[ALAC] Where is ALAC on the TAS problem?
Evan Leibovitch
evan at telly.org
Thu Apr 19 15:15:46 UTC 2012
It's for this reason why I wonder what ALAC should be doing.
>From my PoV, the reputational damage has already been done. To indicate
that this was a PR disaster which requires damage control would appear to
be stating the obvious, and thus just "piling on" IMO.
- Evan
On 19 April 2012 10:31, Beau Brendler <beaubrendler at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> Happy to help out.
>
> Regardless of what happens tomorrow I believe ALAC at minimum needs to
> push
> for a full accounting of what happened here, emergency process issues and
> whatever potential issues may be at stake regards the stability of the
> Internet. The public perception is that this flagship TAS has been on ice
> now several days, just after extensive reporting about the new gTLD
> process
> in the mainstream press.
>
> No matter how you look at it, from the outside this is a public relations
> disaster -- it would be less so, perhaps, if the organization involved
> was
> not mandated with Internet stability, safety and security. "We're
> working on
> it, we'll get back to you" might be an acceptable response for a
> corporate
> IT department, but not for the IT department of the Internet.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: JJS
> Sent: Apr 19, 2012 3:03 AM
> To: Carlton Samuels
> Cc: Beau Brendler , alac at atlarge-lists.icann.org
> Subject: Re: [ALAC] Where is ALAC on the TAS problem?
> I agree with Carlton that we can/should wait until the next (hopefully
> conclusive) statement by the COO.
>
> That being said, Beau makes several good points:
>
> - this does seem to have the potential of impacting the user community,
> but
> also of harming user trust in ICANN;
>
> - we require a thorough account of what went wrong, in order to
> understand
> whether the design was faulty, or the implementation;
>
> - and yes, within ALAC and At-Large we should be mindful of the context
> in
> which this incident is taking place: NTIA sending ICANN back to the
> drawing
> board to better claim the IANA contract, a period of expectation before
> the
> nomination of the next CEO, an overall sense of uncertainty regarding the
> capability to receive numerous applications for new gTLDs and to process
> them correctly.
>
> So, if ICANN's report in the next few days does not properly address
> the TAS
> problems, I think the ALAC should be prepared to voice its concern and
> offer
> recommendations where necessary.
>
> In light of this, may I suggest that Beau, Carlton and a handful of
> volunteers if required, make a note of what an ALAC statement would have
> to
> include, in terse prose? As to the most efficient delivery, I would
> suggest
> a letter from the ALAC Chair to the Chair of the Board (we did this a few
> months ago, and it did have an impact), which could also be posted on a
> couple of influential sites.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jean-Jacques.
> Le 19 avril 2012 07:16, Carlton Samuels <[1]carlton.samuels at gmail.com> a
> écrit :
>
> Beau:
> Yes, I do agree that there is a PI angle here. And the ALAC has a
> duty
> of
> care.
> I have been following the updates from both thru my 'watcher' on the
> Announcements page as well as the Skype chat. Those of us with some
> technical skills do indeed have worries; Dev, for one, has privately
> shared
> a few, in fact in line with some of the questions you raised.
> I've run a few operating support systems for a living so I confess some
> sympathy here. In my view, Akram's statement should give us pause; we
> now
> have a proximate cause, a better understanding of the risk profile but
> less
> than useful hard facts on impact or origination/initiation. So, let's
> keep
> our powder dry and wait till we see what they come with in the promised
> 'details' on Friday.
> - Carlton
> ==============================
> Carlton A Samuels
> Mobile: 876-818-1799
> *Strategy, Planning, Governance, Assessment & Turnaround*
> =============================
> On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 1:34 PM, Beau Brendler
> <[2]beaubrendler at earthlink.net>wrote:
>
> > Greetings, colleagues.
> >
> > Some discussions are taking place on the NCSG list about the TAS
> problem
> > and the way ICANN is handling it. I do not see similar discussions
> taking
> > place among the at-large. Pardon me if I have missed them. Indeed, I
> > believe some have raised the issue in the skype chat of the TAS SNAFU
> (or,
> > as my English relatives would call it, monumental cock-up), but with
> the
> > opinion that end-users are not affected, so it's not worth worrying
> about.
