Esther,
Your comments below lead me to ask, what is your definition of a bottom-up
self-organizing process?
Is it one where nine unelected and unaccountable people define how the
Internet community is to be represented in the technical coordination of
domain names and IP addresses?
Is it one that gives 18 seats on the Names Council to commercial and
infrastructure interests and only three to the substantial population that
doesn't fit that description?
Is it one that creates an artificial boundary between business and
trademark interests, establishing constituencies for each, but identifies
no representation for the universities, colleges, trade schools and
millions of kindergarten through college students who use the Internet as a
research and communication tool?
Inexpensive, appliance-like devices designed solely for Internet access
will soon be as commonplace and ubiquitous as televisions. Online commerce
will fuel the global economy, but individuals will fund it. NSI
anticipates a potential for 130 million domain name registrations, of which
the registry suggests 50 million will be early adapting individuals.[1]
IMHO, the majority of new registrants will be students, families, and
individuals who choose to participate on the Internet on a personal basis,
not through their employment affiliation.
In ten fast but contentious months, this interim board has managed to
disenfranchise the largest segment of the Internet community, as evidenced,
yet again, by ICANN's failure to even consider this IDNO petition.
It appears there is never time to do things right, but always time
downstream to accommodate errors in process and procedure. You asked for
our trust, but ICANN's cart-before-horse actions and lack of big picture
vision have, instead, merited our brickbats.
________________________________________________________
[1] Doug Wolford, Sr. VP of Marketing, Hambrecht and Quist Technology
Conference, April 28, 1999.
Esther Dyson wrote:
>Dear Joop and colleagues -
>
>I'm writing to respond personally to your proposal for an Individual Domain
>Name Holders' Constituency. As you know, the Initial Board decided not to
>consider it in Berlin because it was not among the seven constituencies we
>hoped to see form to constitute the full DNSO. At this point, we are still
>hoping to approve conditionally the last of the seven original
>constituencies, and allow the process of enlarging the board to move
>forward.
>
>That means that the Initial Board won't be considering your petition this
>time either, since we're still working on the first seven.
>
>Let me say personally that I am not totally comfortable with this
>decision. Given that the At-Large Membership is not yet constituted, I
>think it important that individuals' concerns have some representation
>within the DNSO.
>
>However, there are two other points worth noting.
>
>First is that the representativeness of the IDNO is still questionable; it
>faces many of the same challenges of outreach and breadth that the ICANN
>Initial Board faces in trying constitute its At-Large membership. Creating
>the IDNO now may be a way of avoiding rather than solving this problem.
>
>Second, I am more concerned that the voices and interests of individuals be
>*represented* in the work of the DNSO, than with precisely how that happens.
>Although the process is certainly messy, the concerns of individuals and
>individuals' rights are now being heard within the DNSO working groups -
>although perhaps not as effectively as they should be. Making sure that
>that process works is where I think we should be focusing our attention
>right now.
>
>Esther Dyson
>personally, as a *member* of the Initial Board but not for it
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
--
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