As the ICANN meeting wrapped up with ICANN punting on making any meaningful decision after a 5 days of committee, subcommittees, working groups, advisory board meetings, public comment sessions and Board meetings, my feeling leaving Colombia is that the meeting amounted to All Talk and No Action.
For those of you who have never attended an ICANN meeting (which is free to attend) there are typically 6 or more opened or closed sessions going on at the same time, for 5 days from 9am to 6pm.
Moreover for days before and after the 5 days official meeting period, there are committee and other ICANN meetings.
So even if you wanted to, there is no possible way that you and three of your closest friends could attend all sessions and meetings.
Some of the sessions I did attend included a meeting of registrars in which an FBI spokesman was asked about the domain name seizures by the ICE and responded to the effect:
“All I know is what I read in the news, it wasn’t us, I don’t know anything else about it, I don’t know what the basis for it was, what determination they made or what the future plans for more domain seizures is”
Very informative.
Thanks for that.
In another session that seemed to be 3o minutes long was dedicated to the report of the Ombudsman, however all I can tell you is I think the word “ombudsman” was repeated around 100 times in the 30 minutes, which is more times than I have heard that would spoken in my 52 years on earth combined and I’m an attorney by trade (you can read the transcript below).
Honestly hearing that word repeated 4 times in one sentence gave me an instant headache.
But that report is representative of much of the ICANN meeting; a LOT of words that don’t mean much of anything.
Again check out the transcript below of the report of the Ombudsman and tell me what was accomplished.
Seriously.
So over the 5 days there were Millions and Millions of words spoken, in many languages but at the end of the day as far as I could tell all of those million words, probably tens of millions of words, lead to NO definitive meaningful action by the Board.
I have heard that ICANN spent $3 Million on the meeting.
I have also heard that over 1,200 people attended the meeting,
Figuring that people come from all around the world, I think a ballpark figure of $1,000 per person just in probably low but we will go with that for now.
That’s $1.2 Million.
Although most would expect Colombia to be “cheap” its really not at all and hotels, food and drinks are on par with prices you would find in much of the US.
So figure $200 a night for a hotel, although many were much higher and you have another $1,000 for hotels if you just stayed for the 5 nights.
That’s another $1.2 Million
If you eat 2 meals a day, have a few cocktails at night, and most seemed to have well more than a couple, we will call that another $150 a day.
That another $1 million
I don’t know what .Co spent on their party but it certainly was expensive complete with Fireworks.
Then there was all the sponsors booths, giveaways, payments to ICANN for sponsors, the VeriSign party (that I wasn’t invited to), the .shop party, music night, and assorted parties and social gatherings throughout the city.
All totaled I would say at least $10 Million was spent at this meeting by ICANN, the sponsors and the attendees.
Its seems like an awful lot of money to spend, in hard economic times, when nothing got decided.
Although some feel like much was accomplished at the meeting, my view is much different.
And can be summed up in a few simple words:
All Talk, No Action.
See you in San Fransisco.
As promised here is the transcript of the Ombudsman’s report with all Q and A mercifully omitted:
“The office of the ombudsman is probably — this office of the ombudsman is probably the most scrutinized and evaluated ombudsman’s office in the world, not only against international standards but
also against standards that were developed within this office as I did my doctoral dissertation.
The difficulty in putting this particular office uniquely into a cache of one of the various ombudsman associations that exists is that it is an executive ombudsman office. It is created by a legislative body, being the table, and performs a specific function of answering questions about fair treatment within the community.
There is no specific ombudsman association in the world that caters exclusively to executive ombudsmen.
The United States Ombudsman Association and the International Ombudsman Association reflect either end of the spectrum. The United States Ombudsman being the classical or governmental ombudsman and the International Ombudsman Association being organizational ombudsmen who have very different characteristics of dealing usually with staff issues, client issues and who do not formally report. So
there are elements of both.
