RE: [ga] GA/DNSO Funding Issues

[Roeland Meyer <rmeyer@mhsc.com>]

Bill, we have here a classic boundary problem. There are a number of other
entities that are taking on the access issues. One of those that I belong to
is the ISOC (www.isoc.org). Also, the ICANN is supposed to be a technical
coordination body. What you advocate here would constitute mission-creep,
because it falls in the realm of social services. Firstly, I don't think
that ICANN can even do it. That's not the core business. Secondly, the
resources aren't there. Thirdly, it's not our call to make.

BTW, HTML mail is a bear to format a reply to.

-----Original Message-----
From: William S. Lovell [mailto:wsl@cerebalaw.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 26, 2001 9:44 PM
  
Nilda Vany Martinez Grajales wrote: 
Leah: 
L Gallegos wrote: 
> On 26 Aug 2001, at 11:23, Nilda Vany Martinez Grajales wrote: 
> 
> > 
> > >  The common ground for the majority is access to the Internet. 
> > 
> > Yes, this is true.  But still we must work together with 
> > organizations, who knows, even governments, in order to assure that 
> > the stakeholders has a proper access.  Many participants of this 
> > process doesn't have a proper access to the Internet. 
> I do not think that ICANN is the relevant source for provision of 
> internet infrastructure for all persons and we could go way out of 
> bounds using that assumption. 
I inferred what you are saying in my previous e-mail  Yes...I am agree, 
providing or ensuring 
internet access is outside the scope of ICANN.


Well, I'm afraid I must disagree with both you and Leah on this one. 
ICANN is supposed to be a technical supporting body that is to help 
construct an Internet that will serve the public good, and if providing 
bare access to the Internet is not a part of that, I don't know what 
would be.  To elevate the issue of webcast access to the presently 
connected above that sounds very much like the "haves" haggling 
over pieces of the pie while the unconnected are snubbed. It's a 
bit of the "I'm all right, Jack" syndrome, and, philosophically, is 
not a bit different mode of thinking than that about which so many 
of all of us have complained: the "powers that be" (e.g., ICANN/ 
Verisign) are running everything for their own benefit.  In the 
present instance, those who have comfortable access to the net 
(webcast or not) are the "powers that be," and the attitude shown 
here towards those not connected is precisely of the ICANN/ 
Verisign type. 
It is also a major strategic mistake: if GA types are ever to wield 
any power, there must be a lot more of them -- and active, voting 
ones.  The only way to achieve that is to get more GA types, and 
that means getting more people connected, especially those in 
disadvantaged parts of the world, or disadvantaged parts (either 
geographically or socio-economically) of various countries, who 
will not have immediate business interests that will currupt their 
thinking. 
(A recent court document I'm aware of says "The Internet was 
built in order to serve business interests." How many of you here 
believe that?) 
The post to which I respond were written from the point of view 
of personal interest, not the good of the Internet or of ICANN: 
"Let them eat IRC chat." 
(Nothing personal as to two fine ladies here, whose posts I have 
frequently been led to admire, but I've seen this bit expressed by 
way, way too many who don't fully realize how far up the ladder 
they really are -- to be a "participant" at all is a rare privilege, and 
a big step from not being one at all.) 
Bill Lovell 
The URLs for Best Practices: 
DNSO Citation: 
http://www.dnso.org/dnso/gaindex.html 
(Under "Other Information Documents"; "August 2001: 
Proposal for Best Practices for the DNSO GA." This 
page also includes much else about the DNSO.) 
Part I: 
http://www.dnso.org/dnso/notes/20010813.GA-BestPractices.html 
Part II: 
http://www.dnso.org/dnso/notes/20010813.GA-BP-flowchart.pdf 
(Access to the .pdf file requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader, 
available for free down load at 
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.) 
Part III: 
http://www.dnso.org/dnso/notes/20010813.GA-BP-PartIII.html 
  
--
This message was passed to you via the ga@dnso.org list.
Send mail to majordomo@dnso.org to unsubscribe
("unsubscribe ga" in the body of the message).
Archives at http://www.dnso.org/archives.html