<nettime> r_r: ICANN Boardsquatters: thrusts, parries, and lies

[t byfield <tbyfield@panix.com>]

<http://www.tbtf.com/roving_reporter/index.html#15>


     Boardsquatters: thrusts, parries, and lies
     Fri Oct 27 16:53:04 EDT 2000

Come Friday afternoon, when the media famously goes home after a
hard week, and what does ICANN do? It tersely and cravenly
announces[1] which board members are extending their terms yet
again. (The roving_reporter scored three out of four on the
dearly departing.)

Michael Froomkin, ICANN-watcher extraordinaire, has drafted an
indignant and eloquent response[3] to the wretched announcement. He
doesn't mince words:

     I call on Frank Fitzsimmons, Hans Kraaijenbrink, Jun Murai, and
     Linda Wilson to honor the pledge made at the time you were named:
     that your term would end not later than two years after your
     appointment. Resign. It is the right thing to do.

To Froomkin's must-read capsule history we can add ICANN's
announcement of 26 October 1998[4]:

     Like the Initial Board members, who will serve only until the
     complete permanent ICANN structure and full Board are in place
     (planned for the fall of 1999), Roberts is not a candidate to be
     the long-term President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN. The
     Board will immediately begin the process of searching for a
     long-term President and Chief Executive Officer.

And we can also add Esther Dyson's statements of 8 July 1999 to
Congressman Tom Bliley[5]:

     Q: 1(f). What are the circumstances under which ICANN's interim
     board will be replaced by an elected board? Please provide a
     reasonable estimate of when it is anticipated that this event
     will take place.

     A: [...] The other half of the elected Board, which represents
     the At Large Directors, is currently expected to be in place no
     later than (and hopefully before) the second annual meeting of
     ICANN, which will take place in the fall of 2000. Pursuant to the
     White Paper and the MOU, the transition process is scheduled to
     be completed no later than October 1, 2000, and the Initial
     Directors must all have ended their service by that time.

And we can also add Dyson's sworn testimony of 22 July 1999
before Congress[6] during the "Domain Name System Privatization: Is
ICANN Out of Control?" hearings:

     Elected Board members. ICANN's elected Directors will join the
     Board in two waves: the first wave will consist of nine Directors
     chosen by ICANN's Supporting Organizations; the second wave will
     be elected by an At-Large membership consisting of individual
     Internet users. The Board expects the first wave to be completed
     by November 1999, and the second wave as soon as possible
     following that. In any event, the process of creating a fully
     elected Board must be completed by September 2000.

     As to the first wave of elected Board members, ICANN expects that
     the nine Directors to be elected by its three Supporting
     Organizations (the Domain Name Supporting Organization, the
     Address Supporting Organization, and the Protocol Supporting
     Organization) will be selected and seated in time for ICANN's
     annual meeting in November in Los Angeles.

     As to the second wave, it is ICANN's highest priority to complete
     the work necessary to implement a workable At-Large membership
     structure and to conduct elections for the nine At-Large
     Directors that must be chosen by the membership. ICANN has been
     working diligently to accomplish this objective as soon as
     possible. The Initial Board has received a comprehensive set of
     recommendations from ICANN's Membership Advisory Committee, and
     expects to begin the implementation process at its August meeting
     in Santiago. ICANN's goal is to replace each and every one of the
     current Initial Board members as soon as possible, consistent
     with creating a process that minimizes the risk of capture or
     election fraud, and that will lead to a truly representative
     Board.

Lies. 
-----

[1] <http://www.icann.org/announcements/icann-pr27oct00.htm>
[2] <http://www.tbtf.com/roving_reporter/index.html#14>
[3] <http://personal.law.miami.edu/~froomkin/boardsquat.htm>
[4] <http://www.icann.org/announcements/icann-pr26oct98.htm> 
[5] <http://www.icann.org/correspondence/bliley-response-08july99.htm#1F>
[6] <http://www.icann.org/dyson-testimony-22july99.htm>
[7] <http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/efa3d721bb8b117585
     25670d0002f43d/d9a7cdb563866c02852567af005ed58b?OpenDocument>

-- 

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