In the work that we’ve done in the evaluation of this office of the ombudsman, we have developed a checklist of the 50 top characteristics found across all ombudsman associations and have classified where this office fits in those. That has been reviewed by an independent third-party evaluator who has provided a commentary and who’s put — that’s available on the Web site.
Very early in the development of the office, I contracted with an evaluator from the International Standards Association, ISO — our organization, excuse me. They have two standards that deal with complaint handling: One for complaints internal to an organization and one complaints external. ISO 10,002 and 10,003. The evaluator went through our framework and our process and confirmed that the
ICANN office of the ombudsman met all international standards with respect to complaint handling.
My advice is that the office in and of itself is meeting all international standards, meeting all national standards and is a leader across the globe in the evaluation of standards for ombudsman
offices.
I think there are weaknesses, and those were addressed in the commentary.
I think one of the weaknesses that does need to be addressed in terms of how international bodies look — or state bodies or national bodies look at the use of having an ombudsman as a structure in their organization or government is the linkage between the board and the ombudsman.
I think one of the weaknesses that needs to be explored is the recommendation process. The Bylaw 5 is very, very clear, that the ombudsman is to make a report to the board and provide recommendations on how the ombudsman thinks matters should be dealt with.
A weakness in this organization is the reply back or the follow-up action. Normally where there is a statement legislature who has an ombudsman, the ombudsman will be authorized by law to demand or reply and report on the implementation of recommendations within 30 days.
Obviously, in an executive ombudsman framework where the legislature and the ombudsman are much more closely attached, that becomes more difficult.
But I think part of the ATRT review and the review being taken up at this point should include an evaluation not just of the ombudsman but the relationship between the ombudsman and the board of directors. And that will provide for a much more healthy and curative result to complaints that come through the office of the ombudsman.”””
I know if you made it this far you now have a headache too.
See you in March
My_Ad_Center +++ says
“ICANN spent $3 Million on the meeting”
no problem… just increas the ICANN fees…
TheBigLieSociety says
The back-story is that the IANA contract will be ending in 2011. ICANN and the RIRs have widely announced that ALL of the billion dollar /8s (CyberRealEstate) will soon be doled out. They do not disappear, they are just not in ICANN’s hands. THAT makes ICANN less important. One would imagine many on the ICANN Staff would no longer be needed.
The IANA Contract with the U.S. Government is what gave ICANN a start. There are some odd aspects about the ICANN and RIR subsidiaries.
[[[[ The Billion Dollar /8 Assets transferred from ICANN to RIRs over the years do not show up in any ICANN or RIR Accounting ]]]]
GAAP – Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures apparently do not apply to ICANN ??
The RIRs are not REALLY HAPPY !!!! They have Billion dollar /8s to lease to ISPs. Those are similar to domains but are just numbers. At $25,000 per year for a unique number, that is a very large Gravy.Boat for the RIRs.
The RIRs slink around in the shadows of ICANN meetings smiling and doing a lot of back-slapping. Noobs seem to miss that fact or do not understand their role.
The RIRs are the CyberSpace slum lords.
Years ago, the RIRs fabricated their own ICANN protection back-valve in the form of the NRO. That is to prevent a move to take back billion dollar /8s by
ICANN. With .COM fees continuing to build the ICANN Reserve Fund beyond
the $60,000,000 level and with ICANN million dollar compensation packages
for Staff, there is little incentive to rock any Gravy.Boat.
The U.S. Government stepped in and did make some waves. Only the U.S. Government has the power to blow the whole charade out of the water.
MHB says
Big Lie is right about the IANA contract will be ending in I believe September 2011 or maybe it more proper to say its up for renegotiation or renewal.
He is also right that is going to effect ICANN’s actions up and to that date
Mike says
figures. its an out of control, no accountability, fraudulent industry we’re speaking of here…
You Know Me says
Dammit! — Ombudsman.com is taken.
TheBigLieSociety says
“IANA contract” & ICANN’s actions…
===
It is very unfortunate that few people pay much attention to the “IANA Task”. They do not understand it, or write it off as too technical.
