Re: [ga] Re: ICANN before the US Senate...

[Stephane Bortzmeyer <bortzmeyer@xxxxxx>]

On Mon, Aug 04, 2003 at 09:39:18PM -0400,
 L. Gallegos <jandl@xxxxxxxxx> wrote 
 a message of 63 lines which said:

> ICANN should also get out of the business management (or
> micromanagement) and stick to technical.

This is absolutely impossible and let me explain why.

> IANA should be separated from ICANN and should have no bearing on
> the registries or registrars or ccTLDs other than performing the
> clerical details - a one person job.

If IANA stays with purely technical jobs (adding or removing a
nameserver for an existing TLD, adding a protocol number for a new TCP
service, etc), I agree with you.

But how do you handle non-technical decisions? A few different
examples:

1) Who will decide of the redelegation of a ccTLD? Especially in
complicated cases like a fight between two local groups? This is not a
clerical process, it is a political one, by essence.

2) Who will decide what gTLD to create? (I use ORSC at home and *some*
new.net dummy domains are integrated in ORSC root, some are not: on
what grounds? It is a political decision. May be a proper one but
certainly not purely technical.)

3) Who will decide to recognize (or not) Afrinic as a new RIR?
Especially if they do not agree with the rules that were defined for
the rich countries (such as the minimum allocation criteria)?

[Do note that you can have systems where three different organizations
decide for these three issues, it only requires a clear delineation of
their powers.]

Face it: you need a political instance. Now, we can flame each other
about wether USG, ITU, ORSC or something else is the proper one :-)
But let's stop that "Stick with technical matters" b...t.