[strategic-plan-comments] Initial Commentary on the Strategic Plan

[Danny Younger <dannyyounger@xxxxxxxxx>]

In reviewing the Strategic Plan, I was particularly
drawn to an issue outlined on page 31 wherein the
comment is made, "ICANN handles 10,000-20,000 emails
per day, along with a commensurate number of phone
calls." 

This issue brought to mind a comment made by ICANN
Counsel Louis Touton about two and a half years ago --
the question was asked, "Is ICANN looking/willing to
intervene on a transaction level or the larger
picture?"  

Louis replied:  "The way this comes up in practice is
that ICANN gets dozens, if not hundreds of complaints
per day. We don't view it as our job to adjust
individual transactions. This is the responsibility of
the Registrar. We do however monitor the situation;
discern trends and then act on systemic problems".
http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/registrars/Arc01/msg02001.html

Noting an escalation from a few dozen daily complaints
to as much as 20,000 daily complaints in the span of
30 months indicates to me that ICANN has seriously
failed to deal with a problem that is rapidly
spiraling out of control.

While I appreciate and respect the fact that the
Strategic Plan endeavors to outline a series of
solutions to this situation, I remain concerned that
ICANN is only treating the apparent symptoms rather
than addressing the core problem.

In all likelihood, the bulk of these emails are from
registrants enraged by the less than stellar treatment
they have received at the hands of the registrar
community.  These registrants have arrived at the
unshakable consensus that it's ICANN's job (as the
coordinator of the Domain Name System) to do something
about systemic registrar abuse.  

I would prefer that ICANN acknowledge this community
consensus instead of choosing a course of action which
would have the effect of fobbing the problem off onto
other entities.  

If it's not within ICANN's post-reform mission
parameters to protect the public that it serves, then
perhaps the mission should be re-examined and once
again amended to allow for a greater degree of
consumer protection than is currently afforded by the
present ICANN process.

All institutions evolve.  The Strategic Plan should
anticipate an evolution that promotes registrant
rights, and candidly, these registrants should have a
voice in the Generic Names Supporting Organization as
they are by far the largest constituency that ICANN
serves.  To keep them out of the gTLD policy process
is a serious and ongoing error in judgement that
should be rectified as soon as possible.


Thank you for considering this commentary.

Danny Younger
dannyyounger(at)yahoo.com
 


                
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