Hi Chris,
I cannot remember if this has been sent out but here is how you can register to be an observer. We may wish to send this to the wider membership list as well.
thanks fo sharing! The signup process appears to be very GNSO heavy: (Group name) Statement of Participation * I acknowledge and accept that this Statement of Participation is enforceable and any individual serving in a Chair role (such as Chair, Co-Chair, or Acting Chair/Co-Chair) of the (group name) and GNSO Council Leadership Team have the authority to restrict my participation in the event of non-compliance. I am signed up as an Observer I am pretty sure as a wannabe observer I can get away without a google account, but otherwise I do not think it is very smart for any ICANN process to require a google - or any other - third party account, making the participant subject to their T&C, CoC, and the likes. Best Peter