_______________________________________________Hi all - A different perspective from a US-based participant (not claiming at all to speak for all US participants) - I have no problem at all with having calls on any of the US-based holidays Volker notes below. I think we should specifically move forward with those calls, in fact.
There are going to be numerous potential bank holidays/days of significance that could fall on Mondays over the coming months. If we observe each one, we could really delay progress unnecessarily.
This is why each group has several members, participants and alternates, so that hopefully coverage can be arranged in advance. I plan on being off the day after Easter as well, but was also planning on dialing in.
Thanks,
Brian
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From: Paul McGrady via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 8:54 PM
To: Volker Greimann <volker.greimann@centralnic.com>
Cc: Eberhard W Lisse <el@lisse.na>, Bruna Martins dos Santos via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>, GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>
Subject: [Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp] Re: Meeting Easter Monday? 2026-04-06
Thanks Volker. I’m not deliberately excluding anybody. I’ve asked for data about how big the problem is in terms of Monday holidays. Thank you for providing data on three more of these. I’ve asked for this precisely because I don’t want to favor one geography/religion, etc over another. At the same time, we do need to get out work done.
We’re going to make a decision based upon the information about the extent of the problem. If Mondays don’t work because of significant holiday problem, we may need to reschedule all the calls to a different day entirely and I’m already leaning that way because we have already identified 4 potentially canceled dates.
I look forward to hearing from other working group members by the deadline so that we can diagnose the extent of the problem of meeting on Mondays.
Best,Paul
Sent from my iPhone
Dear Paul,
while we all agreed that Monday was generally the best day for us to meet, this most certainly did not include us sacrificing a public holiday that many of us have already made plans for, and will not be available on. It has been common practice in ICANN working groups to skip or reschedule calls that fall on such a public holiday, at least if it will affect a significant number of members on the group. I understand the desire to move quickly, but may I suggest that for those weeks we move to the alternate slot we identified?
If you still insist on deliberately excluding a significant share of the membership, may I assume that the same will apply to all US holidays that fall on a Monday this year:
- Memorial Day — May 25, 2026
- Labor Day — September 7, 2026
- Columbus Day — October 12, 2026
Sincerely,Volker Greimann
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From: Paul McGrady via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>
Sent: 20 March 2026 10:48 PM
To: Eberhard W Lisse <el@lisse.na>; Bruna Martins dos Santos via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>
Cc: GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>
Subject: [Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp] Re: Meeting Easter Monday? 2026-04-06Thanks Eberhard. Yes, I was not able to respond to your question in the 1:13 allotted. 😊 My day job sometimes gets in the way of immediate replies to email.
The “we” was the Working Group membership who filled out the doodle poll where the WG picked the best day/time of the week for our calls. That was the decision on when we would meet. The decision to not make an exception is with me as the Chair. I have heard from a small number of members that the day is not a good one for them. I am sympathetic, but I also have to keep the work on track so that we finish on time.
So, let’s create some data. Here is the homework assignment for everyone: Please look at the regular meeting times we have scheduled and identify any holidays upon which you would like not to meet on. These can be official government holidays, religious holidays, whatever. After we see the scope of the holiday issue, we can adjust the meeting schedule if it makes sense. This is a better approach than carving out an exception now without understanding the downstream consequences. If I can have those holidays for the balance of 2026 upon which members do not want to meet by 23:59 UTC on Tuesday the Staff and I can consider those as we work through the work plan adjustments that we (the Working Group) collectively propose on our Monday call and in the comments to the Work Plan document during our asynchronous work. If there are only a few, or no, other holidays effected, that will make it easier to move the Easter Monday call. If there are many, that will militate towards making no exceptions.
I look forward to hearing from you all.
Best,
Paul
Paul McGrady
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From: Eberhard W Lisse via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2026 2:15 PM
To: Bruna Martins dos Santos via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>
Cc: GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>
Subject: [Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp] Re: Meeting Easter Monday? 2026-04-06
Dear Paul,
I had asked who is „we“.
Since you did not answer, let me ask again, who made this decision? You alone, or if, not who else participated?
This is a weekend with two public holidays in many countries, in the UK they are called even bank holidays.
That means, that many members will not go to the office this „long“ weekend.
For the avoidance of doubt, being retired from the day job, I do all of this from the laptop wherever I am unless driving or flying (and will try Zoom on CarPlay on 2026-03-23).
el
--Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 20, 2026 at 14:50 -0400, Paul McGrady <paul@elstermcgrady.com>, wrote:
Thanks all.
We are a large, geographically and socially diverse group. There will be a holiday somewhere nearly every Monday. We are not going to be able to accommodate them all and it will be impossible to justify if we prioritize the Christian & European holidays over all the others. Please arrange for your alternate to attend when you can’t. We are in the process so there will be no consensus calls on the Monday following Easter, so you can listen to the recording and participate with the interstitial work.
Best,
Paul
<image001.png>
Paul McGrady
Partner
Elster & McGrady
434 Houston St,
Suite 261
Nashville, TN 37203
3847 N. Lincoln Avenue
Second Floor
Chicago, IL 60613
Office Direct: +1 (312) 515-4422
From: Christabel Mebaghandu <christabel.mebaghandu@ccpjd.org>
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2026 1:11 PM
To: Paul McGrady <paul@elstermcgrady.com>; Bruna Martins dos Santos <bruna.mrtns@gmail.com>
Cc: Eberhard W Lisse <el@lisse.na>; Julie Bisland <julie.bisland@icann.org>; gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org; GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>
Subject: Re: [Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp] Re: Meeting Easter Monday? 2026-04-06
You don't often get email from christabel.mebaghandu@ccpjd.org. Learn why this is important
I agree. Moving this to a working day will greatly improve participation, even for alternates.
---
Christabel
From: Bruna Martins dos Santos via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>
Sent: Friday, 20 March 2026 18:10
To: Paul McGrady <paul@elstermcgrady.com>
Cc: Eberhard W Lisse <el@lisse.na>; Julie Bisland <julie.bisland@icann.org>; gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>; GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>
Subject: [Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp] Re: Meeting Easter Monday? 2026-04-06
Hello, all,
I would also like to reinforce the request for this call to be moved. It's a holiday/long weekend and some of our members' participation might be affected by that too.
best,
On Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 5:20 PM Paul McGrady via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org> wrote:
Thanks Eberhard. We intend to keep call to keep our timeline on track. Please arrange for your alternate to attend in your stead if you cannot make it.
Best,
Paul
<image001.png>
Paul McGrady
Partner
Elster & McGrady
434 Houston St,
Suite 261
Nashville, TN 37203
3847 N. Lincoln Avenue
Second Floor
Chicago, IL 60613
Office Direct: +1 (312) 515-4422
From: Eberhard W Lisse via Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp <gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org>
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2026 9:34 AM
To: Julie Bisland <julie.bisland@icann.org>; gnso-dnsabuse-pdp@icann.org
Cc: GNSO-Secs <gnso-secs@icann.org>
Subject: [Gnso-dnsabuse-pdp] Meeting Easter Monday? 2026-04-06
Subject says all, for some of us this is a really long weekend off, so perhaps we should not have that call?
el
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