Dear Councilors and other interested parties: There has been some community discussion over the past weeks regarding the 11 December Board Resolution<http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/prelim-report-11dec08.htm>seeking a recommendation on how to incorporate the legitimate interests of individual Internet users in the GNSO in constructive yet non-duplicative ways. I would like to try to clarify the context of that resolution and clear up any misperceptions about its intent. This particular Resolution is the latest step on the part of the Board to resolve a fundamental strategic issue for the organization, that is, the appropriate role and representation of individual (commercial and non-commercial) Internet users in ICANN, and specifically within the GNSO. Its intent is to garner a recommendation from the interested community to assist the Board in resolving a recommendation made to the Board by the Working Group on GNSO Council Restructuring (WG-GCR<http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/restructure-working-group-en.htm>) that the composition of the non-contracted party voting house of the GNSO Council should "…be open to membership of all interested parties … that use or provide services for the Internet, … and should explicitly not be restricted to domain registrants as recommended by the BGC." Because ongoing independent review proceedings<http://www.icann.org/en/reviews/>of other ICANN structures have suggested different representational approaches, I think the Board wanted to ensure ample input and advice was received before resolving the matter. The full context and description of this issue was contained in the November Public Comment Forum<http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/#gnso-users>request for input (see background materials, comments filed, and Staff summary of those contributions). The 11 December Resolution is an effort to help the Board identify a strategic solution that balances ALAC/At-Large and GNSO opportunities for all user and registrant stakeholders. In addition to the previous public comments, the Board hoped that the Resolution would spur additional community dialogue and agreement between interested parties. Given that the original WG-GCR recommendation was a consensus position supported by representatives from all the GNSO constituencies as well as GAC, ALAC and Nominating Committee participants, and that the Board decision on this matter could have broad impact, the Board did not mandate any particular methodology regarding the form that dialogue would take and the Resolution was drafted to offer flexibility in that regard. The Resolution also recognizes that this matter has particularly important (and time sensitive) implications for creation of the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG). In view of various community comments since the Resolution was published, it is important to emphasize that it is not intended to be a referendum on the different approaches that have been advanced by groups working on proposed NCSG charters. Staff has been corresponding with and providing assistance to participants about their efforts to produce draft NCSG charters that will ultimately be submitted to the Board. There appear to remain a few fundamental differences of opinion about the interpretation of the Board Governance Committee (BGC) Working Group recommendations<http://www.icann.org/topics/gnso-improvements/gnso-improvements-report-03feb08.pdf>, endorsed by the Board, particularly regarding the continued primacy of the constituency structure outlined in the ICANN By-laws. Proposed charters are not intended to be within the scope of the 11 December Resolution. When community members formally submit to the Board one or more petitions/charters for NCSG formation (and other Stakeholder Group charters), those efforts will be publicly posted for comment by all members of the community and will subsequently be evaluated by the Board. As directed by the Board at its 1 October 2008 meeting<http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-01oct08.htm>, it is Staff's obligation to work with the community to encourage new participants, facilitate the creation of new constituencies, and support the development of four new Stakeholder Groups. We remain committed to that process and stand ready to assist members of the community. Please contact me and the Policy Staff <policy-staff@icann.org> if you need assistance or would like to discuss these matters. Regards, Denise Michel ICANN Vice President Policy Development