Dear EPDP Team,

 

I have worked with the Staff Support Team over the weekend to review the ‘Cannot Live With’ items submitted and consider an approach to make sure we spend the remaining time as productive as possible to get to the finish line. As we indicated prior to this final review, a high bar was expected to be adhered to for flagging ‘cannot live with items’ – this was not about restating previous concerns that were not broadly shared or bringing up completely new proposals. I do recognize that some of the text/recommendations received a pretty big overhaul which may have resulted in identification of issues that were not previously recognized, but at the same time, I think we all also have a pretty good idea of where possible compromise may be in reach and where this simply may not be possible. In these latter cases we may just need to agree to disagree and of course, groups can state their disagreement in any minority views you want to attach to the report and/or specific recommendations.

 

So here is the proposed plan for Tuesday’s call:

 

1.     You are expected to review the following document (see https://docs.google.com/document/d/16BICriVfOPiEeve4A-x6TYKPbgRKqvhX/edit) in which for each of the flagged ‘cannot live with’ items, either a proposal or a question for EPDP Team consideration has been identified. Of course, if you want to provide input prior to the call on the google doc, you are welcome to do so.

2.     We will run through the list of items from the top to the bottom. I will ask the Staff Support Team to introduce each item. Note that for those items where there is a proposal, there will be no discussion at the point the proposal is introduced, but groups are expected to make note of those proposals that they do not agree with and would like an opportunity to either further elaborate on the cannot live with item and/or other groups can indicate that they can live with what is being proposed in the comment (if positions have changed from previously stated opinions). I do ask groups to be thoughtful about proposals flagged – it will not be productive nor helpful to discuss topics that have been discussed repeatedly and where it is clear that no agreement is likely to be found.

3.     For each of the items for which there is a question, we’ll set a timer to focus our conversation on addressing the question. If it cannot be resolved within the time allotted, we’ll try to come back to it later during the call or Wednesday’s call, or I may make a proposal based on the input received, similar to how it has been handled for other items.

4.     Once we’ve completed review of all the questions, I will ask groups to identify which proposals require further discussion. Depending on the time remaining, this consideration may move to the Wednesday meeting which would allow groups to make their case on the mailing list and allow others to respond, which will allow me to determine whether deliberating further on the issue has a likelihood of getting to a compromise.

5.     By Tuesday’s meeting, we should also have received your input on category 2 and 3 items – if there is sufficient time remaining, we may also cover some of the flagged category 2 and 3 items, or do so during Wednesday’s meeting. As a reminder, any items flagged will not get applied. Please make sure you review these items carefully as there are some substantive changes proposed.

 

As a reminder, there were a couple of follow up questions flagged for different groups in the updated google doc that was posted yesterday (see https://mm.icann.org/pipermail/gnso-epdp-team/2020-July/003479.html). Please make sure to respond to these as soon as possible.

 

I know this must feel like an aggressive approach, but with the finish line in sight, I believe we must put all our efforts into getting to the best possible outcome for all. I hope I can count on your constructive input as we start our final stretch of deliberations.

 

Thanks,

 

Rafik