Having covered far more ICANN meetings than is healthy, here are some useful pointers for producing information: [...] Hope that's helpful. Good luck with the cold.
Considering that Dharma was a one-time replacement and isn't planning to undertake the task again, this advice is ... just a tad late. But even so, we're not funded to meander the halls or "cover" ICANN meetings by collecting gossip. We're not there to observe; we're there to engage and affect change. Most At-Large people have specific roles and places to be through much of ICANN week. Key people of ours are already doing double (or triple) duty in roles as liaisons, leaders and members of At-Large and GNSO working groups (or the EWG or ATRT2). And, for benefit of those not intrepid enough to look at the meeting schedule, ALAC-specific activities demand attendance at policy and engagement sessions all of Sunday, most of Tuesday, and the half of Thursday not taken up by the Public Forum. Monday and Wednesday are the "mingling" days -- though much of Monday is taken up with ceremonies and lectures masquerading as workshops, while Wednesdays are full of working groups and round-tables. It's no wonder that many in At-Large want Friday back on the ICANN schedule, so things aren't so tightly packed. Before Durban some complained that we didn't have many accomplishments to talk about. The reports to date indicate, IMO, quite a few of them in Durban. We did what we were there to do... meet amongst ourselves, along with others who would inform us and work with us to advance our goals (including the Board, GAC, ATRT, SSAC and almost all senior staff), then determine the issues and stances we believed of concern to end users as well as strategy for their advocacy. Meanwhile, Glenn was a recording whirlwind, capturing more of the meeting in sound and video than we have ever been used to. As for not taking it all too seriously, no worries there. By definition, At-Large members tend not to depend upon ICANN activity for our careers or livelihood so we can be -- and often are -- more irreverent than those more heavily invested. (Or maybe you didn't see the Vuvuzela in the public forum?) On the other hand ... it may just be my imagination but I believe At-Large people on the average to be amongst ICANN's lighter drinkers, which means we generally miss the juiciest drunken bar chatter. And because we're nobody's potential customer, we tend not to be invited to the A-list parties. (Or maybe that's just me.) Oh well, we survive nonetheless, and have no problem managing to find other sources of amusement. On one of the A-list party nights I found myself at the 9th Avenue Bistro -- one of Durban's best restaurants -- with exceptionally good conversational company (and none of us even had wine with dinner). Anyway, thanks for the tips. Hopefully they won't be completely forgotten by the time they might be useful again. Frankly, between what Dharma and Glenn and I reported -- added to what others have offered in other regions -- I think we've captured the At-Large PoV of ICANN 47 fairly well. - Evan