Re: [ga] ICANN AtLarge

[Karl Auerbach <karl@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 30 Sep 2005, sotiris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Dear Fellow GA Members,
>
> Considering the recent developments vis a vis Internet Governance, the US
> Government and the United Nations, I think it is time for the ICANN
> AtLarge Membership initiative to be revisited.

The ICANN at-large mechanism is so awful that it ought not be considered 
as a vehicle for anything.

In fact, by using ICANN's at-large structure at all would be to imbue it 
with a legitimacy that it does not deserve and thus setting up to be 
proposed as a model for "at-large" mechanisms in whatever new structures 
are created.

In a few weeks during the year 2000 elections to the ICANN board there 
arose many nascent organizations and mechanisms to facilitate public 
interchange and development of public opinion.  That, with a bit of 
encouragement, could happen again.  There is no need to try to resurrect 
the moribund ICANN At-large to fill the role as the representative of the 
community of internet users.  We can have better.

		--karl--