On a "consumer" agenda for ICANN
Hi all. On yesterday's briefing on the topic of ALAC's setting a "consumer" agenda I made a number of points which I felt were either not well received or well-understood. Having the opportunity to reflect I would like to try to express them here in a way I hope may be better accepted. - The issue of whether to call this a "consumer" effort or not appears contentious. My own view is that the term "consumer" is already used within ICANN and has a meaning understood as registrants and end-users. As At-Large has a bylaw mandate to address the interests of end-users, I personally believe that we will have our hands full just advancing end-users; there are other constituencies within ICANN expressly to represent the interests of registrants. - We are significantly constrained in what we can do in the area of compliance because there are so little end-user relevant facets upon which ICANN can act. The RAA limits what ICANN can enforce, and we already know that the main end-user-relevant component of the RAA -- Public Interest Commitments -- are weak and in many cases optional. There is some useful work to be done here -- notably in WHOIS accuracy -- but it is a fraction of all the possible end-user complaints end-users may have. - In the absence of broadly useful enforcement, we have the role of education; and it is here where the most can be done and most needs to be done. My main point is that ICANN's voluminous communications are focused on readers who are at least moderately sophisticated in the technical, economic and/or political components of the organization. ICANN does NOTHING of value for what I would call the unsophisticated audience -- people who don't know that (and why) ICANN has nothing to do with two-letter top-level domains. In the absence of such general-public-facing information, ICANN leaves itself unable to counter untruths and conspiracy theories that may be fact-free but are presented in a way anyone can understand, As an example of the level I am talking about, there is no dead-simple, fourth-grade language that explains - That ICANN does not control "the Internet", just its directory - That ICANN can't do ANYTHING help people with problems with two-letter TLDs (and won't easily help people figure that out) - What action to take -- and the limits of what ICANN can do -- if you are getting abuse from a domain - Who runs ICANN (hint: it's not the United Natiions) To write simply or do infographics about ICANN -- and I almost mean children's book levels, in a dozen or more languages -- takes a specific skill, one which volunteers should not be called upon to provide. If there is to be an advancement of a "consumer agenda" it must begin with an informed public. So far ICANN has spent all its communications resources speaking to those interested (and skilled) enough to want to buy, sell or regulate domains. But it has done little to inform the BILLIONS who likely will never in their lives have or need a domain of their own. In the absence of such straightforward information, demagogues and agenda-based media are able to create their own narratives without credible rebuttal. And the growth of such narratives -- without accessible answers -- is hurtful to our advocacy efforts and generally to the organization a s a whole. Cheers, -- Evan Leibovitch Geneva, CH Em: evan at telly dot org Sk: evanleibovitch Tw: el56
Dear Mr. Evan Leibovitch I agree that dissemination of information is needed to end users. In that sense we made an event in our community, I share the link AGESIC site. (Agency for the Development of Electronic Government and Information Society and Knowledge) http://www.agesic.gub.uy/innovaportal/v/5817/1/agesic/montevideo-es-sede-de-... But in my humble opinion it is also a good idea to clarify the meaning of the words consumer and user. It is true that we have a definition "consumer" to be used in the context of ICANN. But if our job is to represent the interests of Internet users, if the system is bottom-up, I understand that should take into account the general sense of the words in the world outside of ICANN. The word "consumer" came up with the consumer market in which a person buys something and consume. As a result of the abuses of many producers in many countries they were creating special laws to protect the person as a consumer. The Internet user is the person using the Internet. And the feature of this application is that it is free. It should be free because it is part of the essential human right is the right to communicate freely. Regards 2016-09-02 6:27 GMT-03:00 Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org>:
Hi all.
On yesterday's briefing on the topic of ALAC's setting a "consumer" agenda I made a number of points which I felt were either not well received or well-understood. Having the opportunity to reflect I would like to try to express them here in a way I hope may be better accepted.
- The issue of whether to call this a "consumer" effort or not appears contentious. My own view is that the term "consumer" is already used within ICANN and has a meaning understood as registrants and end-users. As At-Large has a bylaw mandate to address the interests of end-users, I personally believe that we will have our hands full just advancing end-users; there are other constituencies within ICANN expressly to represent the interests of registrants.
