RE: [ICANN-EU] politics, domocracy and icann (questions to candidates)

[R.Gaetano@iaea.org]

> 
> Some questions to the candidates. No technical ones, but 
> about democracy and politics.
> 
> 1) How do you feel about the election and the 
> endorsement-period (only 2 
> self-nominated candidates will make it)?
> 

I already wrote on this.
What I would add is that, in spite of the disagreement, I don't feel wise to
concentrate on this. It will take time and resources away from discussing
other issues, like the attitude of the candidates on specific points on
ICANN's present and future agenda.


> 2) Should the ICANN be democratic?
> 

Should the Pope be Catholic?

The problem is how to translate this in practical terms.
How to allow democracy without taking the risk of making decisions that may
be disruptive of the Internet operations.
The situation is before our eyes: with the current (democratic) mechanism we
don't have any mean to guarantee that the top voted people are competent
technically.
In theory, we can have a Hollywood actor become ICANN Director (or was it US
President?) just because "people know him".
The point is, IMHO, to be able to guarantee in the ICANN Board a good
balance of technical competence (mainly from SO-Directors) and of user input
(and the AtLarge Directors are supposed to be more likely to convey this
input from the Membership). This of course does not mean that the
AtLarge-Directors are allowed to be Internet-illiterate, or that the
SO-Directors are allowed to be pawns of the Industry + Business.

> 3) Only 5 of 9 directors will elected in this election. When 
> and how should the 4 
> remaining directors be elected?
> 

Honestly, for me the most important thing in these elections is not who will
win the race, but what will happen afterwards.
I don't think it will make a lot of difference for the Internet if Lutz or
Jeannette get the job.
What will make a lot of difference is how we administer the human capital of
150K+ individuals that showed interest in the management of this wonderful
medium, that are expressing the willingness to participate, and to put time
in it. Not to speak of the 100+ candidates worldwide.
What will happen after the elections? Are all these folks disbanded waiting
for the next run of ballots, or are these folks getting organized to provide
continuous discussion and input to the Board? It is, IMHO, primary task of
the AtLarge Directors to organize the Membership, in forms to be discussed,
compatibly with the ICANN Bylaws.
If the newly elected AtLarge Directors will show maturity on board, and will
be able to show that the input from the Membership is a useful component for
ICANN, ICANN will be more democratic, and it will be easily achievable to
reopen the discussion on the terms for the elections for the other 4 AtLarge
(currently scheduled for 2002, as decided in Yokohama updating the Cairo
decision that was setting the date in 2001).
If, on the other hand, we will elect either photocopies of the SO-Directors
or incompetent (or naive) people, that bring in either case no added value
to the Board, we can forget forever to have the other 4 (because the Board
will change its Bylaws, and that's it).

So, the burden is on us.

Regards
Roberto