[CCWG-ACCT] Some remarks on open questions on mission (was Re: Deck for Meeting #75 Mission Statement discussion)

[Malcolm Hutty]

On 07/01/2016 18:58, Andrew Sullivan wrote:
> On "including the allocation and assignment of names in the root zone
> as a result of those policies," I don't object to the inclusion.  But
> the board's overall proposed language is troubling:
> 
>     In this role, ICANN’s scope includes the coordination of the
>     development and implementation of domain name policies (including
>     the allocation and assignment of names in the root zone as a result
>     of those policies.)
> 
> First, the move to "includes" is in effect an unbounded scope, because
> it does not state where the end of the inclusion lies.  But more
> troubling, this says, "development and implementation of domain name
> policies," as though ICANN has responsibility for domain names other
> than the root zone.  It never has, it does not today, it should not,
> and it must not.
> 
> The DNS is a system of distributed authority: the SOA record, which
> marks a zone cut, is so named because it stands for "Start of
> Authority".  ICANN has no more business telling me what to do in
> anvilwalrusden.com or crankycanuck.ca than I have business in telling
> them how to run icann.org.  ICANN can make policies about under what
> conditions it will delegate from the root zone, and for those policies
> to have teeth it can of course say that if the delegated zone does not
> conform with a policy the delegation will be removed (although that
> has interesting stability implications).  It can also make policies
> about any other zone for which it is the authority (such as
> icann.org).  But it cannot make policies for domain names in general.
> This is a consequence of the DNS architecture.

Thank you for this technical explanation. Would the following work instead?


     In this role, ICANN’s shall coordinate the development and
     implementation of domain name policies for the root zone (including
     the allocation and assignment of names in the root zone as a result
     of those policies.)



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