Re: [discuss] Individual representation

[Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>]

On Sun, Jun 27, 1999 at 08:25:28AM -0700, Cthulhu's Little Helper wrote:
> 
> On 26 June 1999, Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com> wrote:
> >
> >The danger an open-admission individual representation is capture. 
> >This is a very clear and present danger.  The ICANN membership
> >committee recognized this problem, but their only solution was that
> >the membership should be large.  Unfortunately, there is no evidence
> >at all that these issues are important to more than a *tiny*
> >population, and it just doesn't seem very likely that the membership
> >of ICANN is going to be very large.  Therefore, any large corporation
> >can capture the individual membership.  There is no significant
> >defense.  Therefore, there should *never* be a situation where an
> >open individual group can control more than half the board.
> 
> 
> Wonderful.  Fine.  Right now, they can't control any of it.

If you refer to the fact that the membership has not yet been 
created, that is true.  After the membership is created they will 
control half.

> And if
> ICANN and/or anyone else has fears about "capture", the solution is
> not to filibuster, blockade, and eliminate any attempts to gain
> individual representation; the solution is to ADVERTISE.

It *has* been advertised.  This has been going on for three or more
years.  There have been numerous news stories on the subject, the
ifwp did its road show to some fanfare, ICANN hired a PR firm, Esther
gives interviews, every week someone posts related news stories from
the online services, etc etc.  

But there are still only 153 members of the IFWP list. 

Maybe if ICANN doubled its budget and spent 6 million US dollars on 
an advertising campaign we might get 300 members.  What do you think?

-- 
Kent Crispin                               "Do good, and you'll be
kent@songbird.com                           lonesome." -- Mark Twain