[At-Large] [BMSPC-2020] Board seat 15 selection

[Alan Greenberg]

Karl, over the years, I have quite often disagreed with your posts. 
In this case, I strongly support everything you said here (and 
appreciate the Roger Rabbit reference!  :-)  ).

Alan

At 21/11/2019 03:13 PM, Karl Auerbach wrote:

>On 11/21/19 10:25 AM, Christian wrote:
>>
>>Domain name registration via ICANN structures is not a public 
>>interest activity but a business with some strong cartel like features.
>
>That is true.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>And ICANN's fundamental structure not only allows, but encourages, 
>this kind of industrial collaboration and combination of influence.
>
>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.
>
>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.
>
>One might apply Jessica Rabbit's famous line to ICANN: "I'm not bad, 
>I'm just drawn that way."
>
>ICANN will continue to favor organized business interests over the 
>public benefit as long as ICANN retains its present form.
>
>If we want to make ICANN less bad then we will have to draw it a 
>different way.
>
>        --karl--
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