I am visiting Luxembourg for the ICANN mid-year meetings.
Have missed the last two, there are new faces show up in the community,
and the familiar faces hold on to the microphones, as always :-)
Virtually, the coolest thing to me is that I am visiting the hometown of Skype :-)
ICANN is facing challenges on Internet governance / WSIS issues as well as on debating on Internationalized web address. In certain points one may wish all lawyers / policy makers leave the meeting room so that we could breathe for a moment. But again, it's important that voices from Internet stakeholders are heard and understood. ICANN could be the place for keeping this good mechanism.
My first time to "blog" about ICANN, and here are some noteworthies of Day 1:
(Technorati :ICANN)
1. Peter Dengate Thrush (.NZ) is the ccTLD (country code Top Level Domain) representative to the ICANN board. During his informative presentation in the ccNSO meeting, he said "only 0.001% of my time spent on ccTLD issues". Obviously it's a good sign meaning ccTLD registry and local regulator are managing the cc in a stable fashion, ICANN needs no worry on this. On the other hand, it shows ICANN's respect to cc and it's national sovereignty.
2. IDN.IDN (zh-tw "http://中文.台灣"這種全中文格式的網址可能成為下一種網址產品). I was asked to join Walter Wu from CNNIC, on a very short notice, to present in the ccNSO meeting about the IDN.IDN working model. The concept and statement was developed and prepared by CDNC earlier this year, about local Internet community, including the government, has to right to decide which language they wish to use in the Top Level Domain. ICANN will then help evaluate the feasibility of this TLD and further more help on making this kind of TLD worked in the existing DNS. I believe this IDN.IDN format has been an issue in many people's mind but this time we officialy brought that up on the radar screen. There will be something more on the IDN workshop tomorrow, so let's how other TLDs and governments response.
FYI CDNC is also working on a standard for Internationalizing email address.
3. I don't understand why it takes 60 days for IANA to change contact information of a TLD. If all documents are ready, it should be done in 1 day. I remember last year TWNIC has done one modification due to change of management, and that was quick process. Anyway there were complaints from several ccTLDs.
4. I heard that GAC has a strong "we-so-much-don't-like-it" position on .XXX. From The Register:
The governmental advisory committee was particularly upset that the .xxx domain had been approved by the Board without their explicit approval. Amid much gnashing of teeth, most of it from Brasil, one country asked whether there was in fact any material on this domain on the ICANN website. You could see the Board look at each other trying to gauge whether this was an ironic joke - the whole process has been pretty clearly flagged on the front page for over a year now.
But no, it would seem that either this was a stunningly disingenuous question or the government representative to ICANN had never actually checked out the website of the internet overseeing organisation. Something's gone wrong somewhere.
Speaking of stunning, the Denmark representative was also aggrieved about .xxx, saying the governments should have been consulted and it was a slap in the face. Which, as the new owner of .xxx itself, Mr Stuart Lawley, told me later was particularly odd since Denmark it seems is one of only a very small handful of countries where bestiality is legal. Nothing’s ever as simple as it seems on the internet.
5. The local host organized a gala dinner (in a casino) for ICANN participants. Invitation required. Some failed to get that invitation card upon registration (only 400 cards printed and distributed) and some forgot to bring it to the venue, including Vint Cerf himself. So for those without cards, they were blocked at the entrance...but anyhow they were all allowed to enter at last. The whole dinner was a bit lengthy, 3 meals for 2 hours. No hot soup (for Chinese people, we need a good bowl of soup after a hard day working). We also enjoyed the performace by the strongest man of the earth...bending the steel nails, lifting man / woman by teeth, tearing 1000-page phone book (this one was awesome), etc. My stomach actually stopped digesting during that show.
I look forward to a relaxed Tuesday.
update: This is exactly what Internet user at-large needed: ALAC meeting Podcast
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