ICANN Mulls Poll Taxes, Representation

Cutriss writes: "The ICANN seems to be thinking about giving in to public demands. According to this article on Wired.com mentions that ICANN is considering allowing domain owners to elect their board of directors. It's a step in the right direction. I wonder if domain owners could collaborate and cast a collective vote of no confidence, absolving ICANN of its responsibilities..." I wouldn't call it a step in the right direction since each revision to ICANN's Board involves less individual representation and more corporate representatives. There's another story with some quotes from Karl Auerbach. The At-Large study that we talked about earlier has now been released in its final form. If you don't like the way ICANN is going, please consider attending their meetings. Next one is in Los Angeles next week.

Comments

democracy in action

[Alien54]

It has been said that Democracy is what happens when people participate. If no one participates, then what you get is a democracy of whoever happens to show up.

You can have a democracy of special interests, a democracy of thieves, a democracy of madmen, or whatever.

If you think your viewpoint is relevent and important, then you should do something.

In the People are Lazy theory, People tend to do only those things that are utterly important to them. This allows more ambitious folks a free hand.

This might not been in your best interest.

This is not "a step in the right direction"

[scarhill]

Cutriss writes: "The ICANN seems to be thinking about giving in to public demands. According to this article on Wired.com mentions that ICANN is considering allowing domain owners to elect their board of directors. It's a step in the right direction."

According to ICANN's original charter (which the board has ignored), all internet users were supposed to be able to elect half of the board. Now this committee proposes (and the board will no doubt rubber stamp) that domain name owners elect one third of the board, with the rest appointed by a variety of industry "stakeholders".

How is that an improvment???

Re:This is not "a step in the right direction"

[Luyseyal]

It certainly isn't "a step in the right direction." ICANN isn't giving in to public demands, its giving up on public participation. It seems to me that ICANN is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Indeed, several of us on the At-Large forum list have said that we would sign an amicus curiae or whathaveyou on a report to the Department of Commerce that ICANN has failed to implement anything at all resembling public participation as promised.

Methinks they'd be pretty sad if the DoC said "get with the program or dissolve."

-l