I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this, but I am starting to get dizzy at the sheer number of panels, committees and working groups being formed. - Four original Presidents Strategy Panels. launched at Durban (originally fivem two have been merged) - The co-signers of the Montivideo Declaration - A High Level Panel led by the head of Estonia - An ICANN Cross-community working group on the Brazil meeting (asked for by Fadi at the emergency 7am meeting in Buenos Aires, delivered by a joint ALAC/NCSG effort) That's seven panels, all working independently, and I'm sure I may be missing some others too. And that doesn't even count the work going on within the silos of the other Montivideo signatories (I certainly don't see any attempts at, for instance, bringing together ISOC and ICANN and the RIRs on these matters). There are a lot of big names on these panels, and a lot of credibility -- credibility that, IMO, is at risk if the ongoing work of these panels is as chaotic and ill-conceived as the processes that created them. Outside of the one that was actually initiated by our community, there are only two At-Large members -- Carlton and Edmon -- involved in any of the other groups. This is unfortunate, especially given our early support for the endeavour when most of the rest of ICANN's community waffled or opposed. But even more than the lack of end-user representation, is a feeling that this entire collection of well-meaning groupings and silos have no focus beyond a vague intent to defend ICANN against the encroachment of government control. All of a sudden, questions such as "where is ICANN's civil society?" seem relevant and are being repeately asked. Given that ICANN's multi-stakeholderism is being trotted out as the best defence against such encroachment, it is bewildering that that this model appears to require such a staggering amount of outside help. Where were all these people before? Maybe this chaotic need for external validation itself indicates a problem with the model. All I know right now is that: - It's becoming harder and harder to track all the parallel panels, and what relation they have to each other; - My confidence that this cacophony will produce a coherent defense of the MSM, is diminishing by the day; - ICANN, after years of single focus on expanding gTLDs, has just woken up to a challenge to its very legitimacy that until now has been arrogantly assumed. Its response has been fascinating to experience, if not wholly satisfying. My dizziness is unlikely to abate any time soon. -- Evan Leibovitch Toronto Canada Em: evan at telly dot org Sk: evanleibovitch Tw: el56