Everyday people, Kieren, don’t have unlimited time on their hands to argue with ICANN reps about clear policy blunders, or to play a waiting game of endless discussions and attendance to world meetings which ultimately lead nowhere … while ICANN doggedly plow forward with an agenda that seems to often conflict with majority opinion.

You are very diligent in defending ICANN, and I see your posts all around. Quite honestly Kieren, your passion is commendable … though misguided and notably myopic. Much of your commentary above reads like the same chapter and verse. With all due respect to you in particular, you need to be taking the collective input of the larger community back to your superiors, and investing your energy & passion in some ICANN introspection and reworking of ICANN. Therein lies your real challenge, i.e. improving ICANN from the inside out. Not defending the indefensible.

ICANN are on a collision course with accountability. The showdown has been brewing for a long time. Your efforts, as a public ICANN voice, would be better spent addressing the questions and public spectacle that surfaced during last week’s congressional hearing. The tone of your post, and Mr. Twomey’s demeanor last week before congress, suggest ICANN still operate with “a good offense is the best defense” approach. This attitude will only accelerate the public’s negative opinion of ICANN.

If you don’t agree with something ICANN does, there is a very simple solution – get involved.

ICANN has an open door and many different ways to participate within its processes depending on whether you are a government representative, a registry or registrar, a for-profit business or a non-profit business, an engineer or an individual Net user.

Get involved, persuade others of your viewpoint and that is the route ICANN will go down. It’s as simple as that.

With respect to some of your other points, ICANN does not have any profit motives. It is non-profit, and if it makes more money that it needs it reduces the fee on domains. This has already happened. The per-registration fee was 25 cents; it is now 20 cents. And it may go down further soon.

Re: registrant protections – there is a new contract between registrars and ICANN (http://tr.im/mQRf) – that specifically provides a range of new protections for registrants. There is also a discussion that has recently started about producing a formal registrants rights document. If you think this is as important as you claim, then become a part of it – put in the elbow-grease.

Re: accountability. ICANN has a wide range of accountabilities covering every aspect of its work. The organization even wrote them down, put them out for public comment three times and had them formally approved by the Board. You can read them online: http://tr.im/nqmg.

May you think they’re not enough. Great. There is an improving institutional confidence consultation going on (and has been going on for 16 months) in which the community has been asked in three public comment periods and at public meetings right across the globe, what additional accountabilities and other changes should be made.

This is the most recent update: http://tr.im/n6Tj. Go here for background information: http://www.icann.org/en/jpa/iic/.

As for not listening. Check out the very extensive summary and analysis of community comment about the new gTLD program: http://tr.im/nNvw.

This analysis goes through all the comments made, goes through the suggestions and arguments and explains the path that ICANN is going to follow after consideration of all of them, complete with the logic as to why.

ICANN did exactly the same for the last comment period. And it will do the same again for the next one. You say ICANN doesn’t listen? My question back to you is: did you send in a comment? If not, how is ICANN supposed to know what you think if you don’t say anything.

If you did, then did you see your comment fairly represented within the summary and analysis, and if so, then hopefully you are able to understand the logic of the decision made in each area.

If you think ICANN is doing something wrong, then use your energy and effort to correct it by getting involved, rather than simple complaining from the outside.

What’s more if you are willing to take just five minutes out of your day, you can participate right now and ask the ICANN Board and staff a question for the upcoming Sydney meeting. Just click this link and ask your question: http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-28may09-en.htm

If you have any questions about getting involved, please just ask.

Cheers

Kieren McCarthy
General manager of public participation, ICANN