[At-Large] DomainIncite : Is this why WhatsApp hates some TLDs but not others?

[Evan Leibovitch]

On Thu, Sep 14, 2023 at 7:19 AM Roberto Gaetano via At-Large <
at-large at atlarge-lists.icann.org> wrote:

Point taken, Evan.
> With the caveat that to inform the user community is a daunting task for
> which we do not have sufficient resources.
>

My premises on how to fix ALAC stem primarily from the "who the hell are
you to challenge us?" challenge that would always arise when ALAC proposed
policies or priorities that displease the domain industry. I recall being
in closed-door meetings (I recall Alan and Olivier in there too) where that
exact question was raised. So long as ALAC continues to exist in its
political, self-selected form that challenge will always have validity. So
long as what ALAC does aligns with ICANN's monied interests, all is well.
But any time it dares stray from that path it will be successfully
countered by attacking ALAC's credibility to speak on behalf of end users.

This credibility challenge can only be addressed by a radical rethink of
ALAC, and changes that go far beyond those of the third-party reviews held
to date. These changes keep in mind that the general public attitudes
towards ICANN are close to those regarding other kinds of public
infrastructure. In other words, most people just don't care until something
breaks.

(Funny how other forms of public infrastructure such as sewage, electricity
generation, air-travel coordination and roads don't see any calls to be
improved through multi-stakeholder governance.)

I have detailed and specific ideas on how to get there from here, but that
goes beyond this thread. Suffice it to say that they focus heavily on
public education and public polling, rather than politics and outreach, as
the means to establish authority.

One starting point would be to involve the consumer protection
> organisations worldwide, but we had little success so far.
>

We've had our share of such advocates. Beau, Garth and Marc come to mind
quickly. All were immensely frustrated by ALAC's combination of lack of
authority and self-importance, and I am aware that other consumer
organizations were informed by their experiences. Marc Rotenberg in
particular lasted only a few months of his ALAC term because he quickly saw
it as an utter waste of time. I had the opportunity to speak to him at
length and was quite enlightened; his views on ALAC and ICANN inspire my
present approach. And I maintain contact with Beau and Garth, who I
consider friends, to this day.

- Evan
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