$12 million !!!! A comment by Esther Dyson -- Icann Hires Former Cybersecurity Chief as New C.E.O. [with comments]

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Second djf

Begin forwarded message:

From: patrick thibodeau <smoke_dc () yahoo com>
Date: July 2, 2009 9:34:37 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:   A comment by Esther Dyson --     Icann Hires  
Former Cybersecurity Chief as New C.E.O. [with  comments]



ICANN has turned into a Club Med for Geeks. It has budgeted over $12  
million in the next FY for travel (a slight reduction in deference to  
the economy) so it can continue holding its meetings in far flung  
places, San Juan, Sao Paulo, Marrakech, and Wellington, to name a few.

This unrelenting travel calls into question, and in a very serious way  
as far I am concerned, ICANN's motivation for its continuing expansion  
of TLDs. Is ICANN trying to feed its need for travel by this ongoing  
push?

This organization needs a reset. It should shift its spending focus  
to  virtual tools, video conferencing, and shift travel venues to  
points on the globe that provide the best possible and lowest cost  
airport connections. San Juan? This is a total waste of money.

The Internet doesn't need a travel budget.

Patrick Thibodeau
Reporter
Computerworld




--- On Thu, 7/2/09, David Farber <dave () farber net> wrote:

> From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
> Subject: [IP] Re:   A comment by Esther Dyson --     Icann Hires  
> Former Cybersecurity Chief as New C.E.O. [with  comments]
> To: "ip" <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Date: Thursday, July 2, 2009, 8:41 AM
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Karl Auerbach <karl () cavebear com>
> Date: July 1, 2009 12:29:23 PM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] A comment by Esther Dyson --
>    Icann Hires Former Cybersecurity Chief as
> New C.E.O. [with  comments]
>
>
> We have drifted away from a conversation about ICANN's new
> President and towards ICANN's role.
>
> First, a nit.  ICANN's bylaws call for a "President",
> a person who fills multiple rolls, only one of which is that
> of "CEO".  I do hope that ICANN actually hired a
> "President" and not merely the lesser position under ICANN's
> bylaws of "CEO".
>
> But that is a nit.  The real point is this: Lauren and
> Esther have both raised the point that the internet can live
> with no new top level domains and that to a large extent the
> domain name product offerings will be unimaginative replicas
> of what we have today.
>
> That is true.  And, in addition, every wannabe Poo-Bah
> company from Overstuck to AT&T is going to want to
> elevate its name to be a top level domain.
>
> All of that will occur and it will offend our
> techno-aesthetics and perhaps confuse a few people for a
> while.
>
> But since when do we use those kinds of excuses to deny
> people the opportunity to try an idea in the marketplace?
>
> Don't we like the idea of an open and competitive
> marketplace in which entrepreneurs are able to try out new
> ideas or even old ones?
>
> If you or I don't like a new offering, a new TLD, then we
> can avoid partaking of its products.  If it can not
> build a customer base then it can wither and die.  And
> the bones of its customer base could be sold off to those
> yet-to-be dustmen who will make a recycling business out of
> that sort of thing.
>
> I personally have a lot of faith that if we do open the
> doors to new TLDs that among the dross of boring new TLDs
> there will be a few nuggets of new ideas.
>
> Not to bang my own drum or to say that my idea is worthy,
> but merely as an example that things could be different, I
> have a TLD of my own, one that is not in the ICANN root (but
> is in some other roots) that operates using a rather
> different business and registration approach than has been
> seen in the land O'ICANN.  Take a look at http://www.cavebear.com/eweregistry/
>
> The larger question is this: Why do we so easily leap to
> the conclusion that free enterprise and competition should
> be denied or oppressively regulated in the domain name
> marketplace?  Why do we want to so quickly assume the
> role of all knowing lords of the net and deny people the
> chance to try out new ideas?
>
>         --karl--
>
>
>
>
>
>
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