[At-Large] Say Whut!

[Sivasubramanian M]

On Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 7:20 PM Evan Leibovitch <evanleibovitch at gmail.com
wrote:

> Hi Siva,
>
> Were I to be engaged in a real exercise to enable ALAC to serve its bylaw
>>> mandate, I would wish to eliminate ALSs and move to fully individual
>>> membership in RALOs. I would reduce travel and invest more in vitual
>>> meeting technologies. I would also concentrate ALAC activity in ONLY three
>>> areas:
>>>
>>
> The suggestions above sound too drastic to take sides with.
>>
>
> I make no apologies for this proposal's radicalism. But I also recognize
> that proper public education, surveys and research will be expensive. ICANN
> will not manufacture a significantly bigger budget.
>
> But if ALAC is focused on the areas I propose, there is substantial
> savings to be realized in cutting back on facets of At-Large that have, at
> best, offered only cosmetic benefit.
>

Is ICANN spending significant sums on ALS activities to save from?


>
> If DNS is demystified there would be greater user participation.
>>
>
> Maybe. Not everyone who needs to know how the DNS works needs to be
> engaged in it. Nor should they. People who get the education and are
> interested to help will know where to find us, reducing the wasteful
> expenditures on "outreach".
>

Outreach is not wasteful, may be the present pattern and styles of
expenditure on outreach proves wasteful?


> - surveys and R&D into public needs and opinions about domain names and
>>> the DNS
>>>
>>
>> +1.  A considerable amount of R&D could happen through social media, not
>> necessarily by votes, even by 'likes' and reactions to non-commercially
>> promoted posts and tweets
>>
>
> That's not where I was headed. Proper quantitative research requires
> effort and expertise. I would never trust social media for this, at least
> as a primary source.
>

Agreed. But social media, with professional and orchestrated use can help
ALAC raise pertinent questions and gather an indication, if not scientific
answers.

>
>
> - analysis of the result of such research, and development of ICANN input
>>> based on that (both in original policy initiatives and response to existing
>>> activity)
>>>
>>
>> Needs to go even beyond that. ALAC could become more emphatic on Cross
>> Community PDPs.
>>
>
> That's way too into the details. I expect that if we engage in real
> research, the areas of global public concern will not lie where you may
> believe they are. What is of great interest inside the domain bubble is of
> little interest to the world outside that bubble, and vice versa.
>
> Doing this properly, I expect, will dramatically change ALAC's policy
> priorities.
>

So long as real research does not imply expensive contracts for Studies.
Another danger is that the outcome of a Study is not always objective.


> - Evan
>
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