[NCSG-Discuss] ICANN is bottom-up, except for when it is top-down. Fwd: Memorandum on the Trademark Clearinghouse ³Strawman Solution²

[Evan Leibovitch]

On 22 March 2013 12:39, Avri Doria <avri at acm.org> wrote:


> I understand the ALAC, and maybe even the At-LArge if they knew what was
> going on,  being happy with the decisions being made by ICANN Sr. Staff.
>
> But these decisions are not being made using an improved policy process as
> suggested by R3, they are being made despotically.  So while you may be
> happy with the benevolence expressed in these decisions, as someone who is
> both user and registrant and both NCSG and At-Large, I worry about the
> trend to despotism.
>

I'm not disagreeing.

The core point I was trying to make is that there is a significant
constituency in ICANN -- At-Large -- that is happy with (most of the) the
outcomes, if not necessarily the processes, of the current situation. There
is a major component of ICANN -- a bylaw-mandated constituency -- that has
been SO disenfranchised by the current (so-called MSM) processes that any
apparent display of sane decision making -- even if made by unaccountable
edict -- is seen as a win. This is not an endorsement of the status quo,
but at least a sign that someone is listening. Key to the solution is truly
bringing all voices to the table so that such points of view are seen as
neither surprising nor irrelevant.

Also key to the issue is the differentiation between policy and
implementation, and the difficulty inherent in ICANN's current blurring of
that distinction. Arguably, there is too much implementation being
charaterised as "policy" in order that it can be micro-managed by
committee.  And looking from the PoV of a GNSO outsider, it is reasonable
to ask the limits of scope. Demanding that every implementation issue is
policy does not magically make it so. Where are the boundaries?

I apologize for the inadvertent -- and in some cases mistaken -- diversion
into the pointless "who represents users" debate. I am hoping for a
reasoned dialogue that lets us work together, in understanding the
differences and advocating the commonalities.

If that's not possible I won't bother you again with this.

- Evan
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