Hello all, I am getting a fair few requests direct to me from people that want to get involved in ICANN work but don't know where to start. Most, I would say, best fit into the ALAC/RALO system so I have been trying to find some good resources to send people to. But I have hit a few snags: * The http://www.icannalac.org/ site is horribly out of date - it appears nothing new has been posted for 12 months * There's no clear route or explanation for people to get involved in ALAC or a RALO * It's very unclear about who to contact for what * It's not clear what ALAC is actually discussing or how to provide input into that process * The ALS concept is not explained and the application process is very unclear; in some cases, invisible * There's aren't any lead-in resources i.e. simple explanations about what ICANN does, how it works, what it discusses etc etc I know that Nick Ashton-Hart is working very hard on producing a new ALAC website. I hope you are working on new content and information for the launch of that. I also had a meeting with the RALO secretariats in Los Angeles where we discussed how ICANN can help provide more information so I hope to keep my end of that bargain. But there is a big gap here: it's really quite difficult for someone not already involved in the structure to have any idea how it works or how to get involved. I'm happy to help. But first of all: * Who shall I forward requests to from Internet users that wish to participate in ICANN's processes? * What do people believe is the current state of the various ALAC websites and wikis? i.e. where is it best to point people; is it a bad idea to point people to other places (such as icannalac.org) * Are there existing resources or pages that I have overlooked that explain how the system works? I'm very keen on getting more people involved in ICANN, particularly through the ALAC system, so any and all information, help, suggestions, ideas, resources, pointers etc would be gratefully received. Cheers Kieren ---------------------- Kieren McCarthy ---------------------- General manager of public participation, ICANN http://www.icann.org <http://www.icann.org/>
Hi Kieren, Great to see that here is increased interest in contributing to ICANN... See my comments interspaced below... CLO From: alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org [mailto:alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of Kieren McCarthy Sent: Monday, 3 December 2007 7:49 PM To: alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org Subject: [At-Large] ALAC participation Hello all, I am getting a fair few requests direct to me from people that want to get involved in ICANN work but don't know where to start. Most, I would say, best fit into the ALAC/RALO system so I have been trying to find some good resources to send people to. <CLO> Excellent J But I have hit a few snags: <CLO> L Oh dear ;-( * The http://www.icannalac.org/ site is horribly out of date - it appears nothing new has been posted for 12 months <CLO> This site is a product of a previous incarnation of the Interim ALAC and yes your correct it has not been kept up to date. * There's no clear route or explanation for people to get involved in ALAC or a RALO * It's very unclear about who to contact for what * It's not clear what ALAC is actually discussing or how to provide input into that process * The ALS concept is not explained and the application process is very unclear; in some cases, invisible * There's aren't any lead-in resources i.e. simple explanations about what ICANN does, how it works, what it discusses etc etc <CLO> Please direct enquires to :- https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?at_large_advisory_committee where I believe all the above issues are in fact addressed to a greater or lesser extent, but also at the end of the page you will find links to all the RALO sites and they in turn link to the ALS's and more information on getting involved. I know that Nick Ashton-Hart is working very hard on producing a new ALAC website. I hope you are working on new content and information for the launch of that. I also had a meeting with the RALO secretariats in Los Angeles where we discussed how ICANN can help provide more information so I hope to keep my end of that bargain. <CLO> Indeed the new look Web and the current review of the collaborative SocialText Wiki space will result in major improvements and much new and dynamic content. In fact we reviewed our outreach aims and options in LA and this current planning is also looking into how we can best meet these aims. But there is a big gap here: it's really quite