Re: [alac] Re: Reply from ALAC Chair

["Frank Fowlie" <fowlie@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Wendy,

Thank you very much for your email.  Let me respond by saying that my 
communications in this regard have not been mis-directed.  While Vittorio is 
the former Chair, he is presently the Board Liasion for ALAC, and as such is 
very much the primary contact for my Office.  In the past, Roberto was also the 
key point of contact.

I recongize that ALAC members, as well as members of the Board, and the various 
supporting structures are volunteers.  I also recognize that as volunteers, 
members of the ALAC accept the responibilities of committee membership, and the 
benefits of same.  Requests made during the course of my investigations are 
tempered with a balance of the need to conduct the work, to investigate and 
resolve the matter, to supply or negotiate reasonable expectations on the 
reciept of material, the complexity and availability of the information needed 
to complete the reviews, and the issue of ongoing unfairness by slow ADR 
processes.

Should you have specific suggestions for the streamlining of ALS approval 
processes, that would seem to me to be a logical matter for discussion within 
the ALAC.

Please do feel free to contact me again if you have any questions or concerns.

Best regards,

Frank

 
Frank Fowlie
Ombudsman
ICANN   


-----Original Message-----
From: Wendy Seltzer <wendy@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2007 17:10:46 
To:fowlie@xxxxxxxxx
Cc:"Annette Muehlberg" <annette.muehlberg@xxxxxx>,       "Nick Ashton-Hart" 
<nashton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,       "Vittorio Bertola" <vb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, 
alac@xxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [alac] Re: Reply from ALAC Chair

Dear Frank,

While I appreciate your attention to procedural fairness, I think it 
is only fair to note that these are overlapping holidays in many 
parts of the world, and your initial communication to the Committee 
on this matter was misdirected to our former chair.

Please also remember that the ALAC Committee are all volunteers.  I 
consider the procedural hurdles the ALAC faces (and at times, 
regrettably, passes on to ALS applicants) to be problems with ICANN's 
structure for individual involvement more than problems personal to 
the Committee.  A structure that enabled individual Internet users 
greater representation in ICANN decisionmaking would take a great 
deal of unnecessary pressure off these approval mechanisms.

Thank you,
--Wendy


At 11:46 AM 1/5/2007, Frank Fowlie wrote:
>Dear Annette,
>
>Thank you for your email.  I begin by noting that this is the third 
>time that the response time has been moved.  I also restate my 
>earlier comment that  one of my concerns is that the overall delay 
>towards the applicant is compounded.
>
>I continue to await your response.
>
>I again offer the invitation to individual members of the ALAC to 
>contact me diretly with any information they may wish to share.
>
>
>
>Frank Fowlie
>Ombudsman
>ICANN
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Annette Muehlberg <annette.muehlberg@xxxxxx>
>Date: Fri, 05 Jan 2007 15:57:24
>To:fowlie@xxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: Reply from ALAC Chair
>
>Dear Frank,
>
>my answer is ready, but I could not get back to the committee yet -
>weekend is a better time for volunteers. So if it is ok with you  I
>would like to send the answer to you, that you have it when you start
>work on monday morning. Is that ok with you? Otherwise we could get in
>touch today.
>
>All the best
>
>Annette
>
>Frank Fowlie schrieb:
> > Super, thank you.  I look forward to your information.
> >
> > Frank Fowlie
> > Ombudsman
> > ICANN
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Annette Muehlberg <annette.muehlberg@xxxxxx>
> > Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2007 18:49:01
> > To:fowlie@xxxxxxxxx
> > Cc:Nick Ashton-Hart <nashton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,       Vittorio 
> Bertola <vb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Subject: Re: Reply from ALAC Chair
> >
> > Dear Frank,
> >
> > Happy new year to you too.
> > You will receive the reply tomorrow.
> >
> > Best regards
> >
> > Annette
> >
> >
> > Frank Fowlie schrieb:
> >
> >> Happy new year Nick and Annette.
> >>
> >> I am writing to advise that I have yet to have a reply, either 
> by email or voice, to my requests for information from the ALAC 
> chair.  In my previous correspondence I had asked for a response by 
> January 3.  This has not been replied to.
> >>
> >> As Bylaw V allows the Ombudsman access to all information held 
> by ICANN, and as I wish to be as fair and balanced in my evaluation 
> as possible, a response on these issues by the ALAC committee is 
> not only desireable, but ethical.
> >>
> >> May I please receive a firm (but short) date as to when I may 
> receive the response from the Chair?  Due to the time lag, I would 
> prefer to have this on the record, and to receive this by email, as 
> well as the response itself.
> >>
> >> I note that the delay in responding to my Office compounds any 
> delay issue with respect to the applicant.
> >>
> >> Best Regards,
> >>
> >> Frank
> >>
> >> Frank Fowlie
> >> Ombudsman
> >> ICANN
> >>
> >>
> >>

--
Wendy Seltzer -- wendy@xxxxxxxxxxx
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School
Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/seltzer.html
http://www.chillingeffects.org/