- We are significantly constrained in what we can do in the area of compliance because there are so little end-user relevant facets upon which ICANN can act. The RAA limits what ICANN can enforce, and we already know that the main end-user-relevant component of the RAA -- Public Interest Commitments -- are weak and in many cases optional. There is some useful work to be done here -- notably in WHOIS accuracy -- but it is a fraction of all the possible end-user complaints end-users may have.
- In the absence of broadly useful enforcement, we have the role of education; and it is here where the most can be done and most needs to be done. My main point is that ICANN's voluminous communications are focused on readers who are at least moderately sophisticated in the technical, economic and/or political components of the organization. ICANN does NOTHING of value for what I would call the unsophisticated audience -- people who don't know that (and why) ICANN has nothing to do with two-letter top-level domains. In the absence of such general-public-facing information, ICANN leaves itself unable to counter untruths and conspiracy theories that may be fact-free but are presented in a way anyone can understand, As an example of the level I am talking about, there is no dead-simple, fourth-grade language that explains - That ICANN does not control "the Internet", just its directory - That ICANN can't do ANYTHING help people with problems with two-letter TLDs (and won't easily help people figure that out) - What action to take -- and the limits of what ICANN can do -- if you are getting abuse from a domain - Who runs ICANN (hint: it's not the United Natiions)
To write simply or do infographics about ICANN -- and I almost mean children's book levels, in a dozen or more languages -- takes a specific skill, one which volunteers should not be called upon to provide. If there is to be an advancement of a "consumer agenda" it must begin with an informed public. So far ICANN has spent all its communications resources speaking to those interested (and skilled) enough to want to buy, sell or regulate domains. But it has done little to inform the BILLIONS who likely will never in their lives have or need a domain of their own. In the absence of such straightforward information, demagogues and agenda-based media are able to create their own narratives without credible rebuttal. And the growth of such narratives -- without accessible answers -- is hurtful to our advocacy efforts and generally to the organization a s a whole.
Cheers,
-- Evan Leibovitch Geneva, CH
Em: evan at telly dot org Sk: evanleibovitch Tw: el56
_______________________________________________ At-Large mailing list At-Large@atlarge-lists.icann.org https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/at-large
At-Large Official Site: http://atlarge.icann.org
-- Aida Noblia
I totally agree with everything you say. Even the classical solution represented; a better informed end user. My own doubts stem from what I consider the end user billions responses to more and better consumable information; so now we know, what? They could vote with their feet and coin, by withdrawal from interaction and use of the DNS. I should think none of us consider that a viable option. Undoubtedly, the answers they seek would demand restraining one or other of the DNS stakeholder interests vexing them; ICANN the corporation itself, the registrants/registry/registrars combo in the DNS marketplace - singly or severally - and, governments. What approach would work best? Well, the current model we're all slaving on is supplication via their representatives to these worlds. We back with the ALAC. Or, their political representatives. Therein lies the major challenge as I see it. We must be frank about the real limits to exact change in the ecosystem thru the DNS policy and implementation structures. -Carlton ============================== *Carlton A Samuels* *Mobile: 876-818-1799Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround* ============================= On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 4:27 AM, Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org> wrote:
Hi all.
On yesterday's briefing on the topic of ALAC's setting a "consumer" agenda I made a number of points which I felt were either not well received or well-understood. Having the opportunity to reflect I would like to try to express them here in a way I hope may be better accepted.
- The issue of whether to call this a "consumer" effort or not appears contentious. My own view is that the term "consumer" is already used within ICANN and has a meaning understood as registrants and end-users. As At-Large has a bylaw mandate to address the interests of end-users, I personally believe that we will have our hands full just advancing end-users; there are other constituencies within ICANN expressly to represent the interests of registrants.
- We are significantly constrained in what we can do in the area of compliance because there are so little end-user relevant facets upon which ICANN can act. The RAA limits what ICANN can enforce, and we already know that the main end-user-relevant component of the RAA -- Public Interest Commitments -- are weak and in many cases optional. There is some useful work to be done here -- notably in WHOIS accuracy -- but it is a fraction of all the possible end-user complaints end-users may have.