difficult for someone not already involved in the structure to have any idea how it works or how to get involved. True but best options in the interim can be found at Please direct enquires to :- https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?at_large_advisory_committee I'm happy to help. But first of all: * Who shall I forward requests to from Internet users that wish to participate in ICANN's processes? * What do people believe is the current state of the various ALAC websites and wikis? i.e. where is it best to point people; is it a bad idea to point people to other places (such as icannalac.org) * Are there existing resources or pages that I have overlooked that explain how the system works? See above ;-) and most importantly I think we should have you join us at either an ALAC Meeting and / or a Web WG teleconference so we can indeed explore ways that you can help. re who/where to point enquiries to. Working Group activities and specific policy review can always be joined from the links found at my recommended url link mentioned above. But the ALS's and RALO Wikis are also a an important point of contact and I'd be actively encouraging people to join their existing local ALS or indeed self organizing to start their one to widen local participation. I'm very keen on getting more people involved in ICANN, particularly through the ALAC system, so any and all information, help, suggestions, ideas, resources, pointers etc would be gratefully received. <CLO> Again this is very exciting news and let's work together to maximize all our outreach outcome options . Kieren, please let me know what your availability is for any of our next Dec & Jan ALAC Meetings if not then we should schedule time in New Delhi in one of our Agenda's. And also if you would prefer to or be able to meet with our web and content sub-committee being headed up by Veronica and the ALAC ExCo we meet at alternate fortnights to the monthly ALAC meeting but can also schedule to suit your availability if that works better. CLO Cheers Kieren ---------------------- Kieren McCarthy ---------------------- General manager of public participation, ICANN http://www.icann.org <http://www.icann.org/>
On 2007-12-03 23:03:08 +1100, Cheryl Langdon-Orr wrote:
<CLO> Indeed the new look Web and the current review of the collaborative SocialText Wiki space will result in major improvements and much new and dynamic content. In fact we reviewed our outreach aims and options in LA and this current planning is also looking into how we can best meet these aims.
How about just doing the obvious and inviting people to join the ALAC list? -- Thomas Roessler <roessler@does-not-exist.org>
Well I did think that was self evident but... yes... Kieren do also point your "I'm interested in ALAC and At-Large Activity enquires", to the list of lists they may wish to subscribe to... Found at http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo Where there is a simple subscribe to system for the public At-Large list (described as the ALAC mailing list ALAC@atlarge-lists.icann.org http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org ) as well as all other lists run for At-Large participation in ICANN activities, policy development and process, in addition to some of the admin ones... CLO -----Original Message----- From: Thomas Roessler [mailto:roessler@does-not-exist.org] Sent: Monday, 3 December 2007 11:09 PM To: Cheryl Langdon-Orr Cc: 'Kieren McCarthy'; alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org Subject: Re: [At-Large] ALAC participation and the status of web sites... On 2007-12-03 23:03:08 +1100, Cheryl Langdon-Orr wrote:
<CLO> Indeed the new look Web and the current review of the collaborative SocialText Wiki space will result in major improvements and much new and dynamic content. In fact we reviewed our outreach aims and options in LA and this current planning is also looking into how we can best meet these aims.
How about just doing the obvious and inviting people to join the ALAC list? -- Thomas Roessler <roessler@does-not-exist.org>
That is indeed what the front page of www.alac.icann.org suggests that people do. On 3 Dec 2007, at 13:08, Thomas Roessler wrote:
On 2007-12-03 23:03:08 +1100, Cheryl Langdon-Orr wrote:
<CLO> Indeed the new look Web and the current review of the collaborative SocialText Wiki space will result in major improvements and much new and dynamic content. In fact we reviewed our outreach aims and options in LA and this current planning is also looking into how we can best meet these aims.
How about just doing the obvious and inviting people to join the ALAC list?
