The At-Large group advising on Accountability and IANA matters met today (as we have been twice weekly for the last while). It is becoming increasingly clearer that the CMSM model still has a LOT of rough edges that need to be finalized prior to putting forward our proposal as the accountability part of the IANA transition, and my recollection is that in Buenos Aires we were told in no uncertain terms that the proposal needed to be complete and fully implementable prior to being accepted by the NTIA and if necessary, Congress. I fear that the current plan will not meet that target. So, although I am hesitant to suggest we switch gears at this time, I am not sure we have a real alternative if we want to effect the transition. The At-Large group was very supportive of considering a variation of what we now have, specifically, a Community Mechanism as a Sole Designator (CMSD). Following the Buenos Aires meeting, and prior to the CMSM model being introduced, many in the CCWG were willing to consider the Empowered Designator model, and this is a variant that uses the simplified CMSx structure but with the lighter-weight designator mechanism which will be significantly easier to set up. It also addresses the concerns of some with moving to a Membership model for ICANN. I am sending this on my own, but with the knowledge that the concept had a lot of support in my community. Alan