Hacker 2/HACKER2.mdf/cud/cud504c.txt

Text File | 1995-01-03 | 9KB | 156 lines

Date: Thu, 14 Jan 93 22:00:18 EST
From: [e-mail](John F. McMullen)
Subject: File 3--Newsbytes on EFF Reorganization

The following will appear on Newsbytes. Newsbytes is a copyrighted
commercial service and this article is distributed to the recipients
with the express permission of the authors.

Electronic Frontier Foundation Has Major Reorganization 1/15/93
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, U.S.A., 1993 JAN 15 (NB) -- The Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF) has announced major reorganization changes
under which its Cambridge, MA office will close and several persons,
including staff counsel Mike Godwin, will leave the organization.

In the revised organization, Jerry Berman, director of EFF's
Washington office and Interim EFF Executive Director will become
permanent Executive Director. This move ends a search process for an
Executive Director to replace EFF-founder Mitch Kapor, who stepped
down as Executive Director in December 1992. The functions of the
Cambridge office will be transferred to EFF's Washington office.

The announcement of the changes also provided clarification on Kapor's
role, saying "In December, we announced that Mitch Kapor would be
leaving the job of Executive Director. He wanted to devote more time
and energy to specific EFF projects, such as The Open Platform
Initiative, focusing less on administrative details and more on EFF's
strategic vision.

Some will read between these lines and draw the conclusion that Mitch
Kapor is withdrawing from EFF. That is absolutely not the case. Mitch
remains thoroughly committed to serving EFF's agenda. We believe,
however, that his energies are better devoted to strategy and to
developing a compelling vision of future human communications than in
day-to-day management."

John Perry Barlow, co-founder of EFF, will also assume more day to day
responsibilities and "will replace Mitch Kapor as Chairman of EFF's
Executive Committee, which works closely with the Executive Director to
manage day to day operations." Kapor will remain as chairman of EFF's
Board of Directors.

Barlow told Newsbytes "With the movement of the offices to Washington,
we were concerned with the natural gravitational pull of the Beltway
mentality. The board felt that my day-to-day involvement would counter
this tendency. The bohemian credentials are pretty well established."

Barlow continued "The board was faced with a constant pull within the
organization between those who wanted to focus on an advocacy position
and those who wanted to be a grass-roots driven group. While we want to
have close ties to the grass-roots and learn from all groups using
cyberspace, we are not a representative organization driven by a
democratic process. We clearly would not be able to foster our view of
free expression if we were bound by a majority-rule type of organization."

Barlow also said "We also encountered the type of problems that any
organization has with two policy making offices. There is always a
tendency for dispute. We, therefore, decided to combine our functions
into the Washington office. We have misgivings about these decisions;
we on the board took what we felt was the best solution to keep the
organization on track towards its goals. We now have to work at
carrying out these objectives."

Barlow's emphasis on a focus on the initial goals of the organization
was mirrored in the phrasing of the EFF press release which begins
"The Electronic Frontier Foundation was founded in July, 1990 to
assure freedom of expression in digital media, with a particular
emphasis on applying the principles embodied in the Constitution and
the Bill of Rights to computer-based communication."

The same statement also enumerates details of the problems concerning
the two locations alluded to by Barlow -- "Maintaining an office in
Cambridge and another in Washington DC, has been expensive,
logistically difficult, and politically painful. Many functions were
duplicated. The two offices began to diverge philosophically and
culturally. We had more good ideas than efficient means for carrying
them out. "

Barlow's comments to Newsbytes concerning the pull toward a grassroots
"bottom-up" type of organization and the board's countering of that
pull is reflected in the decision of the board not to continue along
the path toward local chapters. EFF currently has a local chapter in
Austin, Texas and others have been in formation in Berkeley,
California and New York City.  The EFF statement said "We have labored
mightily and long over the whole concept of chapters, but, in the end,
the Board has decided not to form EFF chapters. Instead, EFF will
encourage the development of independent local organizations concerned
with Electronic Frontier issues.  Such groups will be free to use the
phrase "Electronic Frontier" in their names (e.g., Omaha Electronic
Frontier Outpost), with the understanding that no obligation, formal
or informal, is implied in either direction between independent groups
and EFF. While EFF and any local groups that proliferate will remain
organizationally independent and autonomous, we hope to work closely
with them in pursuit of shared goals. The EFF Board still plans to
meet with representatives of regional groups in Atlanta next week to
discuss ideas for future cooperation."

>From the moment of the EFF announcement of the changes, there has been
a flow of criticism on on-line services such as the WELL (Whole Earth
"Lectronic Link) concerning both the centralization in Washington and
the severing of EFF staff counsel Mike Godwin from the organization.
Godwin has been, perhaps, after Kapor, the most visible member of EFF,
representing EFF at conferences and user groups and providing a legal
resource to members of the on-line community. The EFF statement on
Godwin's position said "We recognize the enormous resource represented
by Mike Godwin. He probably knows more about the forming Law of
Cyberspace than anyone, but differences of style and agenda created an
impasse which left us little choice but to remove him from his current
position. EFF is committed to continuing the services he has provided.
We will discuss with him a new relationship which would make it
possible for him to continue providing them."

Godwin told Newsbytes "I will still be working with EFF and will be
representing EFF at the trial in the Steve Jackson Games case which
begins next week. The EFF board had some difficult decisions to make
and, while I might have made some different decisions, everyone who
believes in EFF owes the board a chance to pursue its direction. The
organization has all the potential that it ever had and, if I did not
believe that, I would not be negotiating with it to continue an
affiliation. I believe in EFF and will continue to support its
activities."

Also leaving EFF in the re-organization are Gerard VanDerLeun and Rita
Rouvalis. VanDerLeun and Rouvalis have been responsible for the
communications function of EFF's Cambridge office.

Cliff Figallo, director of EFF's Cambridge office, repeated for
Newsbytes a statement that he had posted on the WELL, saying "I will
say that even though this is an outcome that I dreaded, having moved
across the country at great sacrifice to serve the online
constituency, I believe that the board (of which I am a member) acted
responsibly, intelligently and bravely in making these decisions and
taking these actions. There was no sense wimping around with
half-solutions. Choose your course and Go Fer It. A good board does
that. There were, and still are, doubts and reservations, but that's
why there is diversity of viewpoint on a good board. You just take
your best shot. For a long time the board tried to integrate two
divergent agendas out of a desire to be careful and serve both
agendas. It was killing the organization."

Figallo, formerly the executive director of the WELL told Newsbytes
that he will be remaining with EFF during the transition period and
will continue to be the voice of grass roots to the EFF board. He also
said that he is not yet certain as to his long term plans. Figallo
will be attending the upcoming Atlanta meeting with the local groups
that have been working with EFF.

The board of directors of EFF is composed of Kapor, Barlow, Berman,
Figallo, David Farber of the University of Pennsylvania, Stewart Brand
of the Whole Earth Review, John Gilmore of Cygnus Support and Esther
Dyson of EDventure Holdings.

(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/Press Contact: Christopher
Davis, Electronic Frontier Foundation, [e-mail]/19930115)

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