Ken, > Among all these talks of constituencies, where is there > representation for the mass of Internet users who want > a domain name but have no stake in registration profits? > ... > Who shares a belief that the disenfranchised deserve a voice? > > Closed committees defy the public good. Open the process, please. > End paternalism. Have faith in people's ability to live responsibly > free. Since its representation that is at the heart of the ICANN- intricacies, it only confuses the issue to speak of an 'unrepresented constituency.' Of course anyone who wants to get in on 'membership' of the greatest muddle on earth joins the At- Large group, which elects fully half of the (maximum) number of the Board. According to its Membership Advisory Committee proposals, because there is no member obligation (such as fees), anybody can get a AL voting card. At the same time, privacy will be preserved, so clearly there will be no public roll to show who is a member or not. Again, to be a candidate, one should post ones 'campaign' particulars not later than 50 days prior to the election; yet no one can vote who joins less than 30 days prior. (Maybe the 32 cents ICANN invests in postage on your voting authorization is your membership fee, so they have to have plenty of time to get it to you.) I look forward to an election in which there is no canvassing, no invitations to study groups, no 'phone-tree' kind of networking, no grassroots volunteerism -- except among those who form *extra- political connections. Im thrilled by the vista of democratic process that is opened for the masses, who may have less than three weeks in which to look at the candidates, and decide to join on the basis of what they read. Im impressed by the reliance ICANN places in there being an ALMembership at all: they cant afford to ask for volunteers to provide translation services, so that the entire structure remains officially an English-only outfit. All in all, I'm only perplexed why no other populace on earth never came up with such a hodge-podge before. kerry