> >
> > In my opinion the situation has become worse, to the degree I beg to
> > differ -- the public interest is indeed affected. Note the most current
> > communique from ICANN staff April 17:
> > ---------------------------------------------------
> > TAS Interruption - Update (17 April 2012)
> > Statement by Akram Atallah, COO
> > 17 April 2012
> > ICANN's review of the technical glitch that resulted in the TLD
> > application system being taken offline indicates that the issue stems
> > from a problem in the way the system handled interrupted deletions of
> > file attachments. This resulted in some applicants being able to see
> > some other applicants' file names and user names.
> > As reported yesterday, we are seeking confirmation that the solution we
> > have implemented for this issue is effective.
> > We are also conducting research to determine which applicants' file
> > names and user names were potentially viewable, as well as which
> > applicants had the ability to see them.
> > Many organizations are seeking information on whether we will proceed
> > with the planned publication of applied-for domain names on 30 April.
> We
> > will update the target date for publication as part of our update on
> the
> > timing of the reopening, no later than Friday, 20 April at 23.59 UTC.
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------
> > Note that ICANN was aware of this "glitch" almost a month previously,
> but
> > apparently took no action. In my opinion (and others), this situation
> is
> > going to escalate. Certainly it is in the public interest, even beyond
> the
> > obvious issue that there may be problems with applications from
> would-be
> > public-interest gTLD sponsors.
> >
> > * Is it not within the public interest to demand a full accounting of
> what
> > went wrong with an integral system, indeed, the first "system," to be
> > publicly rolled out in the "mechanical" application process for new
> gTLDs?
> >
> > * Was the TAS hacked? Coded incorrectly? Who performed the work? Who
> > reviewed it? Can ICANN as an organization address the credibility
> problem
> > created by this? How can the public expect that the safety, stability
> and
> > security of the Internet will be safeguarded by ICANN, if at the first
> > phase of the process the organization cannot field a working system for
> > gTLD applications?
> >
> > * Is ICANN aware, regardless of the bureaucratic or technical processes
> > involved, that together with the temporary loss of the IANA contract,
> the
> > back-and-forth of the IOC/RC process, and now the TAS problem, an
> observer
> > may conclude that the organization can't fulfill its mandate?
> >
> > What should the ALAC do (in my opinion)?
> >
> > * Call for a full, independent review of the TAS process from soup to
> > nuts. Why was the technical problem not acted upon sooner? What
> emergency
> > response protocols are in place? Any?
> > * Offer to coordinate candidate selection for such a review, to help
> > ensure the same people who made the mistakes are not reviewing their
> own
> > work.
> > * Determine what organizational problems within ICANN led to this
> failure.
> > * Undertake an analysis of those problems to address whether such
> > incompetence could spill over into the actual process of bringing new
> gTLDs
> > online, vis-a-vis the stability, safety and security of the Internet.
> Make
> > that analysis comprehensive and, most important, public.
> > * Undertake a review to determine if ICANN does, in fact, have the
> > technical and organizational capabilities to actually execute its
> mission,
> > and if not, fess up and hire some people who know what they are doing.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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> >
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> References
>
> 1. mailto:carlton.samuels at gmail.com
> 2. mailto:beaubrendler at earthlink.net
> 3. mailto:ALAC at atlarge-lists.icann.org
> 4. https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac
> 5. http://www.atlarge.icann.org/
> 6.
> https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/At-Large+Advisory+Committee+(ALAC)
> 7. mailto:ALAC at atlarge-lists.icann.org
> 8. https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/alac
> 9. http://www.atlarge.icann.org/
> 10.
> https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/At-Large+Advisory+Committee+(ALAC)
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--
Evan Leibovitch
Toronto Canada
Em: evan at telly dot org
Sk: evanleibovitch
Tw: el56
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