-- Thomas Roessler <roessler@does-not-exist.org>
_______________________________________________ ALAC mailing list ALAC@atlarge-lists.icann.org http://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac_atlarge-lists.icann.org
At-Large Official Site: http://www.alac.icann.org ALAC Independent: http://www.icannalac.org
Thanks Cheryl (and thanks to others who have responded - I have read all responses) Re: www.ICANNalac.org - I don't view this as having anything to do with me (unless people feel otherwise) but I would urge this group to come to some kind of agreement over what to do with it as it is out there and it reflects badly on ALAC at the moment. Great, thank you re: providing a single URL to direct people to. Will do. I have to confess though that I don't currently feel confident in just providing people approaching me asking to get involved with that address. I think we are liable to lose most people without some clearer context and explanation being readily available. I have a suggestion: since I am responding to these people, I will inevitably formulate some kind of wording as a response that appears to cover most issues. As soon as this starts solidifying through iteration, I will provide it to ALAC to do with as you please. Does this sound like a reasonable way forward? I am hoping that the new wikis and websites will take a standard approach, and I also hope that there are discussions going on as we speak about precisely what information should be available as a minimum (I am thinking the names and contact details for the main representatives and their responsibilities for example). I am happy to get involved in any such discussions, you need only ask. Re: availability for December / January meetings. I would be more than happy to make time at any point for ALAC and for the RALOs. So unless I have something it is impossible to get out of, and so long as I have roughly 24 hours notice, you can rely on my attendance. Kieren ---------------------- Kieren McCarthy ---------------------- General manager of public participation, ICANN http://www.icann.org <http://www.icann.org/> _____ From: Cheryl Langdon-Orr [mailto:cheryl@hovtek.com.au] Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 4:03 AM To: 'Kieren McCarthy'; alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org Subject: RE: [At-Large] ALAC participation and the status of web sites... Importance: High Hi Kieren, Great to see that here is increased interest in contributing to ICANN... See my comments interspaced below... CLO From: alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org [mailto:alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of Kieren McCarthy Sent: Monday, 3 December 2007 7:49 PM To: alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org Subject: [At-Large] ALAC participation Hello all, I am getting a fair few requests direct to me from people that want to get involved in ICANN work but don't know where to start. Most, I would say, best fit into the ALAC/RALO system so I have been trying to find some good resources to send people to. <CLO> Excellent :-) But I have hit a few snags: <CLO> :-( Oh dear ;-( * The http://www.icannalac.org/ site is horribly out of date - it appears nothing new has been posted for 12 months <CLO> This site is a product of a previous incarnation of the Interim ALAC and yes your correct it has not been kept up to date. * There's no clear route or explanation for people to get involved in ALAC or a RALO * It's very unclear about who to contact for what * It's not clear what ALAC is actually discussing or how to provide input into that process * The ALS concept is not explained and the application process is very unclear; in some cases, invisible * There's aren't any lead-in resources i.e. simple explanations about what ICANN does, how it works, what it discusses etc etc <CLO> Please direct enquires to :- https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?at_large_advisory_committee where I believe all the above issues are in fact addressed to a greater or lesser extent, but also at the end of the page you will find links to all the RALO sites and they in turn link to the ALS's and more information on getting involved. I know that Nick Ashton-Hart is working very hard on producing a new ALAC website. I hope you are working on new content and information for the launch of that. I also had a meeting with the RALO secretariats in Los Angeles where we discussed how ICANN can help provide more information so I hope to keep my end of that bargain. <CLO> Indeed the new look Web and the current review of the collaborative SocialText Wiki space will result in major improvements and much new and dynamic content. In fact we reviewed our outreach aims and options in LA and this current planning is also looking into how we can best meet these aims. But there is a big gap here: it's really quite difficult for someone not already involved in the structure to have any idea how it works or how to get involved. True but best options in the interim can be found at Please direct enquires to :- https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?at_large_advisory_committee I'm happy to help. But first of all: * Who shall I forward requests to from Internet users that wish to participate in ICANN's processes? * What do people believe is the current state of the various ALAC websites