On Mon, 11 Jan 1999, Greg Skinner wrote:
> >Much of the fighting is over ICANN itself, and comes from the fact that
> >ICANN operates in secret. A good deal of the fighting is in fact a
> >form of speculation: people are arguing over different interpretations
> >of ICANN's intent, or what today's version of the ICANN bylaws really
> >mean.
>
> But the fighting existed even back in the IAHC days.
Not the fighting over ICANN.
> >Calm comes from confidence and understanding. ICANN can easily take
> >actions to increase both. The simplest is to make the meetings of the
> >ICANN board open.
>
> It seems ICANN is damned if it does, and damned if it doesn't.
ICANN is supposed to provide a legal basis for IANA, a framework in
which that work can be continued. It was supposed to be a solution.
Unfortunately ICANN was selected by a secret process. Unfortunately
the ICANN board has chosen to keep its deliberations secret. And so
ICANN has simply became part of the problem.
The longer ICANN delays opening up its internal proceedings, the
fiercer the scrutiny it will be subjected to when it does open up.
In that sense you are right: it is being damned now for being secretive
and when it opens up it will be damned for each and every mistake.
But there is a difference.
The rows that are now being caused by secrecy and obfuscation will
continue until ICANN chooses to shine that light into the darkness
of its proceedings. This might be forever.
Those rows affect each and every part of this process. No one
knows what is going on; this ignorance creates uncertainty, confusion,
and anger.
If and when ICANN chooses to make its proceedings public there will
be anger too. Much of this willl be over what has been done in secret.
But this will pass: if the ICANN board has the sense to admit its
mistakes, if they make obviously needed corrections, the anger will
pass and in time be replaced by trust.
The same applies to the board's new mistakes. If they are mistakes made
in the open, they will attract sharp and focussed criticism. But so long
as the board pays attention, so long as it clearly hears the criticism,
that criticism will be limited; the DNS wars will be over. What we will
hear will be just the carping and grumbling that is normal life on the
Internet.
--
Jim Dixon Managing Director
VBCnet GB Ltd http://www.vbc.net tel +44 117 929 1316
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Member of Council Telecommunications Director
Internet Services Providers Association EuroISPA EEIG
http://www.ispa.org.uk http://www.euroispa.org
tel +44 171 976 0679 tel +32 2 503 22 65
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