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RE: [atlarge-discuss] Website Review : Comments on the Homepage



Good analysys, Richard.  I agree about the fist.  I didn't notice it before
(I've been jumping straight to the Members and Forum pages!)

Bruce Young
Portland, Oregon
Bruce@barelyadequate.info
http://www.barelyadequate.info
--------------------------------------------
Support democratic control of the Internet!
Go to http://www.icannatlarge.com and Join ICANN At Large!


-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Henderson [mailto:richardhenderson@ntlworld.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 05, 2002 6:19 PM
To: atlarge-discuss@lists.fitug.de
Subject: [atlarge-discuss] Website Review : Comments on the Homepage


HelpFirst I'd like to give proper thanks and recognition to Joop for the
excellent job
 and hard work he has devoted to date on the icannatlarge.com website -
truly
constructive and vital in the launch of the movement. As the organization
advances
week by week and month by month, it's inevitable that the website should
evolve
with it, and I hope I'm kicking off a public review of the website, its
purpose,
its appearance, and its ease of navigation.

I thought I'd start today with some comments on the Homepage, as I feel it
now
needs some urgent alterations.

1. I don't like the fist in the logo : it implies negativity (OK I've got a
lot of negative
opinions of ICANN but is that the image we are trying to project to attract
new members?).
We are a positive and constructive movement, building worldwide co-operation
:
shaking hands would be better than a fist. A totally new logo would be even
better.

2. We should develop an independent logo which does not need the ICANN
'globe'
at all. We should not portray ourselves as a subgroup of ICANN but as an
entity
 in our own right. Hence...

3. In due course, we need a change of organization name which should feature
on
the new homepage. The URL could still be icannatlarge.com (and a small
reference
to that could feature in a subordinate position) : in a way this would be
quite useful
as we still need to maintain an interface with ICANN and the URL itself
would be a
useful link in that way. However I favour a simpler concept as our
organization name -
something the public and press can latch onto and identify with, and
something much
more global and less obscure than ICANN. I'd propose The Internet Parliament
or The
Internet Democracy Group or something like this. Just suggestions as the
possibilities
probably run into 100's. Nevertheless I have www.internetparliament.com and
www.theinternetparliament.com and www.theinternetparliament.org which are
available
for use if required. Fundamentally, icannatlarge.com is not IMO a suitable
name,
as I've explained elsewhere.

4. Chuck Costello's long wordy comments (however valid) should not dominate
the
Homepage. They should be elsewhere. The Homepage must be more graphic and
less
wordy, and should use simple language which explains our mission to new
visitors and
ordinary members of the public.

5. The 'link' along the top should NOT say "ICANN members" - that's really
ambiguous,
not factual, and suggests people are joining ICANN rather than our
independent organization
which MAY interact with ICANN. It opens us to ridicule and charges of
unreality. The
political reality within ICANN right now is that there is NO single At Large
organization,
and ICANN have an initiative to divide and rule through a multiplicity of At
Large groups.
Moreover, the idea that we are asking people to register as ICANN members
suggests
that we a part of ICANN and that our whole organization is "within" the
ICANN empire. If
we really want to encourage individual members to particpate as "members"
inside ICANN,
then I suggest we contact them all and urge them to join the GA -
particularly as our
membership would then become the largest voting block there. I'm sure Jamie
Love's present
motion, for example, would benefit from the votes of our members! However,
the Homepage
does NOT need "ICANN members" as the link title to the list of our
membership.

Just a few comments on the Homepage. What do people think? What would people
like to see
on the Website? Can we encourage regional and national websites for our
organization as an
early target, in preparation for mass outreach?

Once again, we owe a debt to Joop for his vision and sheer hard work in
launching the website
and moving the organization forward. Nothing in the above statements is
intended to detract from
what his efforts have already achieved.

Richard Henderson


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