GROUP
Mark Harris, Chair of this Working Group, presented the Working Group's report.
Motion: That the proposed changes to the bye-laws be tabled.
Harris/
CARRIED U
There was some discussion of the recommendations. Andy Linton proposed that email replies go by default to the original sender rather than to a mailing list. He also suggested that rules be prepared for deciding when a teleconference is to be held.
Liam Greenwood asked whether it was possible to make an attachment to the bylaws without including it as part of the bylaws. The Secretary agreed to consult the society's solicitor on this matter.
Liam Greenwood asked that Mark Harris edit the draft document, removing references to ISOCNZ internal procedures, so that it can be published as a guide to electronic meetings.
The meeting adjourned for lunch at 12:20pm.
The meeting resumed at 12:50pm.
It was agreed that the Administration Committee should take responsibility for further work on the Working Group's report.
REPORT BY DNS MANAGER
Patrick O'Brien presented a verbal report. He noted that the number of enquiries received was approximately doubling each month:
October 1996 20
November 51
December 101
January 1997 202
Around half of all enquiries, he said, relate to billing.
Among the important current work he identified were:
- Completing the formation of the registry company
- Having holders of names registered prior to 22 July 1997 have the names fully delegated and the information held about the names brought up to date
- Contract negotiation with The University of Waikato
- Following up of slow payers (only around half of the money invoiced to date had been collected)
Among items identified for the near future were acquiring office accommodation for the DNS activity, employing customer service staff, and further work on the processes for registration and management of names.
There was some discussion. John Houlker asked whether encouraging other companies, usually ISP's, to add value to the society's registry services "looked like a successful strategy". Patrick O'Brien observed that the service is dealing both with end users and with intermediary organisations who are selling services to end users.
Motion: That a vote of thanks be given to Patrick O'Brien for his efforts over the last four months with the DNS entity.
Jackson/
CARRIED U
DNS MANAGER CONTRACT RENEWAL
Patrick O'Brien was not present during discussion of this item.
Motion: That ISOCNZ roll over the conditions of Patrick O'Brien's contract until New Zealand Internet Registry Ltd is in operation, but not beyond the next council meeting.
Vorstermans/
CARRIED
NC - Abst.: Neal
LEASING OF DOMAIN NAMES
The Chairperson described discussions on this subject which had taken place among a number of Council Members. Most time, he said, had been spent discussing what it meant to hold a domain name. It had been concluded that there was a need to define what the responsibility was that passes to someone when a name is registered by them. John Hine said that the DNS Policy Committee had identified the same need.
It was agreed that the Chairperson should forward to the newly-established DNS Framework Working Group wording for use in an explanation of the responsibilities of domain name holders once that wording is received from the society's solicitor.
FINAL REPORT - HONORARIA WORKING GROUP
Roger Hicks took the chair at 2:00pm.
Mark Harris spoke to the Working Group's report. He noted that the issue of payment of expenses incurred by Council Members had been dealt with earlier in the meeting.
Motion: That the draft report presented by the Working Group be accepted by Council, substituting "the offices of Secretary and Treasurer" for "those offices" in paragraph 4.
Harris/
John Hine asked Colin Jackson, the treasurer, to comment on what the society could afford. Colin Jackson asked that other comments be received first.
John Houlker stated that ISOCNZ was expected to do a professional job for its members.
Liam Greenwood asked where the amounts proposed came from. Mark Harris replied that they came from discussions with organisations paying for similar work.
Colin Jackson expressed the view that problems experienced in 1996 had come in part from lack of time on the part of those involved, and that recompense would not solve this. The society, he said, continued to ask a lot of its officers, but the issue of time was not in itself an argument for recompense. He said that the figures "are high", and endorsed the view that figures should be re-evaluated each year, taking into account officers' workloads.
Mark Harris agreed, saying that the working group's intention had been that that be a part of the annual budgeting process. Paragraph 3 of the report was then amended to read
A level of recompense should be set annually by Council, to be drawn at the discretion of the officer.
Colin Jackson went on to say that it may be morally necessary for an employee who is receiving an honorarium to offer some or all of that honorarium to their employer. This should in turn encourage the employer to continue to make that person available for work as an officer of the society. The motion was then put and
CARRIED
NC Abst.: Higgins, Jackson, Neal
There was then a brief discussion of when the practice of paying honoraria should begin.
Don Hollander left the meeting at 2:30pm.
Motion: That the Administration Committee recommend to the council meeting of 21 May 1997 procedures for the implementation of honoraria for officers of the society.
Harris/
CARRIED
NC - Abst.: Higgins, Jackson, Neal
Jim Higgins resumed the chair at 2:35pm.
POSSIBLE CHANGES TO THE NZ DOMAIN NAME SPACE
John Hine, Chairperson of the DNS Policy Committee, spoke briefly on the process of public consultation regarding possible changes to the structure of the nz domain name space. He said that the DNS Policy Committee intended to bring a specific proposal to the May council meeting. Andy Linton commented that many submissions did not see a distinction between the process of subcontracting registry functions and any possible changes to the domain name structure.
