[Euro-board] Application of france at large for At-Large Structure (ALS) accreditation- further information on the decision of the ALAC

Nick Ashton-Hart Nick.Ashton-Hart at icann.org
Sat May 24 05:18:55 EDT 2008


Dear Mr. Morfin,

In order to help ensure clarity, on behalf of the At-Large staff I have responded below to those questions related to the staff. That said, may I once again point out that the staff is responsible for the administrative processing of applications and of attempting to verify that what is said on the application is borne out by other sources available, primarily on the Internet. The decisions taken about the application are taken by the community, not by the staff. Both the community and the staff proceed according to written criteria for evaluating applications which is published, and uses a public process which has been reviewed by the Office of Legal Counsel and the Board of Directors of ICANN.

On 24/05/2008 04:55, "JFC Morfin" <jefsey at jefsey.com> wrote:

Dear Frank,
before starting a complete procedure and communicating with press, I wish to be sure I understand what Staff tries to say. I also need the detail of the votes of the Euralo against us.

At 19:30 23/05/2008, At-Large Staff wrote:
TO: france at large

FROM: staff at atlarge.icann.org <staff at atlarge.icann.htm> , on behalf of the ALAC

cc: A Muehlberg, S Bachollet, alac-excomm at atlarge-lists.icann.org <alac-excomm at atlarge-lists.icann.htm> , euro-board at atlarge-lists.icann.org <euro-board at atlarge-lists.icann.htm>

RE: Application of france at large for At-Large Structure (ALS) accreditation

Dear Monsieur Morfin:

We write to you at the request of the At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) in order to provide you with information on the reasons why your application to join the At-Large community was not successful. We hope that the information provided below facilitates your understanding:

*    Statements made on the application form are not borne out on the france at large website. For example, the application (reply to question 1b) states that:

"Members of the At-Large community can freely join france at large by subscribing to the general mailing list. The members organise the list moderation and decide on what motions and projects they will vote."

However, the general mailing list archives hosted on your website for members have no postings (as at the time of application).

Must I understand that Staff decided/require that our archives are to be hosted on our website?
Where is this legally dangerous requirement stipulated?

I'm afraid there must be a misunderstanding. The archive of the list was available to subscribers when we joined the list in order to see if there was activity on the list, since the application made clear that the primary way for individuals to join france at large was to join the main list, and that this was also where the work of the organisation is conducted.

At the time we checked the archives, which were available, there had been no postings at any time to the list. The archives are hosted there already; they are (or were then) empty.

 In reply to question 2(f), the application states that:

"...At the end of 2007, there were 17 members...."

Correct.
They are 25 as of today. I can paste the list of the mails confidentially to you as a trusted party. There are people you know on it.

The decision on the application has been made; should you avail yourself of one of the options at the bottom of the emails you have been sent to have the application reviewed, then that information might be useful at that time but there is no need to send it now.

However, since the application in many places makes clear that all the activities of france at large are to happen on the general members forum - including but not limited to joining the organisation - and those forums are empty, the only conclusion which can reasonably be drawn is that there are no members.

Do Staff want to say:

(1) they do not consider the Secretariat, Directoire, Chair, various Centers of Expertise, face to face/video meetings, involvement in various projects and site management as part of the france at large activities?

(2) they decided I am lying about members because they did not try to register on the list (what they did on another list) ?

(3) they decided I did not want them to contact the Members listed in the application because ... I listed them there and sent them (copy to Staff) a mail to ask them to welcome the call of the Staff?

May I once again take this opportunity to repeat that the staff are responsible for reasonable efforts to verify the information provided on the application form. That is all we have done in this case.  The letters that you have been sent were transmitted by us on behalf of the community. If you take issue with the decision taken, that would be something for you to request a review of.

I can confirm that at no time were we given access to the list of members of france at large. On the contrary we were informed that for privacy reasons this information was not available. The only information we had been given was on the application form and during a teleconference with you a member of staff was informed that we could not contact those persons without your being involved in the conversation.

*     The application implies that france at large is associated with organisations which are independent third parties, yet in several cases the WHOIS data for these sites seem to lead to the same email address, which was also used to register one of the two france at large domains:

For example, on question 1 of Objectives, the application states that france at large:
"... Plans to participate:
In the French, European and Global Internet Governance Forums ( http://franceatlarge.fr/index.php?title=Propositions_FGI) ..."

And goes on to list in specific:

"... In the Intertest for projects concerning current usage..."

A sample search of the WHOIS records for some of the organisations referenced at http://franceatlarge.fr/index.php?title=Propositions_FGI was conducted. The WHOIS records for intertest.org and wecann.info are identical in virtually every respect to those for one of the two domain names for france at large, franceatlarge.org (see full WHOIS results at the end of this letter).

