proposed NCUC response to the ICANN-VeriSign settlement

[Milton Mueller]

I have revised the first paragraph of the NCUC response to incorporate
Iliya's comment as follows (see last sentence):

Impact on noncommercial users
The specific changes proposed for the .com contract will not have a
major impact on noncommercial users because most of us do not register
in .com. However, the method by which this decision was reached may have
lasting and major effects on the way ICANN operates. The effects
potentially go far beyond .com. Specifically, we see private bargaining
between ICANN staff and its contractors replacing the policy development
process of ICANN's constituencies. While we do not believe that every
change in registry contracts should be subject to collective oversight,
in this case we believe that ICANN staff has crossed the boundary
between contracting and policy making. We also see a dangerous conflict
between ICANN's putative oversight role and its incentive to negotiate
generous financial agreements with a contractor that is at the same time
ICANN's main source of revenue.