==========
NOTE: For 2011 there is some chance the ISOC/IETF will cleverly distribute the IANA Task to take contract renewals out of government’s hands. Can the U.S. Government watch that 3-Shell & Ball game and track the ball? Doubtful
==========
Another way to look at the ICANN big picture is to take a drive down any stretch of 500 miles of Inter-State Highway in America. What you will observe is all aspects of ICANN, IANA, ISOC and IETF. The parallels are striking.
1. The exit ramps all start to look alike, with a Wendys and a McDonalds.
2. The highway appears to be “Free” and open and well-maintained. Who is really paying for it ?
3. What about the Farm Land along the side ? Who owns that. Who made a killing selling the land under the highway ?
4. What about the billboards (domain names) are they more valuable than the farm land ?
5. What about the North.South ODD numbering and the East.West EVEN numbering. Who did that ?
6. What about the cities with the 2NN and 3NN numbers for bypass routes?
7. What were the economic impacts on small cities bypassed ?
8. What about the trucks with the signs claiming they pay $,$$$ for the highway?
What is amazing is ICANN’s ability to continue to attract people with carrots
on sticks. One has to wonder if the new-ness will wear thin.
Will world governments now study the Eco.System and realize it is a simple Multi-Level-Marketing Pyramid Scheme ?
…or (using the Interstate analogy) will airports appear and airplanes and other distractions to pull people away from those old concrete stretches of boring highway ?
…will the Serious Money be headed to GalactICANN ? to debate who gets to visit the International Space Station ? and rent the rooms ?
MHB says
You Know
Yes but I bet OmbudsmanOmbudsmanOmbudsmanOmbudsman.com
is available
You Know Me says
It occurred to me that this report is like something out of a comedy. I could just see the late Leslie Nielsen reading this striaght faced and me laughing at him saying “ombudsman” over and over.
It makes you think that a eight grader wrote it as a really bad high school essay it’s so poorly written and thought out.
TheBigLieSociety says
The back-story on the ICANN Ombudsman is:
1. Like all-things-ICANN, it is ALL MADE UP – 100% BS
2. The Ombudsman was mostly fabricated by a Canadian Academic to try to suck some of the Eco.System funding back to Canada.
3. The Ombudsman (like many things ICANN) was a separate company with Opaque Finances and millions sent ??? where ??? for what ??? scary!!!
4. The focal point of the Ombudsman was largely one person with a law enforcement and para-military background. The person was not elected.
5. It should not be hard to search and find some of the strange aspects of
the Ombudsman’s personality when traveling. [Hint: He was removed from
an Air Canada flight for disorderly behavior to cool down.]
What continues to be amazing about ICANN and other venues is the comments from noobs to the effect…”It is ILLEGAL to do…[insert something]…”
The ICANN “laws” are MADE UP – 100% BS
jp says
Just one question for the readers, if anyoneis surprised raise your hand.
Perhaps ICANN has reached it’s critical mass.
landon white says
oh-BudMan ,ombudsman, ombudsman, oh-BudMan, (burp)
Drunk’s who yell at airline personnel and are taken off the plane
by airline security and not allowed to reboard do act this way …
oh, I was talking about ombudsman,(BudMan) Frankie Fowlie who tried
to have the above fowl incident expunged by the Canadian Aviation Board
for same issue only to be denied flat out, yes the fickle Franke Fowlie
who for some foul reason was to be leaving ICANN next Month ?
Why would someone say ombudsman over and over ??
