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Fwd: [At-Large] Public Forum on GNSO Improvements, Monday 16:00 Lisbon
by Nick Ashton-Hart 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

Dear All: I thought this note from Denise might be of interest. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Denise Michel <denise.michel(a)icann.org> Date: 21-Mar-2007 22:13 Subject: [At-Large] Public Forum on GNSO Improvements, Monday 16:00 Lisbon To: alac(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org Dear At-Large Advisory Committee members and At-Large community members: Your participation in the 'Public Forum on GNSO Improvements' scheduled for Monday, 26 March, 16:00 - 18:00, in Lisbon is encouraged. <http://icann.org/meetings/lisbon/agenda-public2-26mar07.htm> The Board Governance Committee (BGC) is hosting this forum to encourage additional public input and discussion on the LSE review and improvements to the GNSO's structures and processes. While input on all elements of the GNSO and the LSE review report are open for comment at the forum, the Committee is particularly interested in hearing your views on the GNSO review recommendations listed below. (Note that questions raised about the recommendations listed below are included to prompt thought and discussion, and are not intended to represent the views of the BGC or its members). *Individuals and stakeholder groups are encouraged to submit views on these and other recommendations in advance of the forum to <gnso-improvements(a)icann.org>. Authors of emailed input will be given an opportunity to present their views prior to opening the forum to comments from the floor.* o Structural Changes to GNSO Constituencies -- LSE recommendation 19. Simplify the GNSO constituency structure in order to respond to rapid changes in the Internet, including by substituting 3 larger constituency groups representing Registration interests, Business, and Civil Society; LSE recommendation 18. Create a category of 'Associate Stakeholder' to establish a pool of available external expertise. - Which entities and individuals should participate in the GNSO process, and what will motivate them to want to join? The six current groups are the natural point to begin discussion. Do they represent the right groups? Are they over or under inclusive? The Bylaws acknowledge that the optimal groupings may be different than the ones that now exist, and that there is no "magic number." The LSE points out several problems with the current structure and suggests the substitution of three larger constituencies — is this the right answer? - Is it feasible to create a roster of readily available experts who can assist with task forces and other aspects of the PDP? - What other questions and approaches should the BGC explore regarding these two LSE recommendations? o Changes to the Policy Development Process -- LSE recommendation 17. Make greater use of task forces [in policy development processes]; LSE recommendation 23. Revise and move PDP operational provisions from Bylaws to more flexible GNSO 'Rules of Procedures.' - Could greater use of task forces, particularly proposals to attract more expertise and geographical diversity, help the policy development process? Would limiting the number of Councilors on any task force enable the Council to focus more on the task of managing PDPs, rather than the substantive aspects of formulating specific policies? Would this change increase the number of people willing to serve on the Council? - There seems to be widespread agreement that the Bylaws are overly prescriptive, and the prescribed PDP steps and timelines have not captured the requirements of a policy development process. Should the PDP principles be preserved in the Bylaws while placing more procedural elements in GNSO 'rules of procedure'? Do you have specific suggestions for how the PDP should be revised? - What other questions and approaches should the BGC explore regarding these two LSE recommendations? o Changes to Voting and Representation -- LSE recommendation 21. Increase the threshold for establishing consensus to 75% and abolish weighted voting; LSE recommendation 20. Make the Council smaller (16 members suggested). - How would raising the consensus threshold and abolishing weighted voting advance the role of the GNSO? The Bylaws task the GNSO with both "developing and recommending" gTLD policies to the Board. - Weighted voting, in particular, was instituted as part of ICANN's Evolution and Reform Process to address the different effect policies have on contracted versus non-contracted constituencies. Has this approach contributed to, or hampered, effective policy development? - What other questions and approaches should the BGC explore regarding these two LSE recommendations? (Please share this announcement with community members and other interested parties.) Regards, Denise Michel Vice President, Policy Development ICANN denise.michel(a)icann.org _______________________________________________ ALAC mailing list ALAC(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org www.alac.icann.org www.icannalac.org -- -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom UK Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011 USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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Hotel Information for Lisbon
by Nick Ashton-Hart 20 Mar '07

