#internetnz

Personal recommendations on the #InternetNZ Motions… ✅ Motion 1 is a sensible minor adjustment to be more flexible with terms on the Board. Sometimes the person you need is only available for two years, or the last person who knows how something works is available to stay for another year while new people get up to speed. ❌ Motions 2-5 are malicious. They're from the right-wing FSU. At one level they burden the organisation with a bunch of bureaucratic reporting rules that will allow well-resourced right-wing groups to generate misleading press releases. At another level their purpose is to imply that the organisation isn't already sufficiently transparent. InternetNZ already does a good job reporting on AGM motions, disbursements, finances, and complaints while maintaining the dignity and safety of people it donates to. 1/2

✅ Motion 6 is sensible. Tracking IPv6 uptake is a good task for InternetNZ. 🤷 Motion 7 seems fine to me. InternetNZ says it will do market research on why people choose and retain .nz domain names, so it seems harmless to require that the results be reported. ❌(ish) Motion 8 would establish a nominating committee. This is probably well-intentioned and a fairly common structure for a community institution, but I don't think the nominators have made a sufficient case explaining what problem it solves. My concern is that such a committee could be hijacked to make recommendations that favour white male conservatives. It feels like trying to solve a political problem with extra rules. I'm open to being persuaded on this by a good case at the AGM, but my inclination is to vote against it. #InternetNZ AGM is 5:30pm, Thursday 13 August. 2/2

The #InternetNZ AGM is on Thursday evening. Don't forget that you need to register your attendance by 5pm Tuesday (tomorrow)! If you're a member you should have an email with the link. https://internetnz.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RWLlIEhCTfO0Fp2l2jX9Pw

Just voted in the #InternetNZ board elections.

My two cents?

• Do your best to keep both FSU and the Terfs out, stop collaboration with genocidal regimes and the right wing takeover of online spaces.

• Centre Te Tiriti and people over profits and corporations. We need the web to be a place for collaboration, learning and inclusion.

You know the drill, fellow woke nerds.

(vote before noon, Aug 10)

🤓 🏳️‍🌈 💚 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇵🇸

Candidate bios are here if you'd like to do your own ranking. https://internetnz.nz/governance-and-reports/our-board/board-elections/2026-board-elections/ Note though, that the FSU candidates are generally pretty savvy about emphasising their experience over their agenda, and couching their goals in neutral-sounding terms. #InternetNZ

Footnote on ranking a TERF ahead of FSU people… none of these are people I want anywhere near the InternetNZ board. My thinking is that she at least acknowledges the value of a community-controlled organisations, so any damage she could do could be recovered from. Whereas the agenda of the FSU people is to permanently destroy the community-controlled structure of InternetNZ. #InternetNZ

My personal recommended ranking is:

1. Bianca Grizhar ✅

2. Daniel Specter ✅

3. Nabil Sabio Azadi ✅

4. Annette Culpan ✅

5. Keoni Mahelona ✅

6. David Chisholm ✅

7. Jan Rivers (runs an anti-trans organisation called Genspect) ❌

8. Douglas Brown (lawyer for the Free Speech Union) ❌

9. Jillaine Heather (lawyer for the Free Speech Union) ❌

If you have other opinions about the precise order, no worries. But keep all the ✅s above the ❌s.

#InternetNZ

Good advice continued. (3 images) (2/2) #InternetNZ

Here's some good advice on how to vote for #InternetNZ. Not my work. They’re from a source I consider very reliable and with highly relevant expertise, but who wishes to remain anonymous. 1/2

Voting is open for #InternetNZ board members. If you're a member, and want this community-run organisation protected from being reduced to a private business, now's the time to vote.

The InternetNZ AGM is scheduled for 13 August. This means that if you, or anyone you know, hasn't joined or renewed their membership, there's still time. There's a 90-day, so if you're an active member by about 13 May you'll still be eligible to vote in the AGM. Right wing groups will be recruiting again to try to get another candidate onto the InternetNZ Board, with the goal of removing its main function as a civil society organisation focused on equitable access to the internet. So if you're a member, please check that you're current. And if you're not, please consider joining so there's a strong vote at that AGM for a progressive candidate. #InternetNZ