We note that wecann.info has a mailing list with a closed archive, however, upon registration, the archive shows no posts have been made, and the membership list is restricted.

Does that mean that Staff consider having acquired an inner knowledge of the numerous ties and catalysis france at large has built or ignited over the last seven years, to the point they know them better than us and can call me a liar again?

Must I understand that this better knowledge results from having discovered (from our explanations) that we cooperate in several projects where we jointly called upon the foundation providing our (as 471 other ones to various other organisations) domain name, hosting, mailing lists and legal address. Must I understand that they did not even go on its http://wwide.org <http://wwide.org/> site? Must I understand that Staff has not reported that my single handed france at large also was "in control" of activities like MAAYA (an International network chaired by a Member of the ICANN President's Advisory Committee, with ITU, UNESCO, Francophonie, Union Latine, Intlnet, etc. as Members) whose domain name is provided for free by world at wide as all of ours.

Most of all, must I understand that this is _all_ what the Staff, the Euralo, and the ALAC have considered to oppose our application, prevent us to have a candidate to the Euralo, prevent us to vote at the Paris Euralo meeting, create a divide between france at large membership and ICANN I am now to patch? So, if these two points are clarified our application is accepted?

This is important because Staff said it spent ten times more on our application than on others, and hours on the phone (not really with us). So, it seems rather limited: the quoted misinformation can be gathered in a quarter of an hour.

This is also urgent, since our non-existing forum prepares a crash meeting of our non existing active members on Monday to discuss our appeals.

Again we refer you to our previous statements on the way in which the staff due dilligence is conducted and those sources of information we review in our administration work. May I suggest that personalising issues is only likely to make matters unpleasant; it is unlikely to lead to any positive developments.

I can state for the record that this application was not treated in any way different from any other application. I can further state that not only is there no bias against this application, there is no bias against any other application for ALS status on the part of the staff. I also can state categorically that I know of no bias against this or any other application on the part of the EURALO members, or of the ALAC.

The only specific point I should make here again for the record is that some three hours were spent by a member of staff on the telephone with M. Morfin during the due dilligence process which unfortunately did not lead to any material information about the application.

Thank you for your help in smoothing the issue.
jfc



In closing, for these reasons we were unable to accredit your organisation as an At-Large Structure. Should your organisation's situation change, we encourage you to re-apply for ALS status. The coming ICANN meeting and the EURALO events in Paris may offer good opportunities to meet EURALO Board members and discuss the issues with your application. This may then help form the basis for a re-application, or, if you prefer, to request reconsideration of this application. In the meantime, we wish to emphasise that you, like all individual Internet users, are welcome to continue to participate in EURALO's mailing list and its work.

We understand that you may wish to appeal the decision reached. If so, we wish to draw your attention to the three options that you have in this respect which were provided in our email to you on 16th May 2008, and which are repeated below for your convenience:

1. Request that the ALAC Reconsider Its Decision
If you believe that the reasons for the adverse decision are not correct once you have received them, you may ask the ALAC to reconsider the decision. When requesting ALAC reconsideration, please provide details of why you believe the decision is not correct in as much detail as you believe will be useful, and transmit this by email, along with any supplementary documentation you believe relevant, to staff at atlarge.icann.org <staff at atlarge.icann.htm> < mailto:staff at atlarge.icann.org <mailto:staff at atlarge.icann.org> > . The staff will acknowledge receipt and transmit the information to the ALAC.

2. Contact the ICANN Ombudsman
ICANN has established the Office of the Ombudsman to evaluate and where possible resolve complaints about unfair or inappropriate treatment by ICANN. For more information about ICANN's Ombudsman, please visit http://www.icann.org/ombudsman. If you have a dispute you want the Ombudsman to investigate, or to contact the Ombudsman, please visit http://www.icann.org/ombudsman/contact.htm.

3. ICANN Board of Directors Reconsideration
ICANN's Board of Directors has established a Reconsideration Committee to handle requests from any person or entity that has been materially affected by any ICANN staff action if such person or entity believes the action contradicts established ICANN policies, or by actions of the Board that such person or entity believes has been taken without consideration of material information. Note: this is a brief summary of the relevant Bylaws provisions. For more information about ICANN's reconsideration process, please visit http://www.icann.org/committees/reconsideration.

