Help Us Shape The Internet's Future

ICANN AT-LARGE MONTHLY ANNOUNCEMENT

In this issue:

  • WHOIS – Preliminary Reports of three Whois Task Forces have been posted for public comment. According to ICANN policy, registrars and gTLD registries must publish domain name registrants' names and addresses online, through the WHOIS service. Three task forces formed by ICANN's GNSO (Generic Names Supporting Organization), which include At-Large liaisons, recently posted preliminary findings on how to address privacy, accuracy, access, and use of Whois at <http://www.alac.icann.org/whois/>. You have until 17 June to comment. See <http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/index.shtml> for more information.
  • NOMINATING COMMITTEE – After receiving recommendations from At-Large Structures (ALS) (and groups that have applied for ALS certification), the Interim At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) selected five volunteers from five different regions of the world to serve as members of ICANN's Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee will select members of ICANN's Board of Directors as well as individuals to serve in other leadership positions. The Committee's At-Large delegates are: Africa - Simbo Ntiro; Asia/Australia/Pacific - Pavan Duggal; Europe - Jeanette Hofmann; Latin America/Caribbean - José Luis Barzallo; and North America - Alan Davidson. To contact these delegates send an email to <alac-nomcom@icann.org>.
  • ICANN KUALA LUMPUR MEETING – ICANN's meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 19-23 July 2004 will feature an At-Large meeting for the Asia/Australia/Pacific region, and policy discussions and workshops on such issues as implementation of internationalized domain names, and the World Summit on the Information Society. All are welcome. General meeting information is available at <http://www.icann.org/meetings/kualalumpur/>. Check <http://www.alac.icann.org> in the near future for information on At-Large-related events.
  • NEW PUBLIC COMMENT REQUESTS – ICANN is seeking public comments on the criteria for designating a successor operator for the .net registry, and on ICANN's Proposed FY 2004-05 Budget. Comments are requested on guidance issued by the GNSO on establishing an open and transparent procedure for designating a subsequent registry operator (the current .net registry operator is VeriSign, Inc.). See <http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-28may04.htm> for more information. ICANN's proposed budget for the next fiscal year is posted at <http://www.icann.org/financials/proposed-budget-14may04.pdf>. To submit comments on the proposed budget, email <budget-comments@icann.org>. The final budget will be adopted at ICANN's Board meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 23 July 2004.

  • WHOIS – Preliminary Reports of three Whois Task Forces have been posted for public comment. According to ICANN policy, registrars and gTLD registries must publish domain name registrants' names and addresses online, through the WHOIS service. Three task forces formed by ICANN's GNSO (Generic Names Supporting Organization), which include At-Large liaisons, recently posted preliminary findings on how to address privacy, accuracy, access, and use of Whois at <http://www.alac.icann.org/whois/>. You have until 17 June to comment. See <http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/index.shtml> for more information.

    ICANN’s GNSO initiated a policy development process in October 2003 to address three issue areas relating to the WHOIS database. Three separate task forces – each with a liaison from the ALAC – are addressing these issues, and the ALAC has provided advice on: Restricting Access to WHOIS Data For Marketing Purposes (WHOIS Task Force 1); Review of Data Collected and Displayed (WHOIS Task Force 2); and Improving Accuracy of Collected Data (WHOIS Task Force 3). ALAC advice submitted to the task forces is available at <http://www.alac.icann.org/whois/>.

    On 28 May, the three GNSO Whois Task Forces submitted Preliminary Reports on their findings, which are posted for a 20 day public comment period from 28 May to 17 June at <http://gnso.icann.org/issues/whois-privacy/index.shtml>:

    Comments for the Whois Task Force 1 Preliminary Report can be submitted to <whois-tf1-report-comments@gnso.icann.org> and cc'd to the At-Large forum at <<forum@alac.icann.org>>.

    Comments for the Whois Task Force 2 Preliminary Report can be submitted to <whois-tf2-report-comments@gnso.icann.org> and cc'd to the At-Large forum at <<forum@alac.icann.org>>.

    Comments for the Whois Task Force 3 Preliminary Report can be submitted to <whois-tf3-report-comments@gnso.icann.org> and cc'd to the At-Large forum at <<forum@alac.icann.org>>.

