[NCSG-PC] Meeting with Board in virtual Cancun

[Stephanie E Perrin]

As you are no doubt aware, we have had two planning meetings for virtual 
cancun this, week, and it is clear we have very little time and a much 
shrunken agenda.  However, we do have to get topics to discuss with the 
Board. Nobody has responded on the list to my call for input, and it is 
due today.

How about this.  the NCSG, reflecting the views of civil society 
generally, would like to comment on a few recent events at ICANN that 
have raised alarm bells in terms of the ongoing affordability and 
sustainability of an open, free, and vigorous DNS.  The first of these 
is the impending sale of .ORG.  We did not raise our concerns about the 
removal of price caps, although a significant proportion of our 
community were dead against this action.  Many others had faith in .ORG, 
and trusted their commitments, We were disappointed to learn of the sale 
in the manner in which  we did, so soon after the removal of the price 
caps.

The second issue is the removal of price caps for .com.  Since .com 
still accounts for 80% of GTLD registrations, how can ICANN justify the 
removal of price caps for such a monopoly registry?
The third issue we want to highlight is the cost of the impending SSAD 
being developed by the EPDP, bearing in mind that the benefits of this 
system have not been balanced against costs, and many of the decisions 
which are driving the high volumes of requests CANNOT be automated.  Is 
the cost of this white elephant [you tell me if that is still an 
acceptable expression, actually I should check that with my most 
culturally aware kid, since after all for a non-english speaker it must 
be hard to keep up with our political correctness.....] driving ICANN to 
permit wholesale price increases in the industry?
3:36 PM
Another topic we wish to raise is the ongoing sustainability of the MS 
model.  You have hinted in the past that travel costs and concern about 
our carbon footprint may dictate fewer face to face meetings.  Given the 
growing complexity of the policy work (cf. the EPDP, which comes on the 
heels of the RDS working group, an exhausting debate highlighted by 
limited progress and much disagreement) we doubt that we can produce 
good results without face to face meetings.  We applaud staff and the 
community for responding quickly to the crisis precipitated by the 
cancellation of the CANCUN meeting, but it is very clear that this 
meting is a pale shadow of a normal ICANN public meeting.  Given the 
strong possibility that ICANN68 will also have to be cancelled due to 
the Corona virus situation, may we suggest that a study group be struck 
to make recommendations about how to improve these virtual meeting and 
make them more accessible to all global players?

I would be grateful for your comments.  IF you discussed it at the 
policy committee that I missed last week, I do apologize, because there 
was no recording I have been unable to catch up.

kind regards, Steph

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