[NA-Discuss] San Juan Prehash

[Nick Ashton-Hart]

You will find a number of changes to the agenda and meetings pages on  
www.naralo.org related to these meetings - in addition, the first  
public schedule for San Juan is now available at: http:// 
www.icann.org/meetings/sanjuan/#ScheduleandAgenda

On 5 Jun 2007, at 00:06, Bret Fausett wrote:

> Dear NA Colleagues,
>
> Although the agenda for the upcoming meeting in San Juan is not yet  
> posted
> (http://icann.org/meetings/sanjuan/), we know from both the ICANN  
> website
> and our discussions with our staff member Nick Ashton-Hart of  
> several items
> of interest to At Large members that will be discussed at the  
> meeting. For
> purposes of your preparation and to get us started thinking about  
> the policy
> issues, our positions, and possible statements to make at the  
> meeting, here
> is a list of items I know will be presented and discussed.
>
> Please feel free to add other items, and we can create a working  
> list on the
> wiki.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Bret Fausett
> (Interim Chair, North America General Assembly)
>
> --
>
> A.	Regional gTLDs
>
> As a complement to the GNSO policy process on new gTLDs, ICANN will  
> hold a
> public discussion on the appropriateness and possible uses for  
> regional
> gTLDs. Our own Beau Brendler, from Consumers Union, will be on this  
> panel
> with representatives from the GNSO, .BERLIN advocates, and  
> representatives
> of ccTLDs. As background, ICANN already has accredited registries  
> to operate
> ASIA and .CAT. Advocates for municipal, regional and supranational
> organizations expect to apply for many more such regional TLDs when  
> ICANN
> accepts applications next year. Some governments and some ccTLD  
> operators
> see the potential for user confusion if these regional gTLDs  
> proliferate.
> What is you opinion? How would North American users be affected by  
> TLDs such
> as .NYC, .BERLIN, .DIXIE, .TIBET, .CANADA, or .AMERICA if these  
> TLDs were
> operated by non-governmental organizations?
>
> B.	 Registry and Registrar Failure Issues
>
> The failure of ICANN-accredited registrar Registerfly has affected  
> tens of
> thousands of users, and the possible imminent bankruptcy of ICANN- 
> accredited
> registry Tralliance Corp. (.TRAVEL) stands to affect more. What  
> should be
> ICANN's role, if any, in protecting registrants from the business  
> failures
> of service providers? How has ICANN performed in responding to the  
> failures
> and potential failures of its accredited service providers? What  
> should
> ICANN require in terms of data escrow for registrars and  
> registries? This
> issue has a significant history, and you'll want to read on the  
> Registerfly
> postings linked from the ICANN home page.
>
> C.	The ICANN Budget for FY2007-2008
>
> ICANN's Fiscal Year runs from July 1st to June 30th. During the  
> first six
> months of each fiscal year, ICANN engages the community in a  
> discussion
> about its strategic priorities for the coming years, and during the  
> second
> half of each year, ICANN prepares its budget for the year upcoming.  
> We are
> currently in the budget planning stage of the process, and ICANN will
> discuss and finalize its budget for FY 1 July 2007-30 June 2008 at the
> Puerto Rico meeting. The current announcement and background  
> documents are
> linked here:
>
> http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-17may07.htm
>
> D.	Top-Level IDNs / Internationalized TLDs
>
> Over the past few years, ICANN has considered the technical aspects of
> introducing internationalized domain names ("IDNs") into the domain  
> name
> system ("DNS"). Now, ICANN is preparing to introduce IDNs as top-level
> domains ("TLDs"). An announcement on next steps, dated 2 June 2007, is
> posted on the ICANN website:
>
> http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-02jun07.htm
>