RE: [council] Motion on Individual Users in the GNSO.

["Mike Rodenbaugh" <icann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Mary,

Thanks to you and Bill for volunteering, but could you please describe why
you believe you two are ?representative? of individual users?

-Mike R.

 

  _____  

From: owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Mary Wong
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 8:53 PM
To: council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Alan Greenberg; Chuck Gomes
Cc: ALAC Working List
Subject: RE: [council] Motion on Individual Users in the GNSO.

 

Everyone,

 

The NCUC would like to express its thanks to those members who have worked
on the motion and the various activities that accompany it. We believe the
question of individual user engagement is, like public participation, an
important and vital part of the ICANN model and process. The NCUC is also
fully committed to contributing to processes and models, going forward, that
will facilitate individual user participation (non-commercial and otherwise)
in the GNSO and other aspects of ICANN work.

 

As such, the NCUC would like to nominate two of its Councillors, viz. myself
(Mary) and Bill Drake, to serve as user representatives to assist in
creating a useful and representative recommendation to the Board in this
respect.

 

Best regards,

Mary (for the NCUC)

 

Mary W S Wong

Professor of Law

Franklin Pierce Law Center

Two White Street

Concord, NH 03301

USA

Email: mwong@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Phone: 1-603-513-5143

Webpage: http://www.piercelaw.edu/marywong/index.php

Selected writings available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN)
at: http://ssrn.com/author=437584



>>> "Gomes, Chuck" <cgomes@xxxxxxxxxxxx> 2/3/2009 8:19 PM >>>

Avri and all,

 

We need to very quickly "identify some user representatives, especially
individual users, who would be willing to work with the ALAC and At-Large
community to develop a recommendation regarding the Board?s request".  Does
the NCUC have any recommendations?  Should we seek some volunteers from the
GA list?  Can anyone recommend an individual user?

 

Chuck

 


  _____  


From: owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Alan Greenberg
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 4:20 PM
To: council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: ALAC Working List
Subject: [council] Motion on Individual Users in the GNSO.

At 29/01/2009 05:42 PM, Glen de Saint Géry wrote:



Motion 4
Motion re: Individual Users in the GNSO
=======================================
Motion proposed by Chuck Gomes seconded by Bill Drake with friendly
amendments by Alan Greenberg 
Whereas: 

*       On 11 December 2008, the ICANN Board approved Resolution
2008-12-11-02 seeking a recommendation on how to incorporate the legitimate
interests of individual Internet users in the GNSO in constructive yet
non-duplicative ways and requesting that the recommendation should be
submitted no later than 24 January 2009 for consideration by the Board. 
*       In an email message to the GNSO Council list dated 20 January 2009,
the ICANN Vice President, Policy Development clarified that the11 December
Resolution is an effort to help the Board identify a strategic solution that
balances ALAC/At-Large and GNSO opportunities for all user and registrant
stakeholders. 
*       The Working Group on GNSO Council Restructuring Report sent to the
ICANN Board of Directors on 25 July 2008 recommended that the Non-Contracted
Party/User House would be open to membership of all interested parties that
use or provide services for the Internet, with the obvious exclusion of the
contracted parties and should explicitly not be restricted to domain
registrants as recommended by the BGC and that such recommendation was made
in response to the suggestion of the ALAC Liaison to the Council. 
*       The GNSO Council Chair previously contacted the ALAC Chair and the
GNSO ALAC Liaison to discuss this topic. 
*       The potential members of the two GNSO Council Non-Contracted Party
Stakeholder Groups have been tasked with submitting proposed Stakeholder
Group Charters to the ICANN Board prior to the Board meeting on 6 March
2009. 

Resolve: 

*       The Council requests the GNSO Council ALAC Liaison in consultation
with the ALAC Chair to: 

*       Determine whether the ALAC and At-Large community have any concerns
with regard to the recommendation that membership in the Non-Contracted
Party/User House would be open to individual Internet users in addition to
domain name registrants and, if so, to communicate those concerns to the
GNSO Council as soon as practical 

The ALAC and At-Large continue to support having users (which includes
registrants) involved in the Non-contracted Party/User House of the GNSO.
Our initial reply to the Board is appended below. 

*       Determine whether the ALAC and At-Large community would like the
GNSO to identify some user representatives, especially individual users, who
would be willing to work with the ALAC and At-Large community to develop a
recommendation regarding the Board?s request that could be forwarded to the
appropriate groups for their consideration in developing a stakeholder group
charter and to the Board for action on GNSO improvement recommendations. 