20 Mar '07

Dear All: Whilst those attending Lisbon will shortly be receiving individual emails with your hotel details, the travel information page on the Wikis have also been updated with lots of useful information about the travel arrangements. You can view them here: Africa: https://st.icann.org/afralo/index.cgi?travel_information Europe: https://st.icann.org/euralo/index.cgi?travel_information ALAC: https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?travel_information -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom Main Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011] USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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Fwd: ALAC Chair Resigns from Chair Position for Health Reasons
by Nick Ashton-Hart 19 Mar '07

19 Mar '07

Dear All: I have the unfortunate duty to forward the news below - which some of you may have already seen - from the Chair of the At-Large Advisory Committee. May I say personally - and I'm sure on behalf of all the ICANN Staff too - that we wish you a speedy recovery Annette - and I'm sure you'll be back in your usual form soon :) Begin forwarded message: > From: Annette Muehlberg <annette.muehlberg(a)web.de> > Date: 18 March 2007 14:58:30 GMT > To: Nick Ashton-Hart <nashton(a)spamcop.net> > Subject: [Fwd: personal news] > > Dear ALAC fellows, > > For weeks and weeks I have been hoping to recover, but my lungs are > still causing trouble. It now became clear that I will not be able to > take part in the Lisbon meeting. > > In view of the uncertainty about how long I will not not be able to > function fully as ALAC Chair, I have come to the conclusion that I > should ask you to elect someone else from our team to carry the > responsibilities of ALAC Chair. This has been a very difficult > decision > for me as I was earnestly trying to discharge the responsibilities you > have entrusted me with. > > Meanwhile, I'm slowly recovering and hope to be back at my regular job > with the new responsibilities that have been kindly assigned to me as > soon as possible. Needless to say, I also look forward to being > back on > the ALAC team and wish you all and ALAC the very best. > > Once again, I would like to thank you all for your trust, support, > cooperation and understanding. > > Annette -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom Main Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011] USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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Draft Agendas for African, European, and ALAC Meetings in Lisbon
by Nick Ashton-Hart 19 Mar '07

19 Mar '07

Dear At-Large Community members: You can now find draft agendas for the At-Large community meetings online. The African and European regions are encouraged to discuss the agendas and propose changes. Note that the documents related to each agenda item will be uploaded as they become available and links to the documents will be found alongside the agenda items that they are associated with. The agendas can be found as follows: Africa: https://st.icann.org/afralo/index.cgi?icann_lisbon_meetings Europe: https://st.icann.org/euralo/index.cgi?lisbon_icann_meeting At-Large Advisory Committee: https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi? alac_meeting_agendas In addition, you will find pages for nominations of regional leaders for Europe and Africa off of the meeting pages for each region. Those travelling to Lisbon should also subscribe via RSS to the Travel Information page, or check back often, as this page will be kept current with information about hotels, airport transfers, and mobile phone numbers to call in case of problems. We hope that these pages over the coming days help you to prepare for Lisbon and for those attending the Lisbon meeting we look forward to meeting you at the end of the month! -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom Main Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011] USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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Have a great Lisbon Meeting!
by Annette Muehlberg 19 Mar '07

19 Mar '07

Dear All, I would like to congratulate those regions who made large steps forward to strengthen the bottom-up structure of ICANN and get individual end-users involved in its decision making processes. I am looking forward to the inauguration of new Regional At-Large Organisations! We all know, this is only the first step and the real hard work just starts as we do not want to create bureaucratic monsters but vivid organisations with a lot of inputs by and in the interest of individual internet users. There is a lot to do and it is great that so many people came together to dedicate their time for this work. Unfortunately I will not be able to take part in the Lisbon meeting and asked the ALAC to elect someone else from our team to carry the responsibilities of ALAC Chair. I hope I have been of help to you and would like to thank you all for your trust, support, and great cooperation. I wish you all the best for this exciting ICANN Meeting in Lisbon. I will try and join you virtually. See you in June in Puerto Rico Annette

