RE: [atlarge-discuss] On the ALAC's Request for Comments

[<bruce@barelyadequate.info>]

I'll sign!  Where do we go?  Comments noted below.

Danny Younger wrote:

| Having witnessed the complete and total elimination of all public
| representation on the ICANN Board these fools on the At-Large
| Advisory
| Committee now expect the Internet community to rally around a
| top-down effort
| designed to asininely further complicate communication
| between individual
| users and members of the ICANN Board.

Of course!  They don't want any outside voices to interfere with their
internal mandate to provide maximum value for their Internet industry
friends at everyone else's expense!  After all, they'll all need highly-paid
positions with one of their buddies' companies once they move on!

| In the past, any individual user could write a letter to
| ICANN and feel
| confident that they would be ignored (as it has become rather
| apparent that
| ICANN only bothers to pay attention to those special-interest
| groups it deems
| to be "stakeholders" in its Cartel).  Now one has to do all
| of the following
| in order to achieve the same outcome:
|  .
|  .

( Steps 1 through 9 left out solely for brevity.  However, they are so right
on! )

|  .
|  .
| 10.  Finally, if this last stage is achieved, the user can
| then send his
| comments to the two members of the ALAC that his regional
| organization has
| elected.  Those two members will then transmit his message to
| the full
| committee that will next proceed to filter, mangle, distort,
| and re-write his
| comments (after sincerely thanking him for his input).  The
| ALAC will then
| transmit a non-binding "recommendation" to the Board that in
| turn will thank
| the committee for its efforts before proceeding to ignore the
| comments
| received.

Indeed.  Ignored either way.  Thus the futility of any AL*C ICANN may set
up.

| As a user, I don't need this degree of structural bullshit just to
| communicate my sentiments directly to ICANN.  The problem is
| not the lack of
| a structured vehicle to serve as a communications conduit...
| the problem has
| always been that the Board has been comprised of members that
| can't be
| bothered to listen to the voice of the public that they
| purportedly serve.

That's because they only actually listen to the voices of those they
*really* serve: their friends in the Internet industry!

| This ALAC plan sucks.  Unfortunately, the spineless worms on
| the Committee
| will never advocate for substantive change.  Instead, they
| will meekly accept
| the bylaws as written and will continue to pretend to "represent" the
| At-Large.  All hail the Company Union.

Indeed. Following your analogy, we're still being forced to buy our domain
names from the Company Store (i.e. the current high-cost, poor-service
registrars!), and are forced to make do with the few products ( i.e. TLDs)
they have on the shelf! ;)

ICANNATLARGE.ORG can still become a "real union" to represent Internet users
and small domain-name owners like myself.  Even though our organization has
been sidetracked by company sympathizers (and apparently an undercover
company stooge or three -- most of who have left to play ICANN's AL*C
games!), I get the sense that those who remain have little further love for
the "let's do it the company's way" crowd!  That's why it's important that
we get to organizing, and "striking" at all ICANN events (i.e.  holding our
own separate-yet-related meetings), and challenging the wisdom of the
"bosses" by getting "ink" in the press to publicise our cause.

(I *love* this union analogy!  The same logic applies in so many ways!)

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









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