Dear Marc, thank you for your letter of resignation which I accept with deep regret. I appreciate that the time demands which are placed on ALAC members are high when wishing to be involved fully in ALAC processes, RALOs and At-Large grassroots input to ICANN. It is something which we all have to struggle with. I also share your concerns regarding decisions by national governments and other factors external to ICANN. However, our mission in ICANN is limited to the by-laws under which we operate and this mission is quite focussed. The responsibilities which were defined to avoid a scattering of resources, are listed in Articles XI.4.a and XI.4.j and surpassing those limits, although tempting, is not something which the ALAC should do. The responsibility of the ALAC is to make the voice of Internet users heard in ICANN - and this has to be done with the scarce resources which we are afforded, both in funding and in volunteer time. I have enjoyed working with you on the Internet Town Hall in San Francisco and hope that you will remain in contact with the ICANN At-Large community. I know that many members have appreciated meeting you and will look forward to keeping in touch. However, with your resignation, your participation in the ICANN Singapore meeting cannot be justified and after consultation with the Executive Committee, it was decided to enable another At-Large member to travel to Singapore. I trust that you will understand this, and wish you every success in the future. Sincerely, Olivier Crépin-Leblond ALAC Chair On 07/06/2011 21:36, Marc Rotenberg wrote :
Dear Olivier,
I am tendering my resignation from ALAC.
Upon further consideration, I do not believe I have the considerable amount of time required to make a meaningful contribution to ALAC.
I do believe that the Internet Town Hall, which we organized in conjunction with the recent meeting in San Francisco, provided the opportunity for a fresh perspective on Future Challenges facing users of the Internet.
I also believe that the decision of national governments to suspend access to the Internet poses a profound challenge to the freedom of Internet users that cannot be ignored.
And I remain concerned about the technical and administrative obstacles that continue to consume so much of our valuable time and make it difficult for people to obtain even basic information about the work of ALAC.
To be an effective representative of the individual Internet user, as the ALAC charter requires, the Committee should focus less on the organizational structure of ICANN and more on the needs and concerns of the Internet user. A clear vision can help transform an organization.
Whether ALAC chooses to explore that possibility is now up to the Committee.
I appreciated the opportunity to meet many fine individuals, and hope to see them again in the future. And I admire your dedication as Chair. I wish you the very best.
I will attend the meeting in Singapore or not, based upon your preference.
Sincerely,
Marc Rotenberg
-- Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond, PhD http://www.gih.com/ocl.html