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Information on the GNSO and Policy Development Process
by Nick Ashton-Hart 18 Mar '07

18 Mar '07

Dear Community: Since I know many ALSes are not intimately familiar with the GNSO and the GNSO Policy Development Process, I have drawn up an informational document which describes both and includes the graphical representation of the process previously forwarded. I hope you will find this helpful, especially when you are considering the draft resolutions which in the current draft call for a PDP to be initiated. The attached will help you understand what that means, and the other avenues associated with, and connected to, the full formal PDP process which can also be used, or which can be complimentary to, the full PDP process. Note that French, Spanish, and Portuguese translations of the attached documents will be available next week. All of these will be posted on the Wikis for the various regions as well and I will email those links when they are available. -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom Main Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011] USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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Resolutions on Policy Matters for Lisbon
by Nick Ashton-Hart 18 Mar '07

18 Mar '07

Dear At-Large Community: In order to facilitate discussion of the three resolutions being proposed for adoption in Lisbon, I have put them up on the Wiki as follows: Domain Tasting / Monetisation: https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi? al_2007_r_1 Contractual Compliance, Registry Issues: https://st.icann.org/alac/ index.cgi?al_2007_r_2 Internationalised Domain Names: https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi? al_2007_r_3 NEXT STEPS: 1) I will incorporate, as separate revisions so that you can see the changes which have been suggested on the ALAC worldwide discussion forum, as individual edits. 2) I will reformulate them all so that they are structured similarly - to the maximum extent possible making no changes of substance in doing so - also in single revisions so that this is easy to see. 3) Once step 1 and 2 are done, I will translate the texts into French and Spanish - this will take a couple of days though. I will ask our faithful regional liaisons for Africa (Anne-Rachel Inne) and LAC Pablo Hinojosa then to help keep the updates to the English versions current with the French and Spanish versions once the translations arrive. Note that the idea is to adopt these in Lisbon. AS A RESULT INPUT IS NEEDED NOW FROM THE FOLLOWING REGIONS, SINCE THEY WILL NOT BE MEETING IN FULL SESSION IN LISBON like Africa and Europe: LAC North America Asia/Pacific IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS TO MAKE ON ANY OR ALL OF THESE: For ease of reading please use the comment button at the top of the page. You may also send email to the pages of the wiki, which will then appear as comments at the bottom and show you as the person who made the comments. Here are links: Domain Tasting Contractual Compliance IDNS It is helpful if you copy the comment to the worldwide ALAC list at alac(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org as well so that everyone sees the new comment. If you haven't joined this list, I recommend you do so at http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge- lists.icann.org These resolutions are scheduled for debate, amendment, and if consensus is achieved adoption in a combined meeting of the European, African, and the ALAC on 27th March between 13:00 and 18:00. Full agenda details for that meeting can be found at https://st.icann.org/ alac/index.cgi?second_session. There will be a remote participation facility for this meeting. Details for how to attend that way will be available on the url immediately above early this coming week. If you do not see links above, here is how to use the comment feature: Send an email to: alac(a)st.icann.org, and for the subject line, for domain tasting, use 'AL/2007/R/1' without the quotes, for Contractual Compliance, 'AL/2007/R/2', and for IDNs 'AL/2007/R/3' -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom Main Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011] USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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RE : Re: [At-Large] Question
by Aziz Hilali 14 Mar '07

