[Mmwg] CS and A&T

[Milton Mueller]

I partly agree with McTIm and partly with Drake. I see civil society as more composed of advocacy groups, so their community is based on normative concerns, whereas academic and technical as having more of an expertise-based community. This applies to both social science and engineering disciplines. So while McTim sees me, Drake, etc. as bunched with CS, I disagree, we are more like the techies, only we know about institutions, law, regulatory policy, etc. (which techies often wrongly assume can somehow be rediuced to engineering ;-) 

On the other hand, McTim is right that the techies constitute a distinct community, and need to be included. Avri and McTim are about the only ones now; we need more. Not all, by the way, are co-opted by ISOC/IBM. 

And of course there are overlaps between CS and academics, just as there are overlaps between Academics and Techies, and between Techies and PS, and any other permutation you can name. That's why, if govts are smart, they won't object to a nominal "minority" of the Bureau. 

>>> McTim <dogwallah at gmail.com> 1/21/2006 12:58:06 PM >>>
I don't see this at all.  The people That I know who do the current IG
work  (IETF, RIR community members, Routing Registries, NRENs, etc)
weren't part of CS @ WSIS.  Most weren't present or represented at all
(except arguably by ISOC).


 Moreover, the category has been strategically
> appropriated and deployed, most by ISOC and the ICC (a choir in constant
> harmony), to suggest that A&T is a core part of an "Internet community" that

this is simple truth. People who built and operate the networks that
allow our machines and networks to communicate are a "core' part of
the Inet Community.

<snip>
 And in this usage,
> "academic" is sort of construed to mean technical people who agree this
> line, not, inter alia, social science types who might favor progressive
> reforms.  However, others did not see these concerns as that problematic.

I don't see it as a concern as, for example, Milton, Hans, Derek &
Jeannette can be CS reps to the IGF.

While the IETF, inter alia, academics can be part of T&A.

<snip>
>
> In parallel, I think the "experts" formulation is problematic.

I agree.  With a T&A group tho, you know you got experts on board!

--
Cheers,

McTim
$ whois -h whois.afrinic.net mctim
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