Dear NA Colleagues, Although the agenda for the upcoming meeting in San Juan is not yet posted (http://icann.org/meetings/sanjuan/), we know from both the ICANN website and our discussions with our staff member Nick Ashton-Hart of several items of interest to At Large members that will be discussed at the meeting. For purposes of your preparation and to get us started thinking about the policy issues, our positions, and possible statements to make at the meeting, here is a list of items I know will be presented and discussed. Please feel free to add other items, and we can create a working list on the wiki. Many thanks, Bret Fausett (Interim Chair, North America General Assembly) -- A. Regional gTLDs As a complement to the GNSO policy process on new gTLDs, ICANN will hold a public discussion on the appropriateness and possible uses for regional gTLDs. Our own Beau Brendler, from Consumers Union, will be on this panel with representatives from the GNSO, .BERLIN advocates, and representatives of ccTLDs. As background, ICANN already has accredited registries to operate .ASIA and .CAT. Advocates for municipal, regional and supranational organizations expect to apply for many more such regional TLDs when ICANN accepts applications next year. Some governments and some ccTLD operators see the potential for user confusion if these regional gTLDs proliferate. What is you opinion? How would North American users be affected by TLDs such as .NYC, .BERLIN, .DIXIE, .TIBET, .CANADA, or .AMERICA if these TLDs were operated by non-governmental organizations? B. Registry and Registrar Failure Issues The failure of ICANN-accredited registrar Registerfly has affected tens of thousands of users, and the possible imminent bankruptcy of ICANN-accredited registry Tralliance Corp. (.TRAVEL) stands to affect more. What should be ICANN's role, if any, in protecting registrants from the business failures of service providers? How has ICANN performed in responding to the failures and potential failures of its accredited service providers? What should ICANN require in terms of data escrow for registrars and registries? This issue has a significant history, and you'll want to read on the Registerfly postings linked from the ICANN home page. C. The ICANN Budget for FY2007-2008 ICANN's Fiscal Year runs from July 1st to June 30th. During the first six months of each fiscal year, ICANN engages the community in a discussion about its strategic priorities for the coming years, and during the second half of each year, ICANN prepares its budget for the year upcoming. We are currently in the budget planning stage of the process, and ICANN will discuss and finalize its budget for FY 1 July 2007-30 June 2008 at the Puerto Rico meeting. The current announcement and background documents are linked here: http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-17may07.htm D. Top-Level IDNs / Internationalized TLDs Over the past few years, ICANN has considered the technical aspects of introducing internationalized domain names ("IDNs") into the domain name system ("DNS"). Now, ICANN is preparing to introduce IDNs as top-level domains ("TLDs"). An announcement on next steps, dated 2 June 2007, is posted on the ICANN website: http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-02jun07.htm