[Advisors] Fwd: A report (sort of) about attending ICANN50

[Garth Graham]

I'd intended this to go to the list also and just noticed that I only replied to Michael.

Lazy Sunday,
GG

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Garth Graham <garth.graham at telus.net>
> Subject: Re: [Advisors] A report (sort of) about attending ICANN50
> Date: 13 July, 2014 12:20:45 PM PDT
> To: michael gurstein <gurstein at gmail.com>
> 
> On 2014-07-12, at 3:09 AM, michael gurstein wrote:
> 
>> The question is, if ICANN were suddenly to lose it's budget …...
>> 	1. what would the net loss be to global well-being
>> 	2. what would the net loss be to the overall well-being and on-going
>> health of the internet
>> 	3. how much interest would there be in ICANN affairs outside of the
>> rarified atmosphere of copyright lawyers and techies from various global
>> infrastructure suppliers
> 
> I think the point I'm making is - it depends.  Given the diversity of national approaches to DN ownership globally, I think the case can be made that something needs to balance the DNS  But if the globalization of ICANN results in an increase of the way in which it is governed as "market-based" and its further capture by the registrars, not much.  The US Dept of Commerce had the intention to move in that direction when it set up ICANN.  I'm reminded of when Michael Binder privatized the publicly "owned" backbone in Canada by selling it to BCE for one dollar, without any public debate.  At the time he could see where the US was heading.  Some of the academics running it in Canada fought to defend what I'm now calling the management of a common pool resource.  There was no interest in the public interest.  But most of them, as I recall, quietly set up Internet registry companies!  CIRA at least, became non-fat-profit, like ICANNand IS now feeding something back.
> 
> GG
> 
> 
>> ….. (i.e. activities of much interest beyond an endless elaboration on more or less trivial technical matters).
> 
> That's a fair characterization.  Here's a list of current topics sitting in my in basket:
> 
> Call for Comment on Introduction of Two-Character Domain Names for .DEALS, XN--FJQ720A, .CITY, .XYZ, .COLLEGE, .GOP, .TRADE, .WEBCAM, .BID, .HEALTHCARE, .WORLD, .BAND
> 
> CALL FOR COMMENTS: ALAC Statement on the Universal Acceptance of TLDs Draft Roadmap
> 
> ICANN announces the implementation of two new consensus policy initiatives: the Additional Whois Information Policy (AWIP) and amendments to the Inter-Registrar Transfer Policy (IRTP) related to domain name unlocking.
> 
> ICANN News Alert -- Westlake Governance Appointed to Conduct Independent Review of the GNSO
> 
> Maximal Starting Repertoire Version 1 (MSR-1)? for the Development of Label Generation Rules for the Root Zone
> 
> GG
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: advisors-bounces at tc.ca [mailto:advisors-bounces at tc.ca] On Behalf Of
>> Garth Graham
>> Sent: Friday, July 11, 2014 6:32 PM
>> To: advisors advisors
>> Subject: [Advisors] A report (sort of) about attending ICANN50
>> 
>> You will find that the attached essay doesn't exactly read as a report to TC
>> from its ALAC contact person.  It is however a fairly accurate summary of
>> where my involvement in Internet governance issues, including ICANN, is
>> taking me.  If anybody has any ideas where this might take TC, please do
>> comment, because it's not yet clear to me!
>> 
>> GG
>> 
>> 
>