Re: [ga] Few preliminary comments on Lynn proposal

[Don Brown <donbrown_l@inetconcepts.net>]

I think you comprehend quite well. This proposal is rife with the
smell of a power grab, although it is loosely disguised as a platform of "no
status quo" and a change is needed because it simply hasn't worked yet
or it hasn't worked the best it could.

In the US we hear essentially the same thing, "change," ever four
years, from those running for President, the House, Senate, etc. The
big difference is that they do not have the power to elect themselves
nor is their election controlled by a close knit group of their
cronies. There is a set of checks and balances and the ultimate
arbitrators of every election are those on the bottom - a very similar
bottom-ups and broad based consensus, in the final analysis.

The intent the ICANN proposal is obviously to migrate control further
away from bottoms-up and broad based consensus, to even tighter
control by a board which has the right to essentially elect itself. No
one could possibly bend things to call that type of process fair,
unbiased and even-handed -- at least, not with a straight face, for
those with just an ounce of integrity and pride.

It is said that the most efficient form of government is a
dictatorship. If that is true, then who could it be that most favors
efficiency over substance and so-called distractions? The US
Presidential hopefuls handle substance and distractions both before
and after their elections. Why should the governance of ICANN be any
different and why should any of us surrender the Internet to an ICANN
dictatorship?

In Texas we say "that dog won't hunt!"

Thanks,



Monday, February 25, 2002, 9:42:21 AM, Alexander Svensson <alexander@svensson.de> wrote:

AS> Dear all,

AS> my comments on the Lynn proposal are very preliminary,
AS> since I still have lots of questions about it and
AS> may not understand all parts of it fully.

AS> At http://www.icannchannel.de/lynn-proposal.pdf (43 kB)
AS> I have a chart showing the new ICANN Board structure
AS> (again: I'm not sure if everything is correct and
AS> would appreciate feedback!). 

AS> Frankly, the Board seems to elect itself according
AS> to this proposal:
AS> -- The CEO on the Board is elected by the Board.
AS> -- The 10 "At Large" Trustees are confirmed by the
AS>    Board. (However, since 5 are governmental
AS>    delegates, the de facto veto power may be
AS>    diminished.)
AS> -- 5 of the 10 "At Large" Trustees are nominated
AS>    by the Nominating Committee which consists of
AS>    a Chair (appointed by the CEO -- see above),
AS>    5 members of the Board and 3 members appointed
AS>    by the Board.
AS> -- The Nominating Committee (see above) appoints 
AS>    3 members of the Address+Numbering PC Steering
AS>    Group, 5 members of the Generic TLD Names PC
AS>    Steering Group, 4 members of the Geographic
AS>    TLD Names PC Steering Group and 3 members of
AS>    the Technical Advisory Committee.
AS>    The Chairs of these policy councils and the
AS>    Technical Advisory Committee are ex officio
AS>    members of the Board.

AS> The "Steering Groups" are the equivalent to the current 
AS> "Councils", but they have their own staff and access to 
AS> ICANN resources. The interest groups formerly called 
AS> "Constituencies" are now "Forums".

AS> How do non-commercial and individual users make sure their voice 
AS> is heard? Let's assume there is a Non-Commercial Forum (or 
AS> even more than one) and an Individual Domain Holder or User Forum.
AS> (We don't know what the "well-defined minimal criteria for 
AS> recognition of new self-organized Forums" would be.) These 
AS> Forums could succeed in getting a topic they deem important on the
AS> agenda of e.g. the Generic TLD Names Policy Council Steering 
AS> Group. They could succeed in agreeing with the other members 
AS> of the Steering Group to write a policy recommendation for the
AS> Board of Trustees. However, the Board of Trustees (just like
AS> the current Board of Directors) would be free to ignore any and
AS> all advice ("strong weight based on its persuasive merits, but 
AS> not presumptive validity"). To have an influence on the ICANN
AS> process, having a seat on the Board and/or the new Nominating 
AS> Committee seem to be good places.

AS> Any comments?

AS> Best regards,
AS> /// Alexander 

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