[council] At-Large Advisory Committeee - June/July Newsletter

["Bruce Tonkin" <Bruce.Tonkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello All,

This may be of interest.

Perhaps Bret Fausett can arrange for the Council list to be included on
the newsletter.  This information is useful for liaison purposes.

Maybe the GNSO should also produce a newsletter for distribution to the
GNSO community and to other supporting organisations and advisory
committees.

Regards,
Bruce




ICANN AT-LARGE NEWSLETTER
June/July 2005


In this issue:

.       Action: Your input is needed on how to introduce more domain
names
.       Action:  Internet governance report open for comments
.       Meeting: Asia-Pacific At-Large groups to gather in Taipei on
August
24
.       Information: Steps you should take to guard against domain name
hijacking
.       Information: At-Large actions at recent ICANN Luxembourg meeting
.       Information: .TRAVEL launched; .JOBS starting-up; .MOBI approved

_________________________________________________________

.       Action: Your input is needed on how to introduce more domain
names
-
The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) would like to hear your views on
the process that should be used to introduce new top level domain names
("TLDs," such as .com, .museum, etc.).  Although ICANN's Board passed a
resolution in 2000 stating that "a policy be established for the
introduction of new TLDs in a measured and responsible manner," ICANN is
still grappling with how to develop a TLD introduction process that
addresses numerous technical, economic, socio-political and cultural
issues. The ALAC is developing detailed guidance for ICANN to help
ensure that such a process meets individual Internet users' needs.  The
type of issues on which ICANN is seeking advice is posted at
<http://www.icann.org/tlds/new-gTLD-questions.pdf>.  The ALAC will post
proposed input on its website (<http://www.alac.icann.org/>).  Please
post your views to <forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>.

The ALAC has long advocated that it is time for ICANN to regularize the
process of examination and approval of new TLD proposals, and has urged
ICANN to move beyond testbeds and evaluations and permit those proposing
new TLDs to put their plans into effect.  Last year ICANN launched a
limited process for selecting new sponsored TLDs (sTLDs) from a pool of
ten applications
(<http://www.icann.org/tlds/stld-apps-19mar04/stld-public-comments.htm>)
. 
  The ALAC recommended that, rather than restrict the applicant pool to
a few sTLDs, ICANN create a quick, effective and uncontroversial process
for the creation of any kind and number of new TLDs.

ICANN's Board has chosen to seek community input on a series of
questions about the introduction of new TLDs before a process is
developed and considered. The ALAC would like specific input from you on
questions posted by ICANN (see initial questions at 
<<http://www.icann.org/tlds/new-gTLD-questions.pdf>).   The ALAC will 
post draft answers for your review (and additional information) on its
website at (<http://www.alac.icann.org/>).

.       Action:  Internet governance report open for comments - The
Working 
Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) released its report identifying
Internet issues that should be addressed and offering potential "models"

for dealing with them.  The report, which was commissioned by the United
Nations (UN) Secretary General, is available in Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish at <http://www.wgig.org/>. 
Comments to the report are welcomed, and it is important that the views
of all stakeholders are heard.  Email comments to the WSIS Executive
Secretariat at <wsis-contributions@xxxxxxx> by 15 August 2005, and copy
the At-Large forum <forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>.  Information on ALAC
activities on Internet governance can be found at
<http://www.alac.icann.org/wsis/>.  A compilation of the contributions,
together with the WGIG report, will be forwarded to PrepCom III,
scheduled for 19-30 September 2005 (see
<http://www.itu.int/wsis/preparatory2/pc3/index.html> for more
information).

.       Meeting: Asia-Pacific At-Large groups to gather in Taipei on
August
24
- All individuals involved in Internet user issues in the
Asia/Australia/Pacific (AP) region, are invited to participate in an
At-Large meeting scheduled for 24 August, in conjunction with the APAN
conference in Taipei, Taiwan, 23-27 August 2005 (<http://apan.net/>). 
Meeting participants will work on plans to create an Asia-Pacific
Regional At-Large Organization (APRALO), which will enable groups in
this region to work together to advance Internet users' needs.  For more
information see <http://www.apralo.org/> or email <info@xxxxxxxxxx>.