- In the absence of broadly useful enforcement, we have the role of education; and it is here where the most can be done and most needs to be done. My main point is that ICANN's voluminous communications are focused on readers who are at least moderately sophisticated in the technical, economic and/or political components of the organization. ICANN does NOTHING of value for what I would call the unsophisticated audience -- people who don't know that (and why) ICANN has nothing to do with two-letter top-level domains. In the absence of such general-public-facing information, ICANN leaves itself unable to counter untruths and conspiracy theories that may be fact-free but are presented in a way anyone can understand, As an example of the level I am talking about, there is no dead-simple, fourth-grade language that explains - That ICANN does not control "the Internet", just its directory - That ICANN can't do ANYTHING help people with problems with two-letter TLDs (and won't easily help people figure that out) - What action to take -- and the limits of what ICANN can do -- if you are getting abuse from a domain - Who runs ICANN (hint: it's not the United Natiions)
To write simply or do infographics about ICANN -- and I almost mean children's book levels, in a dozen or more languages -- takes a specific skill, one which volunteers should not be called upon to provide. If there is to be an advancement of a "consumer agenda" it must begin with an informed public. So far ICANN has spent all its communications resources speaking to those interested (and skilled) enough to want to buy, sell or regulate domains. But it has done little to inform the BILLIONS who likely will never in their lives have or need a domain of their own. In the absence of such straightforward information, demagogues and agenda-based media are able to create their own narratives without credible rebuttal. And the growth of such narratives -- without accessible answers -- is hurtful to our advocacy efforts and generally to the organization a s a whole.
Cheers,
-- Evan Leibovitch Geneva, CH
Em: evan at telly dot org Sk: evanleibovitch Tw: el56
_______________________________________________ At-Large mailing list At-Large@atlarge-lists.icann.org https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/at-large
At-Large Official Site: http://atlarge.icann.org
On 2 September 2016 at 15:36, Carlton Samuels <carlton.samuels@gmail.com> wrote:
They could vote with their feet and coin, by withdrawal from interaction and use of the DNS. I should think none of us consider that a viable option.
Actually it absolutely is viable, in a manner consistent with what I have been saying for many years. And you of all people should know this by now :-) When someone uses a search engine to look for a destination by name or caretgory, they are withdrawing from (direct) use of the DNS. When someone goes to the Facebook, Google+, Twitter or Linkedin page of a destination by name, they are withdrawing. When someone uses URL shorteners, or QR codes, or mobile apps, they are withdrawing. [ And yes I know that ultimately the above solutions still require some kind of name resolution. However these approaches don't require human readable-names or working only at the second level, meaning they could all be easily serviced within a single TLD and require not a single extra second-level domain to be bought. ] Not only is withdrawing from using "memorable domain names" viable, for many it is preferred. I know that I personally use full domain names almost never in my day-to-day use of the Web these days. Google facilitated it by enabling the bar at the top of Chrome <http://www.chromefans.org/chrome-tutorial/what-is-omnibox.htm> to be used interchangeably for domain names and search terms; I would argue that the Omnibox is a significant reason why Chrome is now more popular than all other browsers combined (62% share as of June 2016). Search engines can be location aware, they can avoid typo-squatting by suggesting the right spelling for words, and you don't have to remember the oddball TLD for a company that couldn't get its desired .com. Search engines were multi-character-set-aware long before domain names (and continue to be more diverse in language scripts compared to IDNs). And since search is Google's main source of revenue, the company is heavily motivated to make it as attractive as possible to end users. By contrast, the domain name industry's business model depends not in maximum utility to end users, but in greatest possible rent-seeking and speculative value extracted from registrants. ICANN maintains oblivion from this reality by refusing to measure the extent of this withdrawal in the context of "Consumer Choice". But consider: forsaking "valuable" domain names is a choice both for end users (how they reach Internet-delivered content and services) and registrants (do they pay the speculator's ransom to get their preferred choice of domain name, or do they just get a less-intuitive domain name and invest in SEO or a Facebook landing page?) This option is HIGHLY viable for end users and service/content providers. It is not viable for the domain industry since a single TLD could easily serve it all, and there are no fees going to ICANN, registries or registrars for growth of names at the third level or deeper. - Evan
ICANN maintains oblivion from this reality by refusing to measure the extent of this withdrawal in the context of "Consumer Choice".
