Re: [ga] The NC & ICANN Reform

[DannyYounger@cs.com]

Alex,

It is certainly possible that some of my statements may be misrepresenting 
the NC's opinion.  But how would we know?  There has been no MP3 recording 
provided, nor any official minutes of the meeting.  The Constituencies 
haven't been exactly forthcoming in presenting their positions, and debate on 
the Council list has been almost non-existent.  

What we do know for a certainty is that the NC, by supporting the creation of 
gTLD and ccTLD policy councils that elect members to the Board (while knowing 
that ICANN management has stated "only those registries and registrars that 
have agreements with ICANN should be eligible for full membership in a Policy 
Council"), has relegated the remaining constituencies to the adjunct 
non-voting forum environment that has no Board representation.

Their comments on the need to avoid "splinter groups" is no more than a 
rehashing of their long-standing argument that an individuals constituency is 
not needed (as they claim that such interests are already represented by the 
current constituencies), and these groups fear an even greater diminution of 
their already rapidly fading power.

While useful proposals may in fact have to differentiate bewteen gTLDs and 
ccTLDs, conferring Policy Council or SO status to these particular groups is 
guaranteeing them de facto Board representation at the expense of all others. 
 

If I may offer an analogy... would you feel comfortable with all policy 
decisions regarding firearms being made only by the National Rifle 
Association?  Why then would you agree to all GTLD policies being made only 
by the registry and registrar lobbies?  Shouldn't the voice of special 
interest lobbying groups be balanced by the public element... or should these 
lobbyists be running the whole show with only "input" from the public?

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