[ALAC] Fwd: Re: [ALAC-Announce] Fwd: Call for input on: "Impact of new gTLDs on ICANN's structure"

Sat Aug 4 14:43:15 UTC 2012

FYI (re-sent since it was bounced from ALAC-Announce)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: [ALAC-Announce] Fwd: Call for input on: "Impact of new
gTLDs on ICANN's structure"
Date: 	Sat, 4 Aug 2012 00:32:28 +0200
From: 	Christopher Wilkinson <cw at christopherwilkinson.eu>
To: 	Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond <ocl at gih.com>
CC: 	alac-announce at atlarge-lists.icann.org, COS Wallonie
<cos at wallonie-isoc.org>

Dear Olivier:

Bertrand's questions are no doubt relevant and timely, although I  
foresee difficulties in At Large responding constructively until much  
more information is available.
Although there are numbers of new TLD applications on the table, there  
are so many thresholds and hurdles to be crossed, that one really does  
not yet know what the new environment is going to look like.
In particular, the presence, or not, of new IDN and public interest  
TLDs will influence the At Large perceptions.

According to the ICANN-announced scenario, the main change might  
become a radical restructuring of the GNSO, because numbers of  
established Registrars might turn up as proto-Registries. To be  
confirmed when the evaluation processes have been undertaken.

Abstracting for the moment from my longstanding opposition to this  
development on grounds of competition policy, one could imagine that  
this change in the internal dynamic of GNSO might interfere with the  
normal functioning of the bottom up PDP and other decision making  
procedures.

Accordingly, At Large - and for that matter, NCUC - may encounter  
opportunities to give the ICANN community and Board clear advice on  
the management of the expanded DNS, in the face of some confusion and  
delay pertaining in  the GNSO.

At Large may also wish to keep an eye on the budgetary aspects of the  
new situation. On the one hand ICANN has declared that the new TLD  
programme will be budget-neutral (whence the exorbitant fees) but on  
the other hand the successful creation of numbers of successful new  
TLDs might have a permanent influence on the ICANN budget, in which  
case the allocation of additional budgetary resources could become an  
issue for At Large.
(Personally, I am inclined to discount this aspect because I gather  
that the aggregate domain name market - excluding IDN - is not growing  
fast enough to accommodate large numbers of successful new gTLDs at  
this time.)

In short, it is not a good idea to introduce a new TLD - let alone  
several - in the midst of a global recession.

Just a few thoughts, to start the discussion.

Regards

Christopher.

PS:	 I shall add a copy of these comments to the Wiki page in the near  
future.

On 03 Aug 2012, at 23:39, Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond wrote:

>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> During the Prague meeting, several Board members have asked ICANN
> communities to think about the impact of the new gTLDs on the overall
> ICANN Structure.
>
> Below is an email from Bertrand de la Chapelle detailing such enquiry.
>
> Comments are welcome from the whole community. Please add your  
> comments
> at the bottom of the WIKI page created on:
> https://community.icann.org/x/XAUeAg
>
> The ExCom will summarise in order to provide a single input from At- 
> Large.
>
> *At-Large Comments open*: 3 August 2012
>
> *At-Large Comments close*: 3 September 2012
>
>
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: 	Call for input on: "Impact of new gTLDs on ICANN's  
> structure"
> Date: 	Fri, 3 Aug 2012 12:24:46 +0200
> From: 	Bertrand de La Chapelle <bdelachapelle at gmail.com>
> To: 	
> CC: 	
>
>
>
> Dear all,
>
> The new gTLD program will have a significant impact on the functioning
> of ICANN and its structure. An in-depth community discussion is needed
> to identify early the corresponding challenges and possible  
> evolutions.
> It should be conducted while the gTLD program itself is being
> implemented, without waiting for the completion of this round. This
> should in particular be taken into account in the upcoming gNSO  
> review,
> planned in 2013.
>
> As you probably remember, this issue was therefore put on the agenda  
> of
> the various Board interactions with SOs, ACs and constituencies during
> the Prague meeting. Several issues were identified during these
> discussions, pertaining both to scalability factors (due to the number
> of applications) and qualitative impact (including the diversity of  
> the
> new gTLDs and the potential overlapping of the constituencies they  
> could
> belong to).
>
> At the end of each such session, *Steve Crocker invited participants  
> to
> share a one-pager on this topic* to gather preliminary views and help
> prepare a dedicated session in Toronto.
>
> I am writing to you as Chairs of the respective SOs, ACs, Stakeholder
> Groups or Constituencies to renew this call for input. The Board
> Structural Improvements Committee (SIC), chaired by Ray Plzak, will
> discuss the topic during the Board Workshop mid-September and your
> perspective is eagerly sought after. The contributions can be very
> synthetic at that stage, for instance merely listing bullet points of
> identified potential impacts. The objective is to get as complete a
> picture as possible of the different dimensions of the issue.
>
> I know the summer period is not the easiest to gather views in you
> respective groups but I also understand that this has already been
> discussed before Prague and you probably are in a position to share  
> the
> concerns already identified, if not the possible solutions. This is  
> only
> a preliminary stage and further consultations will take place to  
> prepare
> the Toronto session.
>
> Thank you in advance for your contribution, *if possible before
> September 10*, and don't hesitate to share this call for input with
> people I might have inadvertently overlooked or you think might be  
> good
> contributors from your group.
>
> Best
>
> Bertrand
>
>
>
> -- 
> ____________________
> Bertrand de La Chapelle
> Internet & Jurisdiction Project Director, International Diplomatic
> Academy (www.internetjurisdiction.net <http://www.internetjurisdiction.net 
> >)
> Member, ICANN Board of Directors
>
>
> "Le plus beau métier des hommes, c'est d'unir les hommes" Antoine de
> Saint Exupéry
> ("there is no greater mission for humans than uniting humans")
>
>
>
>
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