That's not very surprising. ICANN exists in its current form mostly because some people wrongly assumed in the mid 1990s that Internet users would use the DNS as a directory. At the time it wasn't quite obvious that they were wrong since manual directories like Yahoo couldn't keep up search engines like Altavista returned too many irrelevant results, and a casual change by someone at Netscape to turn a bare word in the address bar into word.com set off a neverending race to squat on those words. But as soon as Google started using pagerank to score the results, the contest was over and search engines won. The only TLD that ever tried to be a directory was MUSEUM, and nobody even noticed. Unfortunately by that time ICANN had already promised to provide "competetition" from new TLDs. That has completely failed, since nearly everyone still uses .com, .org, and their national ccTLD. Vanity domains like .apple look like they may be useful for branding, but the rest are just for speculation and collecting rent from over-cautious trademark lawyers. So I agree with Evan that the DNS is not very important to consumers, and the main thing we can do is to remind ICANN that its main job is to keep the DNS stable, not to make domain speculators happy. R's, John PS: Imagine if Google had showed up three years earlier, and it was obvious in 1998 that TLDs don't matter.
On September 2, 2016 at 12:08 johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) wrote:
So I agree with Evan that the DNS is not very important to consumers, and the main thing we can do is to remind ICANN that its main job is to keep the DNS stable, not to make domain speculators happy.
Although I agree with the spirit of what you are saying there is also the dark side such as DNS blocking, hijacking, reassignments (UDRP, URS, etc), and takedowns. One might use a search engine to find a resource but that search engine's result about 99% of the time digs out a URL to click on. If that URL's DNS entry is being tampered with (various ways) then that search result is useless. Similar for embedded links etc. Yes one can work around it if the underlying IP address is reachable, or perhaps if it's a regional block via VPN, etc but let's leave that aside for the moment. When unauthorized that falls into the realm of security which is clearly within the accepted purview of ICANN though resources remain an issue. So the salient problem is authorized tampering. The end-user has an interest in what constitutes authorized tampering. I'll offer a definition of "DNS tampering": DNS tampering is when a request from the DNS returns a result, or error, which was not the intention or under the control of either the client or owner of the DNS entry but was caused by a third-party action. If that third-party acted without legal authority it falls into the realm of security. If the third party acted with legal authority then it falls into the realm of law, politics, policy, etc. I'll claim it's that last case, legally authorized tampering, which end-users have both a right and duty to be involved in as to how law, politics, or policy both effects and affects that result. -- -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die | bzs@TheWorld.com | http://www.TheWorld.com Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: +1 617-STD-WRLD | 800-THE-WRLD The World: Since 1989 | A Public Information Utility | *oo*
Aye. I know all of those. Afterall, we worked together long enough and crafted enough statements together where these elements were ID'ed in context. But you misconstrued the meaning of the phrase "*withdrawal from** interaction and use*"! It really means total cutoff. For even with those pathways, some maladies would remain live. A new set of actors, all clustered around data collection and usage, emerge as principal antagonists. We are mired in some of the facebook, Google etc issues already. My interest is and remains the development agenda. Withdrawal from "*interaction and use of the DNS*" is not an option for those of us committed to that agenda. -Carlton ============================== *Carlton A Samuels* *Mobile: 876-818-1799Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround* ============================= On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 10:05 AM, Evan Leibovitch <evan@telly.org> wrote:
On 2 September 2016 at 15:36, Carlton Samuels <carlton.samuels@gmail.com> wrote:
They could vote with their feet and coin, by withdrawal from interaction and use of the DNS. I should think none of us consider that a viable option.
Actually it absolutely is viable, in a manner consistent with what I have been saying for many years. And you of all people should know this by now :-)
When someone uses a search engine to look for a destination by name or caretgory, they are withdrawing from (direct) use of the DNS.
When someone goes to the Facebook, Google+, Twitter or Linkedin page of a destination by name, they are withdrawing.
When someone uses URL shorteners, or QR codes, or mobile apps, they are withdrawing.
[ And yes I know that ultimately the above solutions still require some kind of name resolution. However these approaches don't require human readable-names or working only at the second level, meaning they could all be easily serviced within a single TLD and require not a single extra second-level domain to be bought. ]
Not only is withdrawing from using "memorable domain names" viable, for many it is preferred. I know that I personally use full domain names almost never in my day-to-day use of the Web these days. Google facilitated it by enabling the bar at the top of Chrome <http://www.chromefans.org/chrome-tutorial/what-is-omnibox.htm> to be used interchangeably for domain names and search terms; I would argue that the Omnibox is a significant reason why Chrome is now more popular than all other browsers combined (62% share as of June 2016).
