Thank you for your response, Cheryl. I look forward to our future discussion and seeing further refinement of the SPIRT submission process. I also recognize that the GNSO Council needs to create and finalize its process for handling these alerts going forward. For clarification there's no frustration on my part. My objective is to ensure fair and transparent implementation of the agreed-upon procedures, which the LT and our members will undoubtedly support in fulfillment of the SPIRT charter. Best regards, Heather Diaz Vice President, Compliance and Policy fTLD Registry - .Bank | .Insurance Office: +1 408 316 7202 www.fTLD.com Schedule a meeting with me <https://meetings.hubspot.com/heather-diaz> On Wed, May 20, 2026 at 1:33 PM Cheryl Langdon-Orr <langdonorr@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Heather and the wider SPIRT,
The SPIRT Leadership regrets that there are inconsistencies with the use and utility of our 'Alerts' form used by SPIRT Members at the outset of our activities for the New gTLD Program. About the outlined concerns by Heather, especially regarding the equitable treatment, openness, and transparency of our processing of the few submissions received to date, this will be an Agenda Item for discussion and review at the next convened SPIRT meeting.
To provide some background on the 'why' of this variable processing, we would first like to thank everyone for your patience while the Council considered the SPIRT Alert Process item. Since its submission to the Council on 9 May, the Council has raised several concerns regarding SPIRT’s remit and process and has determined that the item is premature for a vote at this time. Accordingly, the Council Leadership requested that the item be removed from a voting item to a discussion item, and the SPIRT Leadership has since updated it to “Council Process for Forwarding an Issue to the SPIRT.” (See the original message by GNSO Council Chai <https://lists.icann.org/hyperkitty/list/council@icann.org/thread/AXCCOSX4BHBQQLPSZBIDFJEQAF7DLU4U/>r to the Council)
In this revised form, the SPIRT Leadership is now seeking guidance from Council on how issues should be forwarded to the SPIRT, following the Predictability Framework – the standard process in accordance with the SPIRT Charter, particularly as any potential issues will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Council Leadership believes that this agenda item will facilitate discussions and provide appropriate guidance to the SPIRT moving forward, as outlined in the Predictability Framework.
While this outcome wasn't our original goal, we hope it will provide clearer direction when issues are brought to the SPIRT’s attention. As we continue to establish and refine our processes to ensure the 2026 Round operates as effectively as possible, there will inevitably be moving parts and occasional frustrations along the way. SPIRT Leadership greatly appreciates the commitment and participation of all members and looks forward to continued collaboration toward a more transparent and efficient platform for discussion to ensure the uninterrupted operations of the New gTLD Program.
Sincerely,
Cheryl and Segunfunmi
Vice-Chairs, SPIRT Leadership Team
On Wed, 20 May 2026 at 05:28, Heather Diaz via Gnso-spirt < gnso-spirt@icann.org> wrote:
Dear SPIRT Council,
In the spirit of transparency, I am sharing the attached Alert that I submitted for consideration on 12 May. In hindsight, I noticed this submission was not shared with the full Council in the same manner as previous alerts, though it was acknowledged by Andrew Chen and the SPIRT Leadership Team (LT). For context, our Chair, Jeff Neuman, responded to the submission by stating that, for openness and transparency, he would recuse himself from offering opinions due to a client conflict. He ultimately deferred handling of the issue to Cheryl and Segunfunmi.
Receiving no follow-up questions from Cheryl or Segunfunmi, I anticipated—consistent with our prior submission process—that the group would be openly informed and that we would discuss the matter during our upcoming call on 21 May.
However, yesterday I received the following email from Andrew Chen:
Thank you for your patience as the SPIRT leadership team (SPIRT LT) deliberated on your submission regarding the Prohibition on Private Resolution of New gTLD Contention Sets.
Given the recent GNSO Council discussions on the mailing list concerning the SPIRT alert process, the SPIRT LT believes that this submission should be submitted to the GNSO Council through a GNSO Councilor for further discussion. The SPIRT LT notes that it may be more expedient to request a GNSO Councilor to submit this issue to the GNSO Council for consideration.
We apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Andrew
Exactly 22 minutes after receiving this email, a cancellation notice was issued for our 21 May Council call, stating it was no longer required.
I find it disappointing and concerning that this submission was not treated with the same openness and transparency as the one preceding it. Allowing submissions to be handled exclusively by the LT without visibility or clear rationale provided to the full Council undermines our collaborative process. Furthermore, this lack of transparency appears inconsistent with ICANN Bylaws, which require an explicit rationale for decisions to ensure fairness and procedural integrity across all supporting committees, including the SPIRT.
As echoed in previous correspondence on this list, we should seek to further formalize the operations of this group—especially around submission handling and communications regarding LT decisions—to ensure we operate with the highest possible level of openness and transparency.
Best regards,
Heather Diaz Vice President, Compliance and Policy fTLD Registry - .Bank | .Insurance Office: +1 408 316 7202 www.fTLD.com Schedule a meeting with me <https://meetings.hubspot.com/heather-diaz>
---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Andrew Chen<andrew.chen@icann.org> Date: Wed, May 13, 2026 at 6:33 PM Subject: Acknowledgment of SPIRT Alert Re: Prohibition on Private Resolution of New gTLD Contention Sets To: heather@ftld.com <heather@ftld.com> Cc: Jeff Neuman <jeff@jjnsolutions.com>, Segunfunmi Olajide < olajidesegunfunmi@gmail.com>, Cheryl Langdon-Orr <langdonorr@gmail.com>, lawrence@microboss.org <lawrence@microboss.org>, Olawale-Roberts Lawrence <lawrenceog@yahoo.com>, Steve Chan <steve.chan@icann.org>, Saewon Lee <saewon.lee@icann.org>
Dear Heather,
Thank you for your SPIRT Alert submission regarding the Prohibition on Private Resolution of New gTLD Contention Sets. We are acknowledging the receipt of this alert submission, which has been shared with the SPIRT Leadership Team. I have attached a copy of your submission for your records.
Sincerely,
Andrew
--
Andrew Chen
Policy Development Support Sr. Specialist, Policy Development Support
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
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