My 2009 ARIN Election Platform

In my previous post about this years ARIN elections, I promised to write a bit more about my own candidacy.  I guess in political terms that means outlining my platform.  Lucky for me, that is actually quite simple, my platform can be summarized in one word: Openness.

Openness defines my candidacy for two reasons; it is what I believe and also what I represent.

My belief in the principals of openness is a very large part of what drives my passion for the Internet.  I believe that we are experiencing a cultural revolution which has the potential (and the probability) to affect the entire planet.  The Internet provides everyone with access to it the ability to contribute to and benefit from a global dialog.  Whether you are quoting a Wikipedia entry or editing one, watching music videos or making your own, viewing pictures or posting yours, reading updates from friends or sharing your life with others – Openness seems to define our interactions on the web.  The World Wide Web is of course only possible because of the openness of the Internet itself.  Everything that we associate with the web and the Internet has been made possible by the open standards upon which they are built.

I don’t want to stray too far into a history lesson nor into one of my evangelical rants about the merits of the Internet and the openness with which it was created and which it now creates.  Instead I should focus here on why my belief in openness is a favorable characteristic in an ARIN Advisory Council member.  This is another simple question to answer:  The ARIN AC is the legislative body for this region’s Internet address policy creation.  The more open to community input, advice and sentiment that each AC member is, the more of a say each community member has in the creation of addressing policy.  My goal as an AC member will be to facilitate the transformation of the communities desires into clean, efficient policy.  I do not favor any one type of organization nor do I have any predetermined agenda save my single bias towards openness.  Open access to the Internet and open access to the ARIN policy process.

As a relative newcomer or outsider to the ARIN community, I also represent openness.  ARIN XXIV in Dearborn will be only my fourth ARIN meeting (third in person), I have only been subscribed to the ARIN PPML for a little over two years and I have only authored one new policy.  While that is more than enough to qualify me as a candidate, it pales in comparison to many folks who have been involved with ARIN from the beginning – and some even before then!  I am not one to argue against experience and I look up to many of these folks as mentors and even heroes but the fact is that a close-nit group of insiders maintaining control is not a symptom of openness.  I want to make it clear that I do not believe that this is the case with ARIN.  I do not believe that there is an oligarchy of “old-timers” running the show, I am optimistic that the system is in fact still very open.  The best way to prove this however is for me – a knowledgeable, qualified, prepared newcomer – to be elected.

For more information about my platform; please read my responses to the 2009 ARIN Advisory Council election questionnaire.  If you want to know more about me and my beliefs in general, please poke around here on my weblog – there are links to my LinkedIn, facebook and Twitter pages as well as some biographical information and of course various posts that may be of interest.  If you have specific questions you can leave me a comment, email me or come find me in Dearborn!

If you agree that I will make a valuable addition to the ARIN AC please consider leaving a statement of support and if you are a member of ARIN – please remember me when it is time to vote.  I can only make you one promise: If elected I will listen and be influenced by all of your ideas, thoughts, concerns and feelings – whether you voted for me or not.