We are most certainly interested. As noted in our initial response to the
Board, we are committed to responding to the Board by February 20. Our
intent is to try to reach some common ground with the GNSO-names
individuals. To the extent that we do or do not meet this goal, our response
to the Board will note it.




If in either case the ALAC or At-large community do not accept this proposal
the GNSO council may reconsider the issue. 

*       Provide weekly progress reports to the Council list regarding the
above. 

*       The Council directs the Council Chair to: 

*       Apologize to the Board that it failed to meet the Board established
deadline of 24 January 
*       Inform the Board that the GNSO: 

*       Is awaiting information from the ALAC. 
*       Is willing in cooperation with users to identify user
representatives, especially individual users, who would be willing to work
with the ALAC and At-Large community to develop a recommendation. 
*       Will promptly consider next steps and respond to the Board as
quickly as possible after requested information is received from the ALAC as
well any recommendation that may be developed by the ALAC and At-Large
community. 

The motion passed unanimously by voice vote 



*Letter from the Chair of the ALAC to the Chair of the Board of ICANN*

I write to you today in connection with ICANN Board Resolution
2008-12-11-02.

Whilst the resolution asked that a recommendation on the modalities for
including Individual Internet users in the GNSO should be presented to the
board by 24^th January, the various parties have been unable to conclude
work in the timeframe provided. Considering that much of the available time
between 11^th December and 24^th January was over the festive season, I'm
sure you and the other board members will understand that whilst we are
working on the question, as volunteers during a major family holiday we have
had less time for this issue than would otherwise be the case.

With respect to At-Large we are also very busy with new gTLDs, the ALAC
Review, and the organisation of the At-Large Summit; the Board's request
really couldn't have come at a worse time.

Nevertheless we are working on the question. I have had discussions with
Avri Doria, GNSO Council Chair, on how to convene the various interested
parties and I compliment her efforts to encourage constructive work on this
question. Unfortunately the modalities for joint work by all interested
parties has in itself proven controversial enough that no meeting of that
kind has taken place yet, it does appear that things are moving in a
positive direction and that discussions of a suitably representative nature
will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, At-Large has convened a regionally-balanced ad-hoc working
group and we have committed to having a considered response not later than
20^th February, irrespective of what efforts involving broader interests is
able to produce.

What we can say to you at this point is the following:

   * At-Large and ALAC does not believe that the answer to individual
     Internet user participation in the GNSO requires -- or is even
     well-served -- by simply inserting the At-Large community's
     structures into the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group. In fact, we
     believe that would be both confusing to the community and quite
     counterproductive.
   * The concept of opening the GNSO to "users" instead of
     "registrants" was included in the Report of the Working Group on
     GNSO Council Restructuring at the instigation of the ALAC. We
     remain convinced that the GNSO must include meaningful
     participation for those speaking on behalf of individual Internet
     users within both the commercial and non-commercial stakeholder
     groups. But to be clear, our definition of "user" includes
     registrants.
   * "meaningful participation" in this context means that those
     engaged on behalf of individual Internet users must feel that
     their voices are influential and effective and equal to the voices
     of other groups in their Stakeholder Group. Without this, there is
     no chance that new players can be drawn into the GNSO community.
   * We have seen the draft NCUC petition and charter for the NCSG,
     held a meeting with members of the NCUC during the ICANN Cairo
     meeting to discuss it and we continue to evaluate the proposal.
     Without prejudice to that proposal, we believe that the ultimate
     structure of the NCSG must provide a place where all voices and
     views can be heard on the questions of the day, and where the
     structures of the NCSG ensure that no voice is disenfranchised and
     in particular that individual personalities are unable to impose
     their views on others. Just as "takeover" is an issue within ICANN
     as a whole, it is also an issue within a SG.

Whilst I know that the above is not all that you hoped to receive from us
this month, I hope that you will find it useful and we look forward to
concluding our work on this question, as soon as possible.

Of course if you or your colleagues require clarification on any of the
above, I,  our ALAC Executive, and the Working Group established for this
topic, remain at your service.


Kindest regards,

(Signed on behalf the ALAC ad-hoc WG on NCSG : GNSO Improvements
Implementation)

Cheryl Langdon-Orr
ALAC Chair 2007-2009