A Call for Resignations

[Danny Younger <dannyyounger@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear members of the At-Large Advisory Committee:
 
This request has been sent to each of you personally with copies forwarded to 
each member of the ICANN Board, to the At-Large Forum, to committee[at] 
alac.icann.org, to the ICANN Ombudsman, to the At-Large Executive Director, to 
the General Assembly discussion list, to the GNSO ALAC Liaison, to the GAC ALAC 
Liaison, to the Chair of the GNSO Council, to the Chair of the ccNSO Council 
and to the ICANN Vice-President for Policy Development Support.
 
I would like to begin by thanking Thomas Roessler and Esther Dyson for their 
service on the At-Large Advisory Committee and applaud their decision to resign 
in order to better pursue other endeavors.  I now call upon the remaining 
members of the At-Large Advisory Committee to tender their resignations. 
 
This is a vote of no confidence.  I believe that I speak for the At-Large 
community when I say that your service is no longer desired.  
 
The At-Large respects the concept of transparency; you do not.  No minutes of 
any of your meetings have ever been posted. No MP3 recordings of any of your 
teleconferences have ever been provided.  No record of any committee vote has 
ever been published.  At a time when the world expects the entities responsible 
for the management of the domain name system to be transparent, you have chosen 
to operate in secret.  It would be honorable for you to resign. 
 
The At-Large believes in the exchange of dialogue with all parties in the ICANN 
deliberative process; you do not.  Messages have been sent to you, through the 
ALAC forum, through your commitee e-mail address, through the General Assembly 
discussion list, and to each of you individually.  You have chosen not to 
respond to the concerns and criticisms put forth by individual members of the 
At-Large community.  It would be honorable for you to resign.
 
The At-Large continues to advocate for the representation that was promised to 
us on the ICANN Board; you do not.  The ALAC has never once raised the primary 
issue that is central to the At-Large Community.  Representation is one of the 
four pillars of the White Paper.  The At-Large cannot abide by your ongoing 
efforts to substitute "participation" for the "representation" that is our due. 
 It would be honorable for you to resign.
 
The At-Large Study Committee found consensus for the formation of a Supporting 
Organization for the At-Large.  The At-Large supports the concept of an SO 
within which our interest can manifest; you do not.  The ALAC has never once 
discussed the establishment of a Supporting Organization for the At-Large that 
elects directors to the ICANN Board.  The At-Large cannot stand idly by while 
our interests are being ignored.  It would be honorable for you to resign.
 
The At-Large understands its composition as individuals and organizations not 
otherwise represented by ICANN's Supporting Organizations; you do not.  The 
ALAC now seeks to speak on behalf of Civil Society, a collectivity that is 
already represented by way of ICANN's Non-Commercial Constituency, instead of 
honoring its mandate to reflect the interests of the unrepresented in the ICANN 
process.  The At-Large does not support the perversion of the ALAC mandate to 
the detriment of the real At-Large community.  It would be honorable for you to 
resign.
 
The At-Large rejects the folly of fragmentation into regional entities; you do 
not.  No other constituency in the ICANN process is being forced to subdivide 
into regional groups.  We do not have an Asia/Pacific Business Constituency 
unit, nor a Latin-American, nor North-American, nor European nor African 
required subset of the Business Community as a prerequisite to formal 
participation as a constituent element within the ICANN process.  The ALAC's 
dogmatic pursuit of an unsustainable construct demonstrates that you are unfit 
to serve the needs of the At-Large community.  It would be honorable for you to 
resign.
 
The At-Large understands that you were required by the ICANN Board to offer 
"Internet-based mechanisms that enable discussions among members of At-Large 
structures"; you do not.  The ALAC has failed to set up even one single 
mechanism for At-Large discussions.  Discussions are that which occur between 
parties; it is not exemplified by a mechanism that only allows you to throw a 
brick-with-a-note over the fence into a forum.  The ALAC's failure to provide 
internet-based discussion mechanisms is not only a breach of the ICANN bylaws, 
it is an insult to the At-Large on whose behalf you purportedly act.  It would 
be honorable for you to resign.
 
The At-Large community has noted time and time again the failure of ICANN to 
post the minutes of its Board meetings; you have not.  The ALAC has never sent 
a statement to the Board condemning such blatant disregard for transparency and 
has never acted on behalf of the At-Large to ensure that bylaws are being 
followed.  When bylaws aren't being followed, when PDP status pages are never 
posted, when Issue Reports are not generated as per bylaws guidelines, when PDP 
Public Commment periods fail to materialize, this affects the At-Large that is 
denied the opportunity to effectively contribute to policy deliberations. The 
ALAC has done nothing to promote the interests of the At-Large as contributors 
in the ICANN process; we remain shut out of all deliberations.  It would be 
honorable for you to resign.
 
The At-Large recognizes that the nineteen certified At-Large "structures" have 
contributed absolutely nothing to discussions pertaining to the domain name 
system; you do not.  The ALAC continues to point to an ongoing certification 
process of at-large "structures" as a barometer of success; we regard it as a 
tacit demonstration of failure as no tangible benefits have accrued from this 
process and there has been no demonstrated interest in forming even one single 
regional at-large organization.  If you haven't yet gotten the message, allow 
me to repeat it one last time -- it would be honorable for you to resign.
 
There are others that can provide advice to the ICANN Board regarding the needs 
and interest of the At-Large.  While the ALAC has no defined term limits, it is 
clear to us that you have had your turn and sadly, your performance has not 
adequately served the needs of the At-Large; please step aside and let others 
get the job done.
 
Sincerely,
Danny Younger


                
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