CHANGES TO DOMAIN ADMINISTRATION
The Chairperson informed the council that Victoria University of Wellington wished to cease the DNS registry work they were undertaking. This covered some 150 names in total in the govt.nz, iwi.nz and mil.nz domains, with some uncertainty as to the status of cri.nz. Negotiations were to be opened with The University of Waikato with regard to that university taking over administrative work for these domains. The Chairperson reported that he was working to find organisations to whom the task of implementing name policy for these domains could be delegated.
He then detailed possible organisations in each case.
There was some discussion of the relationship between ISOCNZ and organisations to which this role had been delegated. Liam Greenwood saw a need to verify the technical ability of organisations to which responsibility for operation of technical DNS functions might be delegated. He also stated a wish to see clear understanding between ISOCNZ and such an organisation on the policy which is to be administered.
Andy Linton observed that ISOCNZ must be clear on the relationship between such an organisation and NZ Internet Registry Ltd. Jim Higgins replied that delegation would be CARRIED out by means of a contract binding on both parties.
John Houlker argued that without the proposed framework for DNS management, it would be very difficult to make any different delegation, and suggested that barring any crisis no change needed to be made immediately.
Patrick O'Brien proposed that while The University of Waikato can now take on the administrative parts of the work, thought needs to be given to the degree to which implementation of existing policy can be automated.
The Chairperson concluded the discussion, saying that contracts needed to be worked out, and that there are a number of policy issues outstanding, however "we will be looking at moving from Vic to Waikato in the reasonably near future".
ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE - COUNCIL MEETINGS IN 1997
Donald Neal, Chairperson of the Administration Committee, advised the council that meetings were scheduled to be held on 21 May 1997 in Rotorua, and in August and November 1997 in Wellington. He asked who was to take responsibility for organisation of the ISOCNZ Forum. Jim Higgins agreed to do so.
YEAR 2000 ISSUES AND THE INTERNET
Colin Jackson opened discussion - "I just want to know which bits are going to break in the year 2000".
Andy Linton replied that he had access to references on this subject, and mentioned the version numbers which appear in DNS zone files as one possible source of trouble.
Colin Jackson said that "we are supposed to be taking some sort of leadership role in safeguarding the Internet in New Zealand, and we should be gathering information and putting it out."
Roger Hicks left the meeting at 3:20pm.
Motion: That a Working Group be established to identify potential problems affecting the Internet in New Zealand with the onset of the year 2000, and produce a set of guidelines as a working draft for discussion at the 1997 ISOCNZ Forum, and that the Working Group comprise Andy Linton, Colin Jackson (chair) and Jim Shaw.
Lobb/
CARRIED U
It was agreed that the working group should use the society's mailing list to call for input from members.
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE - RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS
Brenda Lobb referred to her paper, which drew a distinction between two types of communication output, but felt that in the absence of the committee's chairperson, Steve Withers, she could not comment further.
Jim Higgins proposed that the society needed someone who watches the media and contacts appropriate society members or registry company staff so that material can be put out regarding topical issues. Mark Harris argued that material which appears only on-line must be followed up as part of such an effort.
Brenda Lobb stated that this was "a big job" which could not be done on a part-time basis. John Houlker agreed, and asked whether "we could form an alliance with TUANZ" in this area. Patrick O'Brien agreed that that possibility should be explored.
Jenny Shearer wondered whether "some senior person on the council who can write" would be able to do this, possibly also using resources from elsewhere, such as TUANZ. "It's a highly political role, and I think we've got to keep control of our image within our organisation."
Stephen Bell observed that "whoever we use, we're going to have to pay something".
Neil James agreed with Patrick O'Brien that we should be spending money in this area, and with John Houlker that the possibility of cooperation with TUANZ should be explored. The Chairperson described informal discussions which had already taken place with TUANZ. It was agreed that though there were potential advantages of working with TUANZ, it was important that ISOCNZ retained both actual and perceived independence from any other organisation.
Jim Higgins also observed that the society needed to develop a comprehensive strategy, but could not cease to handle day to day matters while doing so. He referred to an initial report prepared for the society by consultant Joan Palmer.
There was some discussion of a proposal by Brenda Lobb that the society employ a PR person full-time. Doubts were expressed that a full-time position was justified. Stephen Bell suggested that the job could be done part-time with the help of a clipping service and of council members.
John Vorstermans expressed the view that it was too early to look at employing a person, but that Joan Palmer's report needed to be "digested" and the items in it prioritised. Jim Higgins agreed that more work should be done on the report, and proposed that the report be referred back to the Corporate Communications Committee to develop, in consultation with Joan Palmer, a set of steps to be taken, each with stated resource requirements.
There was some discussion of the process by which public statements by the society were made.
Motion: That The Chairperson be authorised to issue press releases in consultation with one other Council Member.
Shearer/
Donald Neal observed that the effect of this motion would be to reduce the Chairperson's ability to make statements. The motion was withdrawn.
