[registrars] Candidate and Position statement for Rob Hall - Chair
Hello all, It is an honour to be nominated for Chair of our constituency. I believe very strongly in our working together to create a strong voice within ICANN. Below you will find some highlights of my resume as well as some information on the direction and challenges we face both immediately and in the near future as well as my position on these. As Chair, I would work towards the following:
3) 4) 5) On Points 1) and 2) Our constituency needs to be more organized and professional, and not be sidetracked by one issue where we invest all our time and resources. For example, recently we have spent most of our time dealing with the transfer issue. In fact, some are making it their sole election platform. While this is indeed an important issue that affects many of us, it is not, nor should it be, the only issue before us. We have many other critical issues facing our constituency. The ccTLD’s have withdrawn from the DNSO and are demanding board seats. A couple of ICANN board members have floated proposals that would include our constituency receiving direct seats and yet, we have not commented nor lobbied. Although we were successful in having ICANN bill the registrars directly, this only lasts for a year and must also be dealt with. New registries are coming on-line and again, our constituency has not been actively involved. WHOIS is being reviewed and revamped and the Names Council is looking for input and we have put forward nothing as a constituency. Our code of conduct (or best practices) has again stalled. The ICANN budget process is about to begin again for next year and we need to have recommendations and input. These are just some of the items we need to be dealing with now. We must be more organized, have schedules and deadlines that are met, and be active on many different fronts at the same time. To do so, I believe we need full time staff. Our constituency funds over 80% of ICANN, yet others have more powerful voices. We should be the strongest. We can be the strongest. We must be the strongest. We must pull ourselves together and move forward in an organized fashion. We must get serious as a constituency both in organization, staffing and funding. I will move us strongly down this path. On Point 3) We must start to look at future events and be proactive. Typically, we get together a few times a year and often are surprised at what issues are before us and scramble to deal with them. This must stop. We must work together on issues that affect all of us and have some foresight and strategy to deal with those we know are coming. On Point 4) As more and more registrars take an interest in registries, I believe it is imperative that our constituency be the voice of Registrars, and not that of registries. Care must be taken to ensure that we are acting on behalf of registrars and are not co-opted by registry concerns. Registries have their own voice. Ours must be for Registrars, period. I own no stake, nor do I work for, nor am I affiliated in any way, with any registry (other than being an ICANN accredited registrar). I currently own and work for Momentous.ca Corp. which owns the largest .ca registrar in Canada as well as the ICANN accredited Namescout.com registrar and other online utilities. On Point 5) We must have a chair that can be fair to all sides of a dispute. We are competitors that come together to work on issues where we have a common front. However, sometimes issues of competition arise and need to be mediated. A chair should not be taking sides nor pushing one agenda over another. I have been Chair’s and Vice-Chair’s of organizations such as the Canadian Internet Registries Authority (CIRA) as well as the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP). The latter was an organization of competitor ISP’s. I have direct hands on experience leading groups of competitors and it is not always trivial. Care must be taken to ensure that the cohesiveness of the constituency is maintained through these disputes and that the focus is always on acting together for the common good on issues of mutual interest. We can NEVER allow a war between members on one issue to permanently fracture or draw ongoing battle lines in our constituency. Although one issue may, at the time, appear to be everything, it rarely is. We are all serious business people who want to find a solution to anything that faces us in a reasonable manner. With the right leadership, I believe we can. I have been involved with ICANN from the beginning (in fact, I remember the IFWP days prior to ICANN, with a smile). In the past, I have been involved in other constituencies (ccTLD and ISP) and have watched as they rocketed past us in organization and united voice. I also had the pleasure of serving on the constituencies budget committee this past year with Elana Broitman and John Tai. I have also had the pleasure of working with Liz Williams. I do not believe in running as a slate as I believe we should be picking the best people for the job. On a personal note, my votes will go to Elana, Liz and Bruce for the other positions. I may not agree with all of their stances on issues, but I have seen them all work very hard for the constituency in the past, and this dedication is what is required as we move forward. I believe my past experience leading organizations made up of competitors makes me the ideal candidate for the Chair of our constituency. I will be dedicated to making the registrars constituency a voice for registrars and one that will be heard by all in a professional manner. I respectfully ask for your support in the upcoming election. Rob. Brief Bio can be found at http://www.echelon.ca/rob/bio.html -- President fax (613) 820-0777 Momentous.ca Corp. rob@momentous.ca www.momentous.ca iti,s |