RE: [bc-gnso] CircleID Post: ICANN approves expansion plan for top-level domains (TLDs)

["Ron Andruff" <randruff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well said, Steve.  Perfect analogy!

 

Kind regards,

 

RA

 

Ronald N. Andruff

RNA Partners, Inc.

 

 

  _____  

From: owner-bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-bc-gnso@xxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Steve DelBianco
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 10:38 PM
To: 'bc-GNSO@xxxxxxxxx GNSO list'
Subject: [bc-gnso] CircleID Post: ICANN approves expansion plan for
top-level domains (TLDs)

 

Here's my post regarding ICANN Board approval of expansion plan for
top-level domains (TLDs). 

 

See below or link
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20110620_now_begins_the_third_stage_of_icanns
_tld_triathlon/> 

 


 
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/20110620_now_begins_the_third_stage_of_icanns
_tld_triathlon/> Now Begins the Third Stage of ICANN's TLD Triathlon


 

The ICANN community here in Singapore is celebrating after the historic vote
to expand top-level domains (TLDs). And while I wouldn't begrudge anyone a
few Singapore Slings, I think it's a little early to start celebrating. The
marathon effort ICANN began 5 years ago isn't even close to reaching the
finish line.

Actually, marathon is probably the wrong analogy. Try this:

A month from now, our host city of Singapore will welcome competitors to the
10th International Triathlon. What makes a triathlon so uniquely challenging
is that after you complete a grueling swim and punishing bike race, you
still have the hardest stage ahead of you: a long-distance run.

That's where the ICANN community is now - just off the starting line for the
longest and hardest stage of the race. How we run this stage will determine
whether or not new TLDs succeed from the standpoint of the stakeholder
groups that really matter: domain registrants and Internet users.

The first stage of the TLD triathlon - the open-water swim - was a
painstaking, community-driven policy development process that took the
better part of five years. It had all the feeling of a swim in the open sea,
requiring constant movement without much forward progress. But we eventually
stumbled onto the beach only to begin an unexpectedly contentious stage two.

The second stage of the TLD triathlon - the bike race - was the ICANN
Board's six-month saga of high-pressure, high-stakes negotiations with the
Government Advisory Committee. Like a bike race, it was fast and dangerous,
putting at risk everything that was accomplished in the prior stage.
Monday's 13-1 vote in favor of TLD expansion was like the race stage, where
you feel grateful just for having survived.

That brought us to what I and several board members called "
<http://www.circleid.com/posts/decision_day_for_icann_the_end_of_the_beginni
ng_or_the_beginning_of_the_end/> the end of the beginning". Now ICANN faces
stage three: the long-haul work of implementing the most ambitious
undertaking yet.

This next stage is no victory lap. The global Internet community - including
many stakeholders who weren't satisfied with the outcome of the policy
development process - will be watching ICANN's every move to find an excuse
to supplant its multi-stakeholder model with traditional multi-government
models like the UN.

ICANN board resolution leaves enough unfinished business for stakeholders to
spend the next year tweaking the "final" guidebook, even as ICANN's
foot-weary staff does the difficult work of putting it into effect.

During this stage of the race, ICANN must uphold its signature commitments
to accountability and transparency. As the process evolves in keeping with
today's resolution, ICANN must also uphold the multistakeholder model and
avoid any closed-door, staff-driven shortcuts that might seem expedient as
the running gets harder.

Given the timeline approved this week, we're likely to see our first new
gTLDs sometime in 2013. If we all start running now, we can finish the TLD
Triathlon and throw a real party - in about two years.

 

-- 

Steve DelBianco

Executive Director

NetChoice

http://www.NetChoice.org and http://blog.netchoice.org 

+1.202.420.7482