RE: [ALSC-Forum] At Large Choreography - smoking gun?

[Bruce Young]

Reply to Esther Dyson:

>Yes, it does read like an excerpt from the worst at-large-related
>conspiracy theories... So why should you believe it just because Antony
>wrote it?  Why not at least wait to see what the study committee comes up
with?

Perhaps because we have yet to hear or read any unequivocable statement of
support from the board that would reassure us that we will, in fact, see an
election come to pass in the near future, and that this election will result
in our nine seats on the board filled with our elected representatives.

>It seems to me - individually - that this gives us more freedom rather than
>less in our recommendations...but it doesn't change the principles on which
>we will make them, which is hoe to find an effective way for individuals to
>participate in ICANN policy-making and influence ICANN board decisions.  If
>there *is* a conspiracy, they haven't let us in on it.

"Us" as in in the board, or "us" as in the At-Large community?  From our
perspective, this is just another indicator pointing towards the same
conclusion.  To quote Bob Dylan, "you don't have to be a weatherman to tell
which way the wind blows."  We are only working with the facts we are given.
If they point to the wrong conculsion, the fault is with those doling out
the facts, not those attepting to interpret them.

As I've said before in this forum, for ICANN to be an effective, independent
international authority it must be seen to serve as a voice for all Internet
users, and it can only achieve that legitimacy through a concensus of the
Internet community.  No national, corporate or technical authority can
provide this.  The only viable way to achieve this concensus is through a
large, active, involved At-Large community.  But while the board spends time
"studying" and prevaricating, rogue root servers and organizations like the
Top Level Domain Association are sprouting up to challenge ICANN's
authority, and threaten to fracture the name space.  These challengers would
not exist if they felt ICANN spoke with the support of the Internet
community.  That they *do* exist is a good indication that they perceive
ICANN does not. At what point is the board going to realize the danger of
their current position and embrace the At-Large community?