WHOIS SEARCHES:

Intertest.org WHOIS
(Asked whois.pir.org:43 about intertest.org)
 Domain ID: D130972759-LROR
 Domain Name: INTERTEST.ORG < http://samspade.org/whois?query=INTERTEST.ORG;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=INTERTEST.ORG;server=auto> >
 Created On: 17-Oct-2006 22: 28: 34 UTC
 Last Updated On: 04-Dec-2007 14: 11: 27 UTC
 Expiration Date: 17-Oct-2008 22: 28: 34 UTC
 Sponsoring Registrar: Network Solutions LLC (R63-LROR)
 Status: CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
 Registrant ID: 18036335-NSI
 Registrant Name: the world at wide <mailto:world at wide>
 foundation
 Registrant Organization: the world at wide <mailto:world at wide>
 foundation
 Registrant Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Registrant Street2:
 Registrant Street3:
 Registrant City: McLean
 Registrant State/Province: VA
 Registrant Postal Code: 22101
 Registrant Country: US
 Registrant Phone: 1.7072482449
 Registrant Phone Ext.:
 Registrant FAX: 1.7072482449
 Registrant FAX Ext.:
 Registrant Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Admin ID: 18036335-NSI
 Admin Name: the world at wide <mailto:world at wide>
 foundation
 Admin Organization: the world at wide <mailto:world at wide>
 foundation
 Admin Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Admin Street2:
 Admin Street3:
 Admin City: McLean
 Admin State/Province: VA
 Admin Postal Code: 22101
 Admin Country: US
 Admin Phone: 1.7072482449
 Admin Phone Ext.:
 Admin FAX: 1.7072482449
 Admin FAX Ext.:
 Admin Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Tech ID: 18036335-NSI
 Tech Name: the world at wide <mailto:world at wide>
 foundation
 Tech Organization: the world at wide <mailto:world at wide>
 foundation
 Tech Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Tech Street2:
 Tech Street3:
 Tech City: McLean
 Tech State/Province: VA
 Tech Postal Code: 22101
 Tech Country: US
 Tech Phone: 1.7072482449
 Tech Phone Ext.:
 Tech FAX: 1.7072482449
 Tech FAX Ext.:
 Tech Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Name Server: DNS1.NETTICA.COM < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS1.NETTICA.COM;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS1.NETTICA.COM;server=auto> >
 Name Server: DNS2.NETTICA.COM < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS2.NETTICA.COM;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS2.NETTICA.COM;server=auto> >
 Name Server: DNS3.NETTICA.COM < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS3.NETTICA.COM;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS3.NETTICA.COM;server=auto> >
 Name Server: DNS4.NETTICA.COM < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS4.NETTICA.COM;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS4.NETTICA.COM;server=auto> >
 Name Server: DNS5.NETTICA.COM < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS5.NETTICA.COM;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS5.NETTICA.COM;server=auto> >

Wecann.info WHOIS
(Asked whois.afilias.info:43 about wecann.info)
Access to INFO WHOIS information is provided to assist persons in determining the contents of a domain name registration record in the Afilias registry database. The data in this record is provided by Afilias Limited for informational purposes only  and Afilias does not guarantee its accuracy.  This service is intended only for query-based access. You agree that you will use this data only for lawful purposes and that  under no circumstances will you use this data to: (a) allow enable  or otherwise support the transmission by e-mail telephone  or facsimile of mass unsolicited  commercial advertising or solicitations to entities other than the data recipient's own existing customers; or
 (b) enable high volume  automated  electronic processes that send queries or data to the systems of Registry Operator  a Registrar  or Afilias except as reasonably necessary to register domain names or modify existing registrations. All rights reserved. Afilias reserves the right to modify these terms at any time. By submitting this query you agree to abide by this policy.
 Domain ID: D23071066-LRMS
 Domain Name: WECANN.INFO < http://samspade.org/whois?query=WECANN.INFO;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=WECANN.INFO;server=auto> >
 Created On: 30-Dec-2007 18: 11: 03 UTC
 Last Updated On: 28-Feb-2008 20: 33: 47 UTC
 Expiration Date: 30-Dec-2008 18: 11: 03 UTC
 Sponsoring Registrar: Network Solutions (R122-LRMS)
 Status: CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
 Registrant ID: C3525328-LRMS
 Registrant Name: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Registrant Organization: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Registrant Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Registrant Street2:
 Registrant Street3:
 Registrant City: McLeab
 Registrant State/Province: VA
 Registrant Postal Code: 22101
 Registrant Country: US
 Registrant Phone: 1.7072482449
 Registrant Phone Ext.:
 Registrant FAX: 1.7072482449
 Registrant FAX Ext.:
 Registrant Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Admin ID: C3525328-LRMS
 Admin Name: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Admin Organization: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Admin Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Admin Street2:
 Admin Street3:
 Admin City: McLeab
 Admin State/Province: VA
 Admin Postal Code: 22101
 Admin Country: US
 Admin Phone: 1.7072482449
 Admin Phone Ext.:
 Admin FAX: 1.7072482449
 Admin FAX Ext.:
 Admin Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Billing ID: C2575260-LRMS
 Billing Name: UTEL
 Billing Organization: UTEL
 Billing Street1: 1350 Beverly Rd  115-331
 Billing Street2:
 Billing Street3:
 Billing City: MC LEAN
 Billing State/Province: VA
 Billing Postal Code: 22101
 Billing Country: US
 Billing Phone: 011.3313950
 Billing Phone Ext.:
 Billing FAX: 707.2492448
 Billing FAX Ext.:
 Billing Email: jefsey at jefsey.com <jefsey at jefsey.htm> < mailto:jefsey at jefsey.com <mailto:jefsey at jefsey.com> >

