<div dir="auto">+1 I agree with you Karl. At-Large had got to change its approach if we are to "draw ICANN" differently and I think that is what Brian has been attempting to do. <div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I would like to hope that we in At-Large are on the way towards creating change through everyone talking rationally to each other, sharing their perspectives and moving each other more purposefully in a more focused direction, stumbling forward (as Wolfgang suggests) together as a collective. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Theoretically, as end-users, our numbers should be our strength, but 200 odd ALSes and a few hundred individual users who are not yet engaged with what ICANN does nor are they actively part of it, are not going to get us very far..</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Maureen</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, 21 Nov 2019, 10:14 AM Karl Auerbach, <<a href="mailto:karl@cavebear.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">karl@cavebear.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
<p>On 11/21/19 10:25 AM, Christian wrote:<br>
</p>
<blockquote type="cite">
<p>Domain name registration via ICANN structures is not a public
interest activity but a business with some strong cartel like
features. <br>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That is true.</p>
<p>In my own life I wear several hats - I am (obviously) a very
pro-democracy advocate. But I am also an intellectual property
lawyer. I also own and operate multiple businesses (via corporate
forms), most of which have domain name and trademarks. I also am
a net techie (and have my name on full Internet Standard RFCs.) I
also have a financial interest in various domain name registries.</p>
<p>In terms of power (by which I mean power to influence ICANN
decisions) the least powerful of my hats is that of the individual
here in ICANN.</p>
<p>I spent last week among my intellectual property lawyer peers.
Those folks represent a seriously strong power block. When they
(or, rather, we) are figuring out how to make ICANN dance to our
tune we can afford to dedicate serious resources, such as full
time staff, to make sure we have the best chance of winning. The
public, the ALAC, the individual has nearly zero chance of
winning. Just witness how easily the intellectual property
interests got the highly biased UDRP into place and how far ICANN
policy over the ensuing decades has been shaped to cater to the
interests of my friends in the intellectual property community.</p>
<p>Same thing in my roles with my corporations and registry
interests: Although not as well organized as the intellectual
property industry, my business and registry friends are quite able
and willing to expend resources (and hire dedicated staff) to
ensure that their (our) interests are strongly expressed within
ICANN.</p>
<p>It is hard for individuals, hobbled by ICANN's Byzantine
procedures, bureaucracy, layers ALAC "organizations", and a mere
single public board seat, to carry the day against well organized
and well funded industrial opposition.<br>
</p>
<p>And ICANN's fundamental structure not only allows, but
encourages, this kind of industrial collaboration and combination
of influence.</p>
<p>The notion of "stakeholder" says that our voice within ICANN is
measured by our self-interest, largely our financial
self-interest, in maters before ICANN. Because individuals - you
and me - have a dilute interest, and often not an interest easily
measured in financial terms, our authority within ICANN as
stakeholders is written in lower case. On the other hand, because
Intellectual Property, business, registrar, and registry interests
are organized and combined and have a high dollar value their role
as STAKEHOLDERS in ICANN is written in upper case, in bold font,
italicized, and underlined.</p>
<p>It is no wonder, therefore, that the "non-profit/public benefit"
corporation called ICANN has been captured by industrial
interests, dances to their tunes, and allows sales of "Public
Interest Registry" to a body of ICANN insiders with nary a shred
of concern about the public or its interests.</p>
<p>One might apply Jessica Rabbit's famous line to ICANN: "<span>I'm not bad, I'</span>m just drawn that way."</p>
<p>ICANN will continue to favor organized business interests over
the public benefit as long as ICANN retains its present form.</p>
<p>If we want to make ICANN less bad then we will have to draw it a
different way.<br>
<span> </span></p>
<p> --karl--</p>
</div>
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