  • NOMINATING COMMITTEE – After receiving recommendations from At-Large Structures (ALS) (and groups that have applied for ALS certification), the Interim At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) selected five volunteers from five different regions of the world to serve as members of ICANN's Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee will select members of ICANN's Board of Directors as well as individuals to serve in other leadership positions. The Committee's At-Large delegates are: Africa - Simbo Ntiro; Asia/Australia/Pacific - Pavan Duggal; Europe - Jeanette Hofmann; Latin America/Caribbean - José Luis Barzallo; and North America - Alan Davidson. To contact these delegates send an email to <alac-nomcom@icann.org>. The ALAC solicited recommendations for delegates from the organizations that have been certified (or have applied for certification) as At-Large Structures. Additional volunteers responded to a notice in the ALAC's April monthly announcement. The ALAC believes this group of delegates reflects the global interests of the At-Large community and meets the detailed criteria set forth in ICANN's bylaws, and applauds their willingness to serve the Internet community. Additional information on the At-Large delegates is posted at <http://www.alac.icann.org>.

    The Nominating Committee's members, including 12 voting delegates in addition to the 5 appointed by the ALAC, will serve one-year terms. This year's Nominating Committee will be filling the following positions: 3 seats on ICANN's Board of Directors; 1 seat on the GNSO Council ; 2 seats on the ALAC (for Europe and North America regions) ; and 3 seats on the ccNSO Council .
  • AT-LARGE STRUCTURES – The ALAC is voting on applications for "At-Large Structure" certification from four groups in the Asia/Australia/Pacific region: Internet Society Vasudhay Kutumbhkum (ISVK) (India); ISOC Taiwan Chapter; At Large@China; and National Information Infrastructure Enterprise Promotion Association (Taiwan). Twelve groups have been certified as "At-Large Structures" and ALS applications are pending from ISOC-DRC (Congo) and AmericaAtLarge (USA). Join a group or form a new one. Additional information is posted at <http://www.alac.icann.org/announcements/announcement-24sep03.htm> and <www.alac.icann.org/applications/>.

    The following organizations have been certified as At-Large Structures (ALSs) to help individual Internet user communities throughout the world participate in ICANN activities and decision-making that effect them:

    • Società Internet (Europe)
    • Arab Knowledge Management Society (Asia/Aust./Pac.)
    • Alfa-Redi (Latin America/Caribbean Islands)
    • FITUG (Europe)
    • Internet Society Luxembourg A.S.B.L. (Europe)
    • Internet Society Bulgaria (Europe)
    • Moroccan Internet Society (Africa)
    • Anais.AC (Africa)
    • Sudan Internet Society (Africa)
    • Internet Society - Finland (Europe)
    • Catalan Chapter of the Internet Society - (Europe)
    • Asociación Costarricense de Derecho Informático (Costa Rica) (Latin
      America/Caribbean Islands)

    These organizations represent a variety of individual users, and are wholly independent from ICANN. Certification simply recognizes that these groups meet ICANN's criteria for involving individual Internet users at the local or issue level in ICANN activities, and for promoting individuals' understanding of, and participation in, ICANN. Organizations interested in promoting individuals' informed, structured participation in ICANN efforts that effect end-users are encouraged to apply for ALS certification. Ultimately, the ALSs in each of the five geographic regions are expected to work together in a Regional At-Large Organization (RALO).

  • ICANN KUALA LUMPUR MEETING – ICANN's meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 19-23 July 2004 will feature an At-Large meeting for the Asia/Australia/Pacific region, and policy discussions and workshops on such issues as implementation of internationalized domain names, and the World Summit on the Information Society. All are welcome. General meeting information is available at <http://www.icann.org/meetings/kualalumpur/>. Check <http://www.alac.icann.org> in the near future for information on At-Large-related events.
  • NEW PUBLIC COMMENT REQUESTS – ICANN is seeking public comments on the criteria for designating a successor operator for the .net registry, and on ICANN's Proposed FY 2004-05 Budget. Comments are requested on guidance issued by the GNSO on establishing an open and transparent procedure for designating a subsequent registry operator (the current .net registry operator is VeriSign, Inc.). See <http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-28may04.htm> for more information. ICANN's proposed budget for the next fiscal year is posted at <http://www.icann.org/financials/proposed-budget-14may04.pdf>. To submit comments on the proposed budget, email <<budget-comments@icann.org>>. The final budget will be adopted at ICANN's Board meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 23 July 2004.

The Interim At-Large Advisory Committee
<alac@icann.org>
<www.alac.icann.org>