28 May 2009

An online question box where community members can ask questions directly to the ICANN Board and staff has opened today.

The question box will take questions until Wednesday 17 June in preparation for the public forum at ICANN’s international public meeting in Sydney on Thursday 25 June.

Anyone can ask up to two questions or 50 words in length. The question can cover any topic related to ICANN and its work. Answers will be provided either during the public forum or emailed and published in the weeks following the meeting.

You can find the form below as well as on the Sydney meeting website, the blog, and the public participation website.

Mexico City experience

The question box was attempted for the first time in Mexico City in March 2009 as a way to allow remote participants to ask questions directly of ICANN’s Board and staff for the Sydney meeting. It was also open to those that were attending the meeting in person but felt uncomfortable asking a question at the public microphone.

The box was very popular, eliciting 96 questions from 36 individuals. Answers to every question were then published on ICANN’s main website, the blog and the Mexico City meeting site.

Through the experience three changes have been made this time around:

Questions have been limited to two per person (the most that people in the physical public forum typically ask)
Permissible question length has been extended from 30 to 50 words to give people more room to frame a question
The deadline have been brought forward by a week to give staff and Board more time to go through the questions and prepare answers

Full response to Mexico City question box:
http://www.icann.org/en/participate/mexico-city-public-forum-response.htm

Sydney question box

Do you have a question you wish to ask at the public forum in Sydney on Thursday 25 June?

Maybe you cannot physically attend ICANN's meeting in Mexico City meeting or you don't wish to queue up to a public microphone.

Well in that case, please provide us with your question here before end of day Wednesday 17 June and we will make sure it is asked and that you receive an answer.

Please fill in each of the boxes below and you will receive a confirmation that your question has been received.

· Name * First Last

· Email *

We will email you with a summary of the overall public comment periods complete with answers to questions from the staff and/or Board within a few weeks of the end of the meeting.

· Affiliation *

Please tell us who you represent, whether an organization or as an individual

· Which topic does your question or comment most closely relate to? *

APPLICANT GUIDEBOOK / NEW gTLDs IDNs / Fast Track Independent Reviews DNSSEC Improving Institutional Confidence ICANN as an organization Public participation Registrars / RAA Other

We will use this information to help group questions together during the meeting itself.

· Please write your question or comment here. Only two questions allowed per person: *

Must be between 5 and 50 words. Currently Used: 0 words.

Please add your question and/or comment in this box and hit "Ask your question". The space is limited to 50 words in order to keep it concise and allow everyone the opportunity to comment.