[wg-d] Voting for the co-chair

[Theresa Swinehart <Theresa.Swinehart@wcom.com>]

All wg-d,

Please find below the 3 nominations for the co-chair of this wg/committee D
that were received as of August 3, 17:00 CET. Votes should be sent to me
(Theresa.Swinehart@wcom.com) and cc'ed to the WG-D list (wg-d@dnso.org).
Below the list of nominations are the short para's on background and visions
for two, Bret Fausett and Elisabeth Porteneuve, which were received per
request. Please submit your vote for one (1) of the nominees by August 5,
6:00 (18:00) pm EST.

* Bret Fausett (see background/vision below)

* Elisabeth Porteneuve (see background/vision below)

* Antony Van Couvering


Brief statement of nominees (who they are, where they come from, where they
want the DNSO to go to, possible conflicts of interest or position, etc.),
received from Bret Fausett and Elisabeth Porteneuve (the statements are
separate by the dotted lines):


* Bret Fausett:

Background

I'm Bret Fausett, a lawyer with the U.S. based law firm of Fausett, Gaeta &
Lund, LLP. I came to the DNSO initially as a curious bystander interested in
the trademark issues and later as the Chair of the DNSO Task Force of the
Association of Internet Professionals ("AIP"). The AIP is a chapter-based
international organization of individuals and companies working in the
internet arena (http://www.association.org). The AIP presented a draft
charter for the DNSO, and I was involved in its drafting. (The AIP draft was
later merged with the "Paris Draft," which was merged with the BMW and CENTR
drafts, to become this DNSO.)

Philosophy on the DNSO and WG D

I wanted to participate in this Working Group because I believe that an
organization's processes and rules are what gives it credibility and
authority. I have been critical of ICANN at various times when it appeared
be taking actions that were not in accord with its bylaws, and I believe
that establishing rules, and then following them, are most important in a
new organization like this one.

The AIP Draft that I worked on earlier was the most detailed of the various
DNSO proposals presented to ICANN, perhaps reflecting my own bias toward
detailed processes. In the AIP draft, work was accomplished in "Research
Committees," quite similar to the Working Group concept we have here. In
retrospect, the early AIP drafts (http://dnso.association.org/bylaws.html)
were perhaps too detailed and rigid. In participating in these debates, I
have developed an appreciation for more "lightweight" structures, especially
when applied to the internet community.

I think the long-term success of the DNSO will depend on the success of this
group in crafting agreed, enforceable and predictable processes that will
ensure open, meaningful participation by interested parties, while allowing
work to move forward to completion. I appreciate that this will be a
difficult balance to strike.

Disclosure

I don't know what might be perceived as a conflict, but in the interest of
full disclosure, here goes...

As a partner in a for-profit Massachusetts limited liability partnership, I
am a member of the Business and Commercial Constituency. I have two
registered domain names, one of which I actively use commercially for my law
firm (http://www.fausett.com). Another lawyer from my firm, Diane Cabell,
has been an active participant in the Membership Advisory Committee to
ICANN.

I also participate in two organizations that are active in the Trademark
Constituency: the American Bar Association Intellectual Property Section and
the Domain Name Rights Coalition. I have restricted my energies to date,
however, to participation in the Business Constituency and have no current
plans to take an active role in the Trademark Constituency.

On the issues that are presently before the DNSO, my law firm currently
represents both trademark registrants and domain name registrants in
disputes arising from the interface between trademark law and domain names.
I would not describe us as zealots on either side of the heated debates
(though we have declined cases of "cybersquatting" on principle). We also
are counsel to the AIP (an organization that may join the non-commercial
constituency, depending on how the debate over its organization is finally
resolved). At present, we do not represent any other companies active in
these debates (gTLD registries, ccTLD registries, prospective registries,
registrars), though in the past we have been engaged in unrelated matters on
behalf of local and regional ISPs.

Finally, I have never taken, nor been offered, money from NSI. ;-)

I hope that helps.

       -- Bret



* Elisabeth Porteneuve:


Election Statement for the co-chair of WG-D (DNSO Business Plan and Internal
Procedures).

I've been involved in the networking work for years, and had a chance to see
the very beginning of the Internet,
a time when evangelisation were needed to convince many, even telecom
operators, that it makes sense and have future.
Once the killer application -- World Wide Web -- arrived, and that powerful
tool get understood by many, another
rush started. The rush for IP numbers and for domain names, both with
tremendous economical impacts.

Some wisdom need to be reached on the global, international scale concerning
the management of the public resource of
domain names and concerning the global economy. This is the work for the
DNSO, including procedural matters,
and I think that my personal experience may be useful in this international
forum. In the context of Working Committees with two co-chairs, I strongly
support the cultural diversity, i.e. they should be from two different
geographical regions.


Brief Summary of Experience

Now:

* Network Manager at CNRS(CETP) and Adviser to AFNIC, France.
* AFNIC (Association Francaise pour le Nommage Internet   en Cooperation) is
a non for profit private organization   managing French top level domain
names.
* CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) is a   French public
research organization, similar in some way to the NSF (National Science
Foundation).
* CETP (Centre d'etude des Environnements Terreste et Planetaires)   is a
research laboratory of approximately 150 persons working on the space and
environmental program.
* Elected Director of CENTR (Council of European National   Top level domain
Registries)
* DNSO voluntary secretariat since June 2, 1999
* Hosting "Paris Draft" group working on the DNSO proposal in   February
1999.

In the late 1980's and 1990's:
* Member of different European groups setting up international connectivity
with the NSFNET
* Vice-President of EARN France in 1989/90, working with EARN-Europe and
many Polish colleagues to connect Poland to EARN/BitNet networks
* Member of different French and European groups setting up international
connectivity between space agencies
* Internet Society Pioneer

Education:

* Mathematics at Warsaw University
* Computer Science at Paris 6 University (Pierre et Marie Curie)

Languages:
* bilingual French/Polish, medium level of Russian