IP: [DNS] ICANN comment process

[Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

>Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 12:27:53 -0800
>To: list@ifwp.org
>From: erony@marin.k12.ca.us (Ellen Rony)
>
>
>I think it is very important to encourage remote participation, and here's why.
>As Vint Cerf wrote in a recent RFC, the Internet is for **everyone**.  Yet
>every time someone wants to see ICANN move in a particular direction and
>posts a message to that effect on this list, the ICANN chair responds "Come
>to Berlin". Oh my, so very helpful.
>
>A trip to Berlin involves a commitment upwards of $1,500 and several days,
>at least two of which are spent in the air unless you live in Europe.  Most
>people have neither the financial resources, the responsibility-free time,
>nor the steadfast commitment to fly into Germany to make an brief
>appearance, speak their peace, and then watch the nine ICANN board members
>go behind closed doors to decide the fate of Internet administration.
>
>And--despite the puffery produced yesterday by Ogilvy, ICANN's PR
>firm--referring four times on a single page to ICANN's public open
>meetings--all discussion and decisionmaking by the board memebers will
>occur out of the public eye, behind closed doors.
>
>ICANN's chair should be advising those who desire to impact these secret
>decisions, not only to, "Come to Berlin" but also to participate remotely.
>Clearly, she assumes we all have sufficient free time and money to play in
>ICANN's sandbox.  Effective participation absolutely should not require a
>physical presence half the globe away from one's own abode.
>
>So, I encourage everyone to use all available mechanisms to partipate
>remotely, although there are significant pitfalls. For Internet users in
>the U.S., the meeting will be held in a time zone that requires us to
>forego sleep.  For those using computers with older chips, you won't be
>able to download the software required to receive audio feeds.  Also, it is
>still unclear how one can participate in real time through the Internet,
>how ICANN will handle such submissions.
>
>The Berkman Center will host RealAudio and RealVideo streaming media feeds.
>http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/icann/berlin/
>Here are some of the details posted on that page.
>
>REAL TIME TEXT can be submitted over the Internet, however, no e-mail
>address is  provided yet.
>
>VIDEO/AUDIO ACCESS:
>         Requires 28.8kps connection minimum but 56K will be far less
>frustrating.
>         Real Player 5.0 (or later), which may be downloaded free from Real
>Networks.  A link is on the Berkman site.  People should download before
>the day of the meeting.  However, older computers, particularly older 68030
>Macs, cannot run Real Player.
>        Meeting day connection instructions are not yet posted on Berkman site.
>
>TIME CONVERSION:  This is the squelcher for real time participation.
>* DNSO General Assembly: May 25
>         Germany (1:30 pm- 5:00 pm)
>         EST (7:30 am-11:00 am)
>         PST (4:30 am-8:00 am)  Don't know conversion for Asian coastal zone.
>         Possible participation through
>                 http://www.icann.org/dnso/constituency_groups.html
>
>*  Public forum: May 26
>         Germany (9:00 am-5:00 pm)
>         EST (3:00 am-11:00 am)
>         PST (12:00 am-8:00 am)
>
>Meetings of the Membership Advisory Committee and Government Advisory
>Committee, both on May 25, are apparently closed.
>
>All DNSO constituency meetings occur on the same day, at the same time.  So
>you have your choice of running around like a plucked chicken on the
>morning of May 25, or settling in at a constituency room for the duration.
>IMHO, the constituency set-up is just a way of separating the substantial
>domain name interests into competing lobbying committees of the whole.
>
>The day-long open meeting on May 26 is so crammed with important topics,
>that any one of them could fill the entire agenda.
>
>And then, after you have spent $xxxx on your tickets and lodging plus
>another $50 on the Open Meeting and achieved your few moments of ICANN's
>attention, realize that the reward for your dedicated effort occurs on May
>27, when these nine board members retreat from view to discuss and decide
>the following issues  without any public accountability except to
>themselves and ex-post-facto minutes:
>
>* Recognition of Domain Name Supporting Organization Constituency Groups
>* Formation of other Supporting Organizations
>* Independent Review Advisory Committee recommendations
>* WIPO Final Report, including annexes
>* ICANN membership structure
>* Geographic diversity provisions of the ICANN bylaws
>* 1999-2000 ICANN Budget
>* Transition to a permanent Board and CEO
>* Staff appointments, hiring and administration
>
>Substantial remote participation will move ICANN towards greater online
>involvement, and away from funneling input through a quarterly World Tour
>that only works for those with deep pockets.
>
>Come to Berlin. . . come to Santiago.  This just rings hollow when the
>board decisions are made in secret.  Instead, I say it's time for all the
>board members (not just the chair) to come to the global community online,
>come to the Internet, come to the open process.
>
>
>Ellen Rony                                                       Co-author
>The Domain Name Handbook         ____        http://www.domainhandbook.com
>========================     ^..^     )6     =============================
>ISBN 0879305150              (oo) -^--                   +1 (415) 435-5010
>erony@marin.k12.ca.us            W   W                         Tiburon, CA
>                Dot com is the Pig Latin of the Information Age.
>