[ga] Yokohama Remote Participation -- Feedback Requested

["Ben Edelman" <edelman@law.harvard.edu>]

As Roberto wrote in his last message, the DNSO's sessions will indeed be
webcast, as will the GAC's Public Forum, the ICANN Public Forum, and the
meeting of ICANN's Board of Directors.

As in prior ICANN meetings, I'll be overseeing the webcast and remote
participation system.  With some six weeks left before the meetings, it
seems appropriate to solicit suggestions for improvements to the remote
participation system.  I welcome general comments, either on- or off-list,
but in particular I'm interested in the following specific questions:

* ICANN's Yokohama meetings will take place during the Yokohama day, which
is during the night for the majority of remote participants from prior ICANN
meetings (as tabulated on
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/icann/cairo/archive/remoteparticipants-geograp
hy.html>).  How, if at all, can technology help bridge these gaps?  In
recent ICANN meetings, we've experimented with putting up complete archives
(including not just text documents but also RealVideo) immediately after the
conclusion of each day's meetings and with sending reminder messages to all
participants and preregistrants at both the beginning and end of each day's
meetings.  Is there more that can be done?  If so, what?

* We have considered and experimented with a number of enhancements to the
remote participation system that enrich the experience of high-bandwidth
users.  For example, the webcast video signal can be sent at a variety of
bitrates, allowing high-speed users to receive a higher-quality
transmission.  Furthermore, a dual-frame RealVideo allows simultaneous
display of "talking heads" and scribe's notes/presentations, but it is only
accessible to users with 56Kbps+ (or, ideally, even faster) connectivity.
These improvements are thought by some to be quite beneficial, but they put
low-bandwidth users at a relative disadvantage as compared to those with
faster connectivity.  To what extent should these and other
bandwidth-contingent improvements be made?  Should we focus on improving the
"richest" level of participation as much as possible?  Or should we instead
take precautions to assure that all users have the same access to remote
participation -- refraining from making bandwidth-intensive improvements if
data previously collected suggests that they'll be accessible to only a
portion of remote participants?

* Scribing -- the unofficial real-time notetaking by a staff person in the
meeting room (for simultaneous and archived posting to the web, and perhaps
also for broadcast in a dual-frame video transmission) -- is somewhat
unusual and, according to some, a bit distracting.  Should it be continued?
Might it be improved in some way?


More details about plans for Yokohama remote participation are posted at
<http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/icann/yokohama>.



Ben Edelman
Berkman Center for Internet and Society
Harvard Law School

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