Agreed. Dominik -----Original Message----- From: Evan Leibovitch [mailto:evan@telly.org] Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2008 5:10 PM To: Dominik Filipp Cc: jam@jacquelinemorris.com; At-Large Worldwide Subject: Re: [At-Large] ALAC and AtLarge and france at large Dominik Filipp wrote:
Try to see the positives. I wouldn't see it that dramatically. Access to the Internet, regular or on occasion, is available in many many countries. And the other means are by no means excluded.
IMO, At-Large is essentially the global community of "users of the Internet". As such, most people who would have an interest in ICANN, one would think, would at very least have Internet access. Improving IT literacy and giving people access to the Internet are extremely important issues, but outside the bounds of ICANN. It just strikes me as simple logic that someone without access to the Internet is likely not interested in -- and may be incapable of really understanding -- the controversies of its management. For that reason I would agree with Dominik that online surveys are an effective -- and certainly a cost effective -- manner to receive input from large numbers of community members who are at least Internet-aware. The main flaw with this tactic is that it is passive: surveys cannot solicit opinion, they can only wait for opinion to come to them. Left alone and unsupported, surveys only attract the brash and self-assured, which biases the results. For this reason IMO online surveys need to be accompanied by grassroots (ALS) support and publicity, to encourage people to understand the questions being surveyed and to participate. Such a combination, IMO, is hard to surpass in potential reach and cost effectiveness. It may not be the only solution, but it is to me the best one when resources are limited and the audience can be presumed to at least be aware enough to operate the survey. - Evan