Schindler comments

[Schindler Daniel <danielmschindler@xxxxxxx>]

I have reviewed the Vertical Integration Working Group's Initial Report, as 
well as many of the publicly available e-mails.  It is clear to me that while 
the group has worked incredibly hard and looked at various solutions to the 
issue, it has not and will not reach consensus on any "solution" on the 
vertical integration subject.

This debate has been raging for more than two years.  Every angle of the issue 
has been reviewed, studied, debated, and debated again.  The bottom line is 
that the community will not reach consensus, and it is one of those issues that 
needs to be decided by the ICANN Board.  

At the ICANN Nairobi meeting the Board said that absent a consensus position 
from the community it would make a decision - I believe the time has come for 
that decision to be taken and communicated. The GNSO should not do anything 
that would violate the charter it established for the VI WG, which clearly 
states that the VI WG should not cause any further delay in the introduction of 
New TLDs. 

Apologies for the repetition, but the Board should move forward by quickly and 
firmly making a decision on this issue.  The public interest and ICANN's 
credibility has been harmed by each delay in the 26 months since the Board 
approved the New TLD policy. 

Thank you. Daniel Schindler.