Motion: That the Chairperson organise a workshop with Joan Palmer to revisit her report and to prioritise it and draft it into a working document, including resources required.
Vorstermans/
CARRIED
- For: 12, Against: 2
Stephen Bell offered to organise a "first cut" prioritisation of the report over "a couple of weeks", to which the meeting agreed.
It was agreed that Brenda Lobb should produce a members' publication, monthly if possible, with the final version to be approved by the Chairperson or the Corporate Communications Committee. The Treasurer asked whether the cost of this would be similar to that approved by the previous council meeting, and was assured by Dr. Lobb that it would.
STATUS OF THE ISP CODE OF PRACTICE WORKING GROUP
John Vorstermans reported that few responses had been received to the most recent draft code of practice, and asked whether ISOCNZ wished to take responsibility for completing the code.
Colin Jackson asserted that the most recent draft he had seen did not address issues related to "content control", and that the pressures which lead to the process of developing the code being begun would not go away.
Patrick O'Brien spoke of the need for ISP's to make clear to customers just what it is that the customer is buying.
Liam Greenwood volunteered to take part in two face to face sessions aimed at creating a new draft, which would then be circulated and a final form of the code prepared.
Andy Linton stated thatthe code will not be of value if it is not signed by ISP's, who will not sign the same service level agreement which is used by other ISP's. Mark Harris disagreed, arguing that ISP's must perform above their service level agreement or they won't be in business long. He agreed that the code can only allow self regulation by the industry if the industry takes it up, and that ISOCNZ is not the industry.
There was some discussion of the desirability of a code whose only effect is to reassure the public.
Liam Greenwood said that something needed to be done, or regulation by government would follow. "I believe that if we create a document which is a reflection of our current law and best practice, ISP's will go with that."
He argued against referring directly to specific technologies in the code.
The meeting agreed that the society is committed to the production of a code of practice.
Motion: That a Working Group be established to produce a final draft of an ISP Code of Practice by 15 April 1997, and that the Working Group consist of Stephen Bell, Liam Greenwood, Mark Harris, Jim Higgins, Andy Linton, Jim Shaw, Jenny Shearer, John Vorstermans.
Chair/
CARRIED U
SUPPORT OF UNESCOS PACIFIC ISLAND INTERNET PROJECT
Jim Higgins briefly described this project, whose goal is to promote the use of the Internet in Pacific island countries by education, initially of figures in the government of those countries.
Andy Linton proposed that people attend the Internet Society's Developing Nations Workshop, to be held later in 1997 in Kuala Lumpur. John Hine agreed, saying that substantial sponsorship was available for attendance there, much of it from other UN agencies.
John Houlker suggested that the society "point them at people they can get help from", mentioning the Internet Society, the Asia-Pacific Networking Group and APRICOT.
It was agreed that the meeting would not support a contribution of money to this project.
PUBLIC KEY REGISTRY SERVICE
Liam Greenwood opened discussion, observing that "a public key encryption service only works well if your public key is publicly available and you don't forget your private key". A public key registry, he said, acts as a trusted place from which a public key can be collected with some assurance that the key belongs to the person it appears to.
Jim Higgins proposed that the society look at whether anyone else is offering this service, then if noone is, consider whether the society should offer such a service.
Jenny Shearer said that she saw the availability of cryptography as an important issue in terms of restricting government's ability to control access to cryptography, and to be able to read very large amounts of transmitted data.
Andy Linton proposed that this is necessary for Internet commerce, so it is very important that someone provides such a service.
Colin Jackson noted that there is no restriction on the use of cryptography in New Zealand, and that none could be introduced without legislation.
Jim Shaw stated that there was not going to be just one certification authority for New Zealand, with it being likely, for example, that one would be set up by the government for its own use. He added that because organisations may wish to retrieve data from their own machines which had been encrypted by their employees, key escrow might be part of the operation of a key registry.
Liam Greenwood proposed operation of a registry as a way of encouraging use of cryptography.
Donald Neal observed that while the mathematics underlying public key cryptography was not new, the technology associated with the operation of certification authorities could change rapidly. He said that the holding of keys was a task related to the offering of directory services, not to the operation of the DNS.
Stephen Bell raised the question of legal liability. Jim Higgins suggested that this could be avoided by the specifying exactly what service is being provided.
Motion: That a Working Group be established to 1) prepare a background paper on issues related to the establishment of a public key registry, and 2) to investigate the advisability of ISOCNZ establishing such a service.
Lobb/
CARRIED U
Motion: That the Working Group comprise Jenny Shearer (chair), John Houlker, Colin Jackson, Donald Neal, Jim Shaw and Peter Gutmann if he agrees, and that it produce a draft report before the next meeting of the council.
Colin Jackson left the meeting at 5:30pm.
SEMINAR FOR MP'S
Mark Harris reported that he expected the following week to get back to work on a seminar for Members of Parliament on issues related to the Internet.
The meeting was closed at 5:35pm.
©1997 The Internet Society of New Zealand