and wikis? i.e. where is it best to point people; is it a bad idea to point people to other places (such as icannalac.org) * Are there existing resources or pages that I have overlooked that explain how the system works? See above ;-) and most importantly I think we should have you join us at either an ALAC Meeting and / or a Web WG teleconference so we can indeed explore ways that you can help. re who/where to point enquiries to. Working Group activities and specific policy review can always be joined from the links found at my recommended url link mentioned above. But the ALS's and RALO Wikis are also a an important point of contact and I'd be actively encouraging people to join their existing local ALS or indeed self organizing to start their one to widen local participation. I'm very keen on getting more people involved in ICANN, particularly through the ALAC system, so any and all information, help, suggestions, ideas, resources, pointers etc would be gratefully received. <CLO> Again this is very exciting news and let's work together to maximize all our outreach outcome options . Kieren, please let me know what your availability is for any of our next Dec & Jan ALAC Meetings if not then we should schedule time in New Delhi in one of our Agenda's. And also if you would prefer to or be able to meet with our web and content sub-committee being headed up by Veronica and the ALAC ExCo we meet at alternate fortnights to the monthly ALAC meeting but can also schedule to suit your availability if that works better. CLO Cheers Kieren ---------------------- Kieren McCarthy ---------------------- General manager of public participation, ICANN http://www.icann.org <http://www.icann.org/>
The <http://www.icannalac.org/>http://www.icannalac.org/ site is horribly out of date - it appears nothing new has been posted for 12 months The last posting occurred Dec 2006 as I left ALAC when my term expired through my Nomcom appointment. When I left, I created several guides for the next person I assumed would step up to be webmom or dad of the site. I offered transitional help. I offered passwords to the chair. At this time I offer them again. The ALAC chair can have author privileges for posting to this independent site at any time. The chair can authorize the webmaster to give author privileges to anyone at any time. The chair can authorize anyone to be the "publisher" of all submitted content. Every ALS can have their own page, with author privileges. Every RALO has their own page. The site is in Joomla and it is easy to post an article to it. It just takes a commitment of time to be the "publisher" of submitted content. The chair should contact Larry Polly <larry@pollywood.org> who is under contract from ICANN to provide software updates/technical maintenance to this site. He does not do content, which was my job. After I got off ALAC, there was a movement to hire me to continue to provide content, with a small stipend, since I would no longer get the ALAC perk of the travel. However, I haven't heard anything about that for months. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify things. Jean Polly
Thank you Jean, unfortunately this corporate knowledge was not passed on or incorporated into standard procedures by the time I became involved in ALAC as an APRALO rep... And I note here the recent message posted by my fellow AP-RALO representative to ALAC Izumi, (thank you Izumi for your post and background information, as well as your observations on the time limitations of volunteers in this space)... The current Chair wishes to have a single point of presence from which easily navigable feeds into outcome driven policy development processes; And at this point in time, particularly as the new ALAC is spending considerable time and energy into ensuring that we develop highly effective and useful participative and collaborative communication tools with the redevelopment of the At-Large Official Site: http://www.alac.icann.org and the parallel review and restructure of our SocialText working Wiki, this means a focus on the Official site. Regarding this review activity there are some really exciting possibilities- Veronica Cretu (who shared with me last week and excellent training session on the Wiki with Yan Sun), from that online guided workshop, they are now in discussion about implementing and developing for our At-Large use in this space tools and concepts that Veronica has successfully used in her work in DiploFoundation such as a the use of Hypertext annotations and links while working in certain working groups per certain topic/issue/document. Also we discovered that there is so much more capability to the SocialText tools we already have available in this space than we (or at least Me) were aware of... So at this stage I wish to see where these review and rebuild activities take us in the next few weeks... Here we should also particularly note the excellent and extensive work already done by Robert Guerra on the Membership and online ALS applications processing system, which integrates with the Official Web site rebuild, that we looked at for the first time in our LA meeting... And which will make the due diligence work of the RALO's in this process so much easier and effective. So at this stage I will not be taking you up on your kind offer of ALAC Chair posting privileges... Or for those of the RALOs (unless they independently decide to do so) as I fear further duplication of work spaces at this stage will only serve to confuse those looking for authoritative content source AND most importantly, add additional task time and effort into the already busy work load of the volunteers in the RALO's and ALS's as well as compete with our desire to see them effectively and better use the tools we have and are modifying to better meet outcome driven needs, as discussed earlier in this missive... Regarding the other matters you raise, I thank you for this clarification, and will ensure that this is an item on our next ALAC Agenda for our December 11th meeting, and that you get a reply on those issues, post haste after the conclusion of that meeting. Kindest regards, Cheryl Langdon-Orr (CLO) ALAC Chair 2007-2008 term From: alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org [mailto:alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of Jean Armour Polly Sent: Tuesday, 4 December 2007 12:29 AM To: Kieren McCarthy Cc: alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org Subject: Re: [At-Large] ALAC participation * The <http://www.icannalac.org/> http://www.icannalac.org/ site is horribly out of date - it appears nothing new has been posted for 12 months The last posting occurred Dec 2006 as I left ALAC when my term expired through my Nomcom appointment. When I left, I created several guides for the next person I assumed would step up to be webmom or dad of the site. I offered transitional help. I offered passwords to the chair. At this time I offer them again. The ALAC chair can have author privileges for posting to this independent site at any time. The chair can authorize the webmaster to give author privileges to anyone at any time. The chair can authorize anyone to be the "publisher" of all submitted content. Every ALS can have their own page, with author privileges. Every RALO has their own page. The site is in Joomla and it is easy to post an article to it. It just takes a commitment of time to be the "publisher" of submitted content. The chair should contact Larry Polly <larry@pollywood.org> who is under contract from ICANN to provide software updates/technical maintenance to this site. He does not do content, which was my job. After I got off ALAC, there was a movement to hire me to continue to provide content, with a small stipend, since I would no longer get the ALAC perk of the travel. However, I haven't heard anything about that for months. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify things. Jean Polly
Jean Re icannalac.org ICANN sent a document asking for specific information as to why that project should be funded – we needed to provide compelling reasons. I didn’t have any personally and no one on the ALAC submitted any for me to forward to Denise, so the response to Denise that I sent was basically – we don’t have any of this information at this time (given that the ALAC had voted to keep the site in general) and we left it at that. There was some interest in the NA list on reinvigorating it in August 2007, but I don’t know what came of it. Most of the information has been updated on the wiki. The alac.icann.org front page should be updated to link to the relevant wiki pages for the most up to date information. Jacqueline From: alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org [mailto:alac-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org] On Behalf Of Jean Armour Polly Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 09:29 To: Kieren McCarthy Cc: alac@atlarge-lists.icann.org Subject: Re: [At-Large] ALAC participation * The HYPERLINK "http://www.icannalac.org/"http://www.icannalac.org/ site is horribly out of date - it appears nothing new has been posted for 12 months The last posting occurred Dec 2006 as I left ALAC when my term expired through my Nomcom appointment. When I left, I created several guides for the next person I assumed would step up to be webmom or dad of the site. I offered transitional help. I offered passwords to the chair. At this time I offer them again. The ALAC chair can have author privileges for posting to this independent site at any time. The chair can authorize the webmaster to give author privileges to anyone at any time. The chair can authorize anyone to be the "publisher" of all submitted content. Every ALS can have their own page, with author privileges. Every RALO has their own page. The site is in Joomla and it is easy to post an article to it. It just takes a commitment of time to be the "publisher" of submitted content. The chair should contact Larry Polly <larry@pollywood.org> who is under contract from ICANN to provide software updates/technical maintenance to this site. He does not do content, which was my job. After I got off ALAC, there was a movement to hire me to continue to provide content, with a small stipend, since I would no longer get the ALAC perk of the travel. However, I haven't heard anything about that for months. Thanks for the opportunity to clarify things. Jean Polly No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.13/1165 - Release Date: 12/2/2007 20:34 No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.16.13/1165 - Release Date: 12/2/2007 20:34
participants (6)
-
Cheryl Langdon-Orr -
Jacqueline A. Morris -
Jean Armour Polly -
Kieren McCarthy -
Nick Ashton-Hart -
Thomas Roessler