Dear all, I am sharing the below email for information purposes. As the Council considers next steps for the EPDP, I believe this resignation emails offers some insights into what has seen at least one EPDP member lose faith in the process. Thank you. Best wishes, Ayden Férdeline ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ On Saturday, March 9, 2019 1:35 PM, Emily Taylor <emily.taylor@oxil.co.uk> wrote:
Dear friends
Please accept my resignation from the EPDP team with immediate effect. I hope you will understand the personal and professional reasons behind this.
I believe that James mentioned at Saturday's face to face meeting some of the reasons behind my decision.
Following the completion of Phase I and prior to the substantive Phase 2 work kicking off, I believe that stepping down from the EPDP at this point will minimise disruption and inconvenience to the rest of the group.
I have great admiration and affection for everyone on the EPDP team, and would like particularly to thank Kurt and the ICANN staff for your incredible dedication and focus during Phase I. Without your support and drive, we would be nowhere, and you can be proud of what you have contributed to the ICANN Community - a rigorous review of the legal basis for processing gTLD registration data throughout the lifecycle of a domain registration. The Phase I report should create a strong foundation for further community work.
Several factors make me hesitant to continue with the EPDP into Phase 2:
- The work rate has been exhausting in Phase 1 and that was supposed to be the easy bit of confirming the Temporary Specification! - Phase 2 has a long list of difficult issues which will require skilful negotiation and compromise all round. - The loss of Kurt as a chair creates a lot of uncertainty. He was very effective at getting the work done and created a cooperative, collegial atmosphere under challenging circumstances. - I feel a lot of pride in what this team has been able to do in a short time, and the careful work that was done to achieve high levels of consensus on the purposes, recommendations and other language. While I recognise the right of constituencies to vote whatever way they want in GNSO Council, the decision of some constituencies to vote against report, despite being intimately involved in its creation, has the effect of undermining confidence in the entire process. Personally, this was the tipping point which led me to question the value of devoting further volunteer time to try and create consensus policy which might then be rejected or undermined elsewhere in the ICANN Org or outside it. - I work for a very small registrar. We are in the start up phase with lots going on on the tech and business development side that needs my full attention. My fellow business owners and I believe that my time would be better spent directly on our business needs rather than the global 'greater good'!
I have genuinely mixed feelings about this decision, because the work is important and challenging. The next phase will require a lot of creative thinking, and I would love to contribute.
I would also like to recognise and thank my Registrar colleagues who have slogged through the first stage - James, Matt, Volker, Sarah, Theo and Lindsay. The alternates have been following every meeting, contributing ideas and chat throughout and deserve recognition for their sacrifice. I would also like to say thanks to Registry colleagues, all EPDP members and alternates, RrSG Excom and Zoe Bonython.
I've been privileged to work so closely with you all. The friendships and trust that these processes create, across constituencies and stakeholder groups, are long lasting, and for me this is the most cherished aspect of the ICANN environment.
Best wishes for successful meetings this week in Kobe, and for Phase 2 of the EPDP work.
Emily
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Emily Taylor
CEO, Oxford Information LabsMA (Cantab), Solicitor (non-practising), MBA,
Associate Fellow, Chatham House; Editor, Journal of Cyber Policy
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