14 Mar '07

Dear Vittorio, As much as we appreciate your keen intent to dispel any misrepresentation on our part, we still persit in saying that the overall tone and line of argumentation/presentation of your message was, to say the least, 'politically' charged as you never took the time to present, albeit briefly, what the other side's view of the dispute is. The impression that the reader is left with is that: a) the Western Sahara was 'militarily occupied' by Morocco, and as a consequence, b) there is a marginalised group of people whose interests, as far as the use of internet is concerned, need to be loked after. Clearly, this is not what one may call an unbiased view of the issue. Otherwise, why should it be raised in such terms ? One thing that we would like to stress at this point is that we are all striving after the same goal; namely to ensure that ALL end-users are treated on EQUAL FOOTING and that no one is being left out. Vittorio Bertola <vb(a)bertola.eu> a écrit : hilali Aziz ha scritto: > *Dear all,* > > ***We received a forwarded message written by Vittorio Bertola and > forwarded by Nick Ashton Hart on 09- 02 2007, in which we learn that > the author of this mail would like to see us give our support to a > recently formulated application to attribute the **.eh ccTLD** to > Western Sahara. * Actually, I was not asking for "support". What I would like is the application to be evaluated as far as possible on a non-political basis. ICANN has always adopted the approach that if a geographical entity is in the ISO 3166-1 list, then it deserves a ccTLD as long as someone is willing to run it; this does not imply any statement on whether that entity is or is not a country, or about the legitimacy of its political situation. To explain, my summarization of the political issue comes from the online neutral source for excellence, Wikipedia, and other websites. For example: > *To claim that the Western Sahara is one of the last colonies in the > world, just like the Cayman islands, is an utter fallacy; I took this from an United Nations document reported here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_list_of_Non-Self-Governing_Terr… However, the point here is not to debate on whether Morocco's or Polisario's claims are legitimate, and I am sure that, as I noted, there are different interpretations of the matter. I just wanted to provide a quick recap for readers, without making a political statement. I am happy to hear from the Moroccan side of the dispute, of course, and I would also be happy to hear from the Polisario side; the "local Internet community" includes both. But I would avoid to get us involved into the political dispute in itself. -- vb. Vittorio Bertola - vb [a] bertola.eu <-------- --------> finally with a new website at http://bertola.eu/ <-------- Aziz Hilali Président de Misoc Addresse: B.P. 68 04, Madinat Al Irfane, Av. Allal Al Fassi Rabat, Maroc Téléphone :+ 212. 61. 40. 15. 15 Email : hilaliaziz(a)yahoo.fr Rejoignez l'association pour la promotion de l'Internet au Maroc : www.misoc.ma --------------------------------- Découvrez une nouvelle façon d'obtenir des réponses à toutes vos questions ! Profitez des connaissances, des opinions et des expériences des internautes sur Yahoo! Questions/Réponses.

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Geographic Regions Review
by Nick Ashton-Hart 12 Mar '07

12 Mar '07

Dear Community: The following presentation from the Sao Paulo meeting may be useful, especially for those who are new to ICANN. It discusses why the current review of Geographic Regions in ICANN is important and what the regions are used for. I hope you find it helpful. -- Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart Director, At-Large ICANN PO Box 32160 London N4 2XY United Kingdom Main Tel: +44 (20) 8800-1011] USA Tel: +1 (202) 657-5460 Fax: +44 (20) 7681-3135 mobile: +44 (7774) 932798 email: nick.ashton-hart(a)icann.org Win IM: ashtonhart(a)hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart(a)mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart Online Bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart

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[At-Large] ICANN IDN Laboratory test results online
by Hong Xue 12 Mar '07

12 Mar '07

Dear At-Large Community The positive IDN Laboratory test results that have just been posted on www.icann.org - see directly at: http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-4-07mar07.htm It concludes that "during these tests, we were unable to detect any deviation at all in any part of the system from the normal behaviour of DNS systems. The addition of IDN strings seems to have had no measurable effect at all on the qualitative performance of the test systems." These positive results will enable ICANN to move forward with the test of phase II. Phase II is currently under development but will be communicated as soon as possible. Hong ALAC IDN Liaison

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