 Tech ID: C3525328-LRMS
 Tech Name: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Tech Organization: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Tech Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Tech Street2:
 Tech Street3:
 Tech City: McLeab
 Tech State/Province: VA
 Tech Postal Code: 22101
 Tech Country: US
 Tech Phone: 1.7072482449
 Tech Phone Ext.:
 Tech FAX: 1.7072482449
 Tech FAX Ext.:
 Tech Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Name Server: DNS.PRESENCEWEB.ORG < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS.PRESENCEWEB.ORG;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS.PRESENCEWEB.ORG;server=auto> >
 Name Server: DNS2.PRESENCEWEB.ORG < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS2.PRESENCEWEB.ORG;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS2.PRESENCEWEB.ORG;server=auto> >

Franceatlarge.org <mailto:France at large.org >  WHOIS
(Asked whois.pir.org:43 about franceatlarge.org)
 Domain ID: D148934686-LROR
 Domain Name: FRANCEATLARGE.ORG < http://samspade.org/whois?query=FRANCEATLARGE.ORG;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=FRANCEATLARGE.ORG;server=auto> >
 Created On: 22-Aug-2007 15: 21: 48 UTC
 Last Updated On: 31-Jan-2008 16: 35: 10 UTC
 Expiration Date: 22-Aug-2008 15: 21: 48 UTC
 Sponsoring Registrar: Network Solutions LLC (R63-LROR)
 Status: CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
 Registrant ID: 18036317-NSI
 Registrant Name: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Registrant Organization: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Registrant Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Registrant Street2:
 Registrant Street3:
 Registrant City: McLeab
 Registrant State/Province: VA
 Registrant Postal Code: 22101
 Registrant Country: US
 Registrant Phone: 1.7072482449
 Registrant Phone Ext.:
 Registrant FAX: 1.7072482449
 Registrant FAX Ext.:
 Registrant Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Admin ID: 18036317-NSI
 Admin Name: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Admin Organization: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Admin Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Admin Street2:
 Admin Street3:
 Admin City: McLeab
 Admin State/Province: VA
 Admin Postal Code: 22101
 Admin Country: US
 Admin Phone: 1.7072482449
 Admin Phone Ext.:
 Admin FAX: 1.7072482449
 Admin FAX Ext.:
 Admin Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Tech ID: 18036317-NSI
 Tech Name: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Tech Organization: WORLD at WIDE <mailto:WORLD at WIDE>

 Tech Street1: 1350 Beverly Road  15-331
 Tech Street2:
 Tech Street3:
 Tech City: McLeab
 Tech State/Province: VA
 Tech Postal Code: 22101
 Tech Country: US
 Tech Phone: 1.7072482449
 Tech Phone Ext.:
 Tech FAX: 1.7072482449
 Tech FAX Ext.:
 Tech Email: info at execlub.org <info at execlub.htm> < mailto:info at execlub.org <mailto:info at execlub.org> >

 Name Server: DNS.PRESENCEWEB.ORG < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS.PRESENCEWEB.ORG;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS.PRESENCEWEB.ORG;server=auto> >
 Name Server: DNS2.PRESENCEWEB.ORG < http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS2.PRESENCEWEB.ORG;server=auto <http://samspade.org/whois?query=DNS2.PRESENCEWEB.ORG;server=auto> >
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--

Regards,

Nick Ashton-Hart
Director for At-Large
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
Main Tel: +33 (450) 40 46 88
USA DD: +1 (310) 301-8637
Fax: +41 (22) 594-85-44
Mobile: +41 (79) 595 54-68
email: nick.ashton-hart at icann.org
Win IM: ashtonhart at hotmail.com / AIM/iSight: nashtonhart at mac.com / Skype: nashtonhart
Online Bio:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashtonhart


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