If you dont see that the realm that ICANN covers is intricately related to a host of other matters that are best dealt with in the same conceptual space, even if different entities may have jurisdiction or authority over them and will require our addressing different bodies in a coordinated way then perhaps you cant see the big picture.
I fear my problem is that my imagination is sadly limited by actual experience working on Internet issues. I will admit that I have never spent two intense days at a conference envisioning open space collaboration. On the other hand, I've written a book that millions of people have used to get onto the 'Net, I've been in several PBS shows that teach people about the Internet, I've been a board member of and published the online newsletter for the largest grass roots anti-spam organization in the world, I've testifed in front of the US Senate about spyware legislation and in front of the FTC on spam legislation, participated in the broad-based international Anti-Spyware Coalition, I've been a member of Industry Canada's multi stakeholder anti-spam taskforce, and I've spent over a year on the ALAC observing ICANN's processes and lack thereof up close. (In case you were wondering, this is all paid for out of my own pocket, other than sometimes getting travel reimbursed, and Industry Canada paying me a little bit to write and edit part of a report.) None of this needed a RALO. Indeed, a RALO wouldn't have made a bit of difference to any of it. I also know enough of the history of ICANN and the people involved in that history to know about the dreams of expansive user organizations, all of which went nowhere for the reasons I've been telling you about. None of this is a secret; anyone interested in ICANN and Internet governance should be familiar with it to avoid going down the same unproductive paths that lead to predictable failure. Take a look at http://www.icannatlarge.com, which has been gathering dust for the past five years. If you believe that a comprehensive Internet user organization is a good idea, here it is, already in existence, ready to go, with a membership including a thousand people who care deeply about ICANN and the Internet, and a modest amount of money in the bank, lacking only leadership with unlimited time and energy to devote to it. What would your big picture NARALO be that icannatlarge isn't? Why don't you work with icannatlarge now? R's, John