Re: [registrars] Motion on Travel Funding

[Eric Brunner-Williams <brunner@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ross Rader wrote:
> On 10-Dec-07, at 1:07 PM, Eric Brunner-Williams wrote:
>
> > I'd like to see an exception mechanism, either from the universal 
> > funding position (nominally Adrian's) or the universal rejection 
> > position (nominally yours), that has some means test for need.
>
> In principle, I agree that something like this might necessarily be 
> included, but in practice it would be difficult to apply. All of the 
> Councillors come from established organizations and I fail to see why 
> domain name prices should be increased simply to ensure their 
> participation at ICANN meetings. If Councillors cannot afford to 
> travel, then I would question their capability to represent their 
> constituency - and also that of the Constituency to support their 
> Councillors.
We can't be discussing the IPC's set of seats (the IPC itself and the 
failed BC and ISPC, which do nothing but represent marks interests), but 
we could be discussing individuals from smaller registrars or registries 
representing those constituencies, and we could be discussing 
individuals elected to represent interests other than those three 
commercial "stakeholders".
Where I don't want us to arrive is a process that cannot afford any 
"disinterested persons" on the GNSO Council.
Where I also don't want us to arrive is a process that has "for 
individuals of significant net worth" written on it, like the ads for 
private banks in Switzerland.
> I don't mind a portion of my constituency dues being earmarked for 
> this sort of thing, but there's something terribly wrong with ICANN 
> collecting a tax to ensure telecommunications lobbyists, professional 
> consultants and other paid advocates a free ride. The people that are 
> lobbying hardest for this type of funding have the strongest track 
> record of attendance at the ICANN meetings.
Rather than beat ICANN with the first stick at hand, could we work on 
fixing ICANN? I read the fifth-of-a-million costing too, and that was 
just for the BoD, not the rest of the traveling circus. I remember when 
IETFs where held on college campus (whatever the plural is for that 
word) and venue selection criteria has a real effect on cost, as does 
the model of no fixed point of infrastructure (other than the MdR and 
now-down-sized Bxl) floor spaces.
Ignore the prior note starting with "Intellectual Property 
Constituency", my son Jonah managed to send that to reduce screen 
clutter (it was in the way of his Disney window after all), before 
bumping my antenna off-alignment and taking us off-line for a bit.
Eric