On 14 July 2005, representatives of groups involving individual Internet
users in over 10 countries/regions in the Asia-Pacific region met during
the ICANN Luxembourg meeting to discuss how to work together on their
shared objectives. Meeting participants discussed their organization's
priorities and how to form an APRALO to support their members' needs. 
More information is posted at <www.apralo.org>.
.
.       Information: Steps you should take to guard against domain name 
hijacking - A report recently released by ICANN's Security and Stability
Advisory Committee (SSAC) found that domain name hijacking incidents are
commonly the result of "flaws in registration and related processes,
failure to comply with the transfer policy, and poor administration of
domain names by registrars, resellers, and registrants."  The SSAC
recommended actions all registrants should take to prevent these
incidents.  Domain hijacking refers to the wrongful taking of control of
a domain name from the rightful name holder. The report is posted at
<http://www.icann.org/announcements/hijacking-report-12jul05.pdf>.

The SSAC report highlights the lasting and material effect domain name
hijacking can have on a registrant including: loss of an established
online identity; exposure to extortion by name speculators; and
disruption of a registrant's business and operations (e.g. denial and
theft of email services, eavesdropping, and web site defacement). In
addition to recommending preventative actions for registrars and
registries and ICANN, the report includes specific measures registrants
should take to protect their registration information and name holder
status.  To educate yourself, see
<http://www.icann.org/announcements/hijacking-report-12jul05.pdf>.

.       Information: At-Large actions at recent ICANN Luxembourg meeting
-
The
ALAC issued three calls for action at ICANN's July meeting in Luxembourg
to support individual Internet users' interests on: introduction of new
gTLDs; how ICANN spends fees paid by domain name registrants; and
measures to increase transparency and effective means of public
participation.

To encourage the ICANN community to move forward on the introduction of
new domain names and the use of internationalized domain names (IDNs)
while protecting user interests, the ALAC called for separating the
processes for the implementation of ASCII gTLDs and IDN gTLDs.  More
information is posted at <http://www.alac.icann.org/>.

The ALAC asked for representation on ICANN's Budget Advisory Group to
help ensure that the revenues generated and spent, and the activities
ICANN undertakes, reflect the needs of the global At-Large community. 
Although the money paid to ICANN each year ultimately comes from domain
name registrants, they have no representation on the committee that
proposes ICANN's annual budget and makes the initial decisions about
ICANN's revenue, expenditures, programs, and services. More information
is posted at <http://www.alac.icann.org/>.

To make it easier for the global At-Large community to participate in
ICANN, the ALAC asked ICANN to take some specific steps, including: 
hiring a "Manager of Public Participation"; ensuring ICANN meetings are
well coordinated and meeting information is published well in advance of
the meetings; improving ICANN's website; and making the internal culture
and operating practices of ICANN multilingual, including real-time
translation of meetings and advance preparation of printed, translated
documents for discussion.  More information is posted at
<http://www.alac.icann.org/>.

.       Information: .TRAVEL launched; .JOBS starting-up; .MOBI approved
- 
Thus far, ICANN's Board has designated three new sponsored top level
domains (sTLDs):  .TRAVEL, .JOBS and .MOBI.  .TRAVEL has launched and is
now in the root zone, and .JOBS is in its "start-up trade name period." 
  ICANN's Board recently formalized the contract for .MOBI, which will
proceed with its launch plans. Applicants for XXX, .CAT, and .POST are
under "negotiation" with ICANN, and four other applications are under
"consideration": .ASIA, .MAIL, .TEL-Pulver, and .TEL-Telnic. 
Information on the applications and the sTLD process can be found at
<http://www.icann.org/tlds/stld-apps-19mar04/stld-public-comments.htm>.

The Interim At-Large Advisory Committee
alac@xxxxxxxxx
www.alac.icann.org