[CPWG] [GTLD-WG] [registration-issues-wg] Discussion: End-users definition from At-large perspective

[Evan Leibovitch]

On Fri, 9 Aug 2019 at 20:55, Jonathan Zuck <JZuck at innovatorsnetwork.org>
wrote:

> I think it's not about who we are but what interests we endeavor to
> represent. The NCUC only concerns themselves with registrants.
>

That was my original point -- That there is a body already within ICANN
representing the interests of individual registrants, in theory leaving
ALAC as the body uniquely positioned to speak for non-registrant end-users.
That the body charged with representing registrants is remiss in its duty
should not be ALAC's problem, yet the resulting spillover also causes ALAC
to be remiss in ITS duty.

The logic should be easy because there are more than 4 billion Internet
users and about 350 million domains in play total. So even assuming only
three domains per registrant (and we know that is very far from reality),
registrants are outnumbered by non-registrants by more than 30 to 1. Yet
ALAC has a problem because of its high proportion of self-selectred
Internet experts and insiders, most of whom either own a domain or have
evaluated the need to have one. Our own makeup is heavily skewed against
the non-registrant 95% because most in At-Large simply don't share their
experience. The original theory was that the ALSs were going to be the way
through which non-registrants would be able to participate in large
numbers, but that intent has absolutely failed as most ALSs have turned out
to be self-interested bodies such as ISOC and Internauta chapters or
tech-focused NGOs. (Isn't that what the Review concluded?) Such
participation brings people with needed skill and passion, but without the
perspective of the 95% of the world who will likely never own a domain. And
without a credible plan for speaking on behalf of the non-registrant 95%,
ALAC's own credibility is at risk (arguably it's already shot and needs a
reboot).

A few immediate remedies are possible while things are sorted out:

   - The NomCom is directed to make its ALAC selections non-registrants as
   at least a token effort at balance.
   - ALAC outreach needs to find people who are interested in end user
   issues who have no interest in buying domains.
   - ALAC itself must commit to understand its issues through a
   non-registrant lens before choosing to comment on them.

Longer term ALAC needs to engage in public surveys and research to guide
its actions (and reactions) rather than its own elitist sense of what is
right for end users. I daresay that the priorities of the billions wrt what
is needed from ICANN differs widly from ALAC's current guesses.

- Evan
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