On August 7, 2019 5:50:25 PM Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond <ocl@gih.com> wrote:

Hello all,

unfortunately, I am not 100% aligned on this and am rather more cautious:

"... imploring ALAC to concentrate its comments on those issues with demonstrable effect on end users (abuse, confusion, stability, etc)"

When I read this, I interpret is that it considers the "end user" as being a simple, definable entity. In reality, this is unfortunately not the case. End users have different priorities depending on what country they are from and the At-Large needs to tap input from every place on the planet, not just the vocal ones whose interests are "abuse, confusion, stability, etc."

I assert that "the vocal ones" are those who are driving ALAC beyond its mandate, to exploit At-Large to do the bidding of TLD applicants, registrants and others who are already spoken for by other ICANN constituencies. The reality is that this mission creep deeply infects ALAC and has characterized its policy decisions for many years. (Meanwhile, real champions of end user issues such as Garth got a mimimum of ALAC support and left.) It took my stepping away for a while to see how bad the infection is from outside the ICANN bubble.

The belief that unique TLDs, let alone subsidized ones, are a necessary component of community building is just that - a belief, more religion than fact-based. This is why I keep asking for evidence to back up assertions about the necessary role of Internet domains in providing cohesion, security or identity to communities (underserved or otherwise). In my time outside ICANN, from private business to UN refugee camps, I found that the tightest of Internet communities, the strongest of common cause, can be formed without a single mention of domain names. New tech, from ever-improving search to super-encrypted Signal groups, provide levels of utility and privacy unheard of within the DNS.

So... Let's put to the test the conflicting claims made by Olivier and me about what individual end users really want and need from the DNS. Based on my own research and experiences I'm totally confident that any useful survey of individual end users - - a truly representative sample, not one overloaded with insiders and wonks and registrants as found inside the bubble - - will overwhelmingly vindicate my PoV.

- Evan