Search engines can be location aware, they can avoid typo-squatting by suggesting the right spelling for words, and you don't have to remember the oddball TLD for a company that couldn't get its desired .com. Search engines were multi-character-set-aware long before domain names (and continue to be more diverse in language scripts compared to IDNs). And since search is Google's main source of revenue, the company is heavily motivated to make it as attractive as possible to end users. By contrast, the domain name industry's business model depends not in maximum utility to end users, but in greatest possible rent-seeking and speculative value extracted from registrants.
ICANN maintains oblivion from this reality by refusing to measure the extent of this withdrawal in the context of "Consumer Choice". But consider: forsaking "valuable" domain names is a choice both for end users (how they reach Internet-delivered content and services) and registrants (do they pay the speculator's ransom to get their preferred choice of domain name, or do they just get a less-intuitive domain name and invest in SEO or a Facebook landing page?)
This option is HIGHLY viable for end users and service/content providers. It is not viable for the domain industry since a single TLD could easily serve it all, and there are no fees going to ICANN, registries or registrars for growth of names at the third level or deeper.
- Evan
Makes sense to me. R Da: at-large-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org [mailto:at-large-bounces@atlarge-lists.icann.org] Per conto di Evan Leibovitch Inviato: venerdì 2 settembre 2016 11:28 A: ICANN At-Large list Oggetto: [At-Large] On a "consumer" agenda for ICANN Hi all. On yesterday's briefing on the topic of ALAC's setting a "consumer" agenda I made a number of points which I felt were either not well received or well-understood. Having the opportunity to reflect I would like to try to express them here in a way I hope may be better accepted. * The issue of whether to call this a "consumer" effort or not appears contentious. My own view is that the term "consumer" is already used within ICANN and has a meaning understood as registrants and end-users. As At-Large has a bylaw mandate to address the interests of end-users, I personally believe that we will have our hands full just advancing end-users; there are other constituencies within ICANN expressly to represent the interests of registrants. * We are significantly constrained in what we can do in the area of compliance because there are so little end-user relevant facets upon which ICANN can act. The RAA limits what ICANN can enforce, and we already know that the main end-user-relevant component of the RAA -- Public Interest Commitments -- are weak and in many cases optional. There is some useful work to be done here -- notably in WHOIS accuracy -- but it is a fraction of all the possible end-user complaints end-users may have. * In the absence of broadly useful enforcement, we have the role of education; and it is here where the most can be done and most needs to be done. My main point is that ICANN's voluminous communications are focused on readers who are at least moderately sophisticated in the technical, economic and/or political components of the organization. ICANN does NOTHING of value for what I would call the unsophisticated audience -- people who don't know that (and why) ICANN has nothing to do with two-letter top-level domains. In the absence of such general-public-facing information, ICANN leaves itself unable to counter untruths and conspiracy theories that may be fact-free but are presented in a way anyone can understand, As an example of the level I am talking about, there is no dead-simple, fourth-grade language that explains * That ICANN does not control "the Internet", just its directory * That ICANN can't do ANYTHING help people with problems with two-letter TLDs (and won't easily help people figure that out) * What action to take -- and the limits of what ICANN can do -- if you are getting abuse from a domain * Who runs ICANN (hint: it's not the United Natiions) To write simply or do infographics about ICANN -- and I almost mean children's book levels, in a dozen or more languages -- takes a specific skill, one which volunteers should not be called upon to provide. If there is to be an advancement of a "consumer agenda" it must begin with an informed public. So far ICANN has spent all its communications resources speaking to those interested (and skilled) enough to want to buy, sell or regulate domains. But it has done little to inform the BILLIONS who likely will never in their lives have or need a domain of their own. In the absence of such straightforward information, demagogues and agenda-based media are able to create their own narratives without credible rebuttal. And the growth of such narratives -- without accessible answers -- is hurtful to our advocacy efforts and generally to the organization a s a whole. Cheers, -- Evan Leibovitch Geneva, CH Em: evan at telly dot org Sk: evanleibovitch Tw: el56
participants (6)
-
Aida Noblia -
bzs@theworld.com -
Carlton Samuels -
Evan Leibovitch -
John R. Levine -
Roberto Gaetano