NARALO Monthly reports 2011
- Nathalie Peregrine
NARALO Monthly Report - Sept. 12, 2011
1. Input into the draft JAS working group report is due Sept. 12, 2011 if anybody wishes to submit further comments before it gets submitted. There will be a JAS Webinar on Sept. 19 to update the community on this.
2. Bottom-up action proceudre - This was discussed extensively on the list and has now been finalized and it has now been posted to our WIKI page along with our organizing documents.
3. Statement on Pre-Registration - This situation was resolved by an e-mail, coordinated by Evan, sent to Scott Pinzon. Scott asked for specific examples of registrars engaging in this practice and this was provided. ICANN is now pursuing this matter with the individula registrars in question. This was all done very easily, without having to draft a formal complain to ICANN. This experience illustrates: 1) how At-Large can be of positive use to ICANN and have a direct effect on how things are being handles on a day-to-day basis and 2) how the lines of communication between the two groups are improving.
4. Work is progressing well on the video, the approach has been nailed down and Glenn will be bringing his A/V equipment to Dakar in order to get short clips from people. A discussion ensued about payment of expenses and what would be considered acceptable expenses.
5. The work on the survey has not yet started and ways of moving this forward were discussed.
6. The ALAC has beenhaving meetings with Registrars at each of our face-to-face meetings and two things have come up: 1) that At-Large needs to come up with ideas for future ALAC/Registrar meetings and 2) for joint educational materials to be developed jointly by the two groups. Ideas for both of these topics are being sought.
7. As Eric resigned his post as unaffiliated user rep, Darlene contacted all unaffiliated users and Jean coordinated a vote to elect a new rep. Alan now holds this position.
NARALO Monthly Report - Aug. 8, 2011
1. GAC and ALAC have been working together on the Statement on Applicant Support that would reduce the $185,000 fee to $47,000 for qualified applicants.
2. A statement on pre-registration was drafted and sent to the ALAC list and will also be brought forward on the next ALAC call.
3. Both the Video and Survey projects are progressing and discussion was held about these.
4. Eduardo gave the group an update/explanation of the state of affairs with the Puerto Rico ccTLD.
NARALO Monthly Report - July 18, 2011
1. The issue of non-performing ALSs was put to the group. It is being undertaken by the Secretariats group and Darlene will keep everyone posted on this.
2. We discussed the issue of pre-registration. Divergent views came out. It was decided to continue the discussion on the list.
3. The Draft Applicant Guidebook stipulates "robust" development by ALAC of a new gTLD objection process. It was thought that input should be sought from the RALOs and ALSs on this topic.
4. NARALO has been allocated $5,000 to do a NARALO policy survey and $1,000 for an outreach video. A discussion ensued as to how the money is to be administered and who will be on each project.
5. The new gTLD process was approved in Singapore and much discussion ensued about that. It was noted that the objection procedure must be looked at. The JAS (joint applicant support) group worked at making sure that the cost isn't going to be a huge block to participation to those from developing economies. Work still needs to be done on the ALAC improvements issues.
6. Eric noted that there was enhanced cooperation with the GAC in Singapore as he, Cintra and Evan met with some of the GAC members in regards to JAS.
7. Ways in which to improve our engagement with the registrar community were discussed.
8. The situation around the Puerto Rico ccTLD was discussed.
NARALO Monthly Report - June 13, 2011
1. Discussion was held on the statement on pre-registration as to the severity of the problem and what exactly we have concerns with.
2. The budget for 2012 was discussed. NARALO got $5,000 to do an ICANN policy survey and $1,000 to produce an outreach video. All of our other requests were rejected. We also put in a request for a GA in Toronto but that was rejected because it fell outside of the 2012 fiscal year. When we do request a GA in Toronto, we will be able to save a lot of money as people from Montreal and New York can drive/bus/train it there.
3. The issue of non-performing ALSs was discussed. A comparison was made to the efforts that EURALO has made. It was noted that we do have mechanisms in place so that non-performing ALSs do not affect our quorum. Alan is going to research this further and post it to the list.
4. We now have a "Future Challenges" working group that would like to work on things without waiting for the standard ICANN cycle - to be more proactive about upcoming issues. Alan, Evan and Darlene are on the list.
5. A discussion ensued about the registrar's stance that the RAA is a bi-lateral agreement between registrars and ICANN and therefore further discussions about it will take place totally in private without any observers or comments. It was thought that a statement should be put forward but caution was encouraged to not be too negative as we are starting to be listened to and we need to be careful.
6. Mark Rottenberg resigned his position as NARALO NomCom representative and will need to be replaced.
NARALO Report Singapore June 2011
Things NARALO has accomplished since San Francisco:
1. NARALO has members on each of the remaining work teams for At-Large improvements, the Future Challenges working group and the JAS working group and work is progressing on all of these.
2. NARALO members play key roles throughout the At-Large policy development processes, helping to drive issues such as registrants’ rights, bringing good sense to the new gTLD process, and holding ICANN accountable for its enforcement activities. We are very pleased that the new gTLD process has been approved and commend the Board on its hard work.
3. NARALO has submitted a range of budget requests for the region for next year, all intended to increase visibility, participation and outreach.
4. NARALO took consensus on making a statement on potential consumer concerns regarding pre-registrations and the offers some registrars were making. The ICANN board vote on the new gTLD program on Monday in Singapore has prompted us to re-evaluate the statement to determine if it is still applicable.
NARALO Monthly Report - May 9, 2011
1. The JAS working group's Second Milestone Report was issued and Evan encouraged everybody to read it and submit their comments. A thorough discussion ensued on various items in the report.
2. The need to recruit new volunteers from the ALSs was raised. Each working group seems to have the same set of people on them. We need more input from the "edges". Ways of doing so were discussed.
NARALO Report San Francisco - March 2011
Things NARALO has accomplished since Cartagena:
1. NARALO has members on each of the four work teams for At-Large improvements and work is progressing. Each work team was able to meet in San Francisco and to present to the group.
2. NARALO members play key roles throughout the At-Large policy development processes, helping to drive issues such as registrants’ rights, bringing good sense to the new gTLD process, and holding ICANN accountable for its enforcement activities.
3. We have submitted a range of budget requests for NARALO for next year, all intended to increase visibility, participation and outreach.
4. Several members of NARALO have participated in GNSO reform by supporting the candidate consumer constituency, which is on track to have its charter approved by April.
5. We have been active in the development of strategic outreach proposals that have become part of ALAC's submission to ICANN
6. We helped to drive ALAC support of the IGF commentary on politically motivated Internet disruption in Egypt
7. We worked very hard on the NARALO showcase and hope that those that attended it on Monday enjoyed it.
NARALO Monthly Report - Jan. 17, 2011
1, It was decided that NARALO not move forward on the letter to the Department of Commerce.
2. A call for volunteers was made for the San Francisco showcase.
3. Alan is looking at updating our Rules of Procedure.
4. We were given an update on ALAC officer and liaison positions. Olivier was elected Chair, Cheryl and Evan as Vice-Chairs and Carlton as Rapporteur.
5. It was noted that at the Cartagena meeting, the ICANN Board had meetings on the morality and public order issue and interacted with the group so as to gain a deeper knowledge of the issue. This is a key change as to how the Board in interacting with the community.
6. Olivier presented the Work Team C SWOT analysis to the NARALO.
7. Six to eight people have signed up to be on the working group for the San Francisco showcase and work is progressing well. Marc also suggested a "town hall" type meeting in San Francisco.
8. Eduardo encouraged anybody from NARALO to apply to any of the positions that the NomCom is trying to fill.