[At-Large] www.icannalac.org

[RJGlass | America@Large]

Whatever it is, there needs to be one set of collaboration tools.

-Randy Glass
A at L

On 5/1/07, Denise Michel <denise.michel at icann.org> wrote:
>
> Thank you for your request to have ICANN pay Jean Armour-Polly to
> maintain the information on www.icannalac.org as a consultant. I have
> consulted with Nick, looked at the impressive, current on line activity
> of the At-Large community, and I am in need of more input from you
> before responding to your request.
>
> ALAC members created www.icannalac.org to help inform and encourage a
> dialogue among members of ICANN's At-Large community. It was intended to
> be the independent voice of the ALAC members, giving each of you a place
> to post views and news directly, without having to go through the
> clearance process ICANN requires staff/consultants follow when posting
> material. Further, it was created separate from www.icann.org to
> experiment with a different layout and on line tools to make the site
> more interactive.
>
> It seems that the site was used and maintained almost entirely by one
> member, Jean Armour Polly, during her tenure on the ALAC, and no ALAC
> members seem to have really used the site much since Jean left the
> committee in December 2006.
>
> This raises the question of whether an ALAC website separate from
> www.icann.org needs to be maintained if a consultant will be doing a
> majority of the posting (material will be cleared by ICANN if Jean is
> paid by ICANN), and the website is used to post information by
> staff/consultants rather than for interactive dialogue by ALAC members.
>
> Additionally, much has happened in the At-Large community over the last
> year that also should be considered along with your request.  As you
> know, since the www.icannalac.org site was launched, the At-Large
> community has grown significantly, as has its on line presence - much to
> the credit of the ALAC and At-Large community leaders.  Each At-Large
> region now has its own, independent website, and self-service mailing
> lists.  The ALAC now has its own Wiki, which hosts a lot of information
> that the community appears to be using - documents, meeting recordings
> and minutes, etc.  These new on line collaboration efforts seem to have
> taken on many of the functions that www.icannalac.org was meant to
> provide.
>
> Furthermore, ICANN has revamped its website templates, added more
> interactive tools, and will be re-examining its approval requirements
> for web posting.
>
> In light of all this, it would useful to get more input from you to help
> us evaluate your request for a consultant for www.icannalac.org.  Here
> are some questions that would be helpful to hear from you on:
>
> 1) If the site can no longer be said to be independent (if ICANN is
> paying a consultant to post information and maintain it), is there any
> reason for the site to be maintained separate from the ALAC wiki, or an
> improved www.alac.icann.org?  If yes, why?
>
> 2) In the past year, as previously noted, only one member of the ALAC
> really provided much content to the www.icannalac.org site. Do you have
> a new plan to ensure that – if the site continues to be supported by
> ICANN and a consultant – that the site will not continue to be updated
> by one person?
>
> 3) The www.alac.icann.org site is about to go through a major
> restructuring to provide up-to-date information, as requested by the
> community. If it were to incorporate facilities like blogs for ALAC
> members and others, and forums which allowed two-way integration to the
> mailing lists, providing that these would not be subject to ICANN
> clearance procedures, would this provide the independence and utility
> that the www.icannalac.org site was intended to provide? Are there any
> other such tools that would be needed by the ALAC?
>
> 4) As you know, there is more activity on the At-Large regional sites,
> the ALAC wiki, and the mailing lists than there is
> on www.icannalac.org. Do you have a plan to ensure that the
> www.icannalac.org site becomes more active and attracts more users? Are
> there parts of the site, such as the forums, which have been replaced by
> other methods of communication? If so, which ones?
>
> 5) What unique role in communications to the community does the
> www.icannalac.org site have, taking into account the other At-Large
> collaboration tools?
>
> I greatly appreciate your help in providing more clarity on whether
> additional financial support for www.icannalac.org is warranted, or
> whether the same objectives could be more readily achieved in other
> ways.  Please email your input to staff at alac.icann.org and Nick and I
> will get back to you soon on this.
>
> Regards,
> Denise
>
>
> Denise Michel
> Vice President, Policy Development
> ICANN   www.icann.org
> denise.michel at icann.org
>
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>
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>



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