Anyway… This Buds for you /\
yes says
it doesn’t sound like icann mtgs are “free” with all the costs, but i was unaware icann does not charge attendees.
so the rirs have doled out almost all the v4 address space. it’s almost all “gone”. but what percentage of the address space is actually being _used_ (announced) on the internet? it must be near 100%. otherwise why would anyone need all that address space?
the whole system can exist the way it does only because such a narrow segment of the population is interested in how it works. no doubt more people will become interested in it because of the money. and maybe out of fear (see current events). so we can expect the bureaucracy to enlarge. but few of them can actually tell you how the internet works, in simple terms. they can tell you about how the bureaucracy works though. if you have an hour or two to kill.
i could not agree more with the statement about noobs’ ignorance about what is “illegal” and what is not. it’s that sort of ignorance that allows some unscrupulous persons to rise through the bureaucracy.
it’s not “consensus” that makes the internet work. nor is “consensus” in itself something everyone would admire. the most populous country in the world is run by “consensus”. it that example, it is the consensus of a very small, insulated group.
it’s “cooperation” that makes the internet work, not “consensus”. it’s impossible to link together networks, owned by separate entities, to build an internet without cooperation.
alas, the rir system, while sensibly based on practicalities, is prone to extreme corruption. it’s an honour system and, like the rest, it relies purely on cooperation.
perhaps it is the breadth of network operators’ knowledge of the law and their ethics that matter the most in all of this, not icann, iana or any other group. it’s network operators that make the internet work, not policy groups. so their level of knowledge, or ignorance, and their sense of ethics, is very important. imo.
TheBigLieSociety says
@yes YES!!! You see the light!!!
===
Some small points…
“what percentage of the address space is actually being _used_ ”
——-
VERY Good Question !!!!
and people might be surprised about about the lies concocted around that
=============
“it’s network operators that make the internet work”
VERY Good Point !!!
but, keep in mind that “network operators” Evolve
In 1985 Ubber Academics
In 1995 Ubber Geeks – Ma Pa and their T1 were “network operators”
In 2005 Ubber Telcos
In 2015 Ubber Governments ?
…the RIRs change their tune and Lick All Boots (that pay)
Gazzip says
“Its seems like an awful lot of money to spend, in hard economic times, when nothing got decided.”
“All Talk, No Action.”
Is’nt that usually the way with over-paid & over compensated bureaucrats, why get straight to the real issues when they can keep waffling shite for years while claiming a fortune in expenses.
…..keep that gravy train rolling 😉
I thought this was a great comment from one of your earlier posts about ICANN
“The Swedish government is concerned that we are traveling all around the world to attend ICANN meetings to give the advice and for that advice to be ignored time and time again is a waste of time and money”
“We are under increased pressure back home to justify all of the travel and all the expenses of attending all of the ICANN meetings.
“That is especially hard to justify when we are repeating the same advice and traveling all over the world to just have our advice ignored.”
Juemadre says
Why go all the way to Colombia and stay in $200 a night international hotels and eat in high dollar international type restaurants instead soaking up a little culture. You can rent a whole finca with conference rooms,pools and tennis courts for half or less, be out in the beautiful country and have authentic Colombian food. Sounds like you should of just stayed in Joisy. Gringos pendejos. Jaja
yes says
anyone can run a network.
“network operator” conjures up an image of a guy in a server room.
but that’s a very narrow way to think about it. imo.
TheBigLieSociety says
“Why go all the way to Colombia and stay in $200 a night international hotels and eat in high dollar international type restaurants”
===
For the Real.ICANN.Echelon™ (the real Decision.Makers®) that is NOT “high dollar”
Was anyone surprised ICANN selected JORDAN ?
Queen Rania and King Abdullah II are A-Listers at DAVOS along with the rest of the I* Eco.System
landon white says
Dog and Pony Show:
I think ICANN made a very wise decision …
.
ICANN should never make binding statements and/or
decisions in a large venue with expert marksman present …
—————————–
BullS says
All I can say is THANK$ for attending…mr. MHB
domo sapiens says
“And can be summed up in a few simple words:
All Talk, No Action.”
thanks for posting it as you saw it.
“I have heard that ICANN spent $3 Million on the meeting.”
George K will pop a vein when he reads that…!
TheBigLieSociety says
“ICANN Colombia Meeting: All Talk; No Action”
===
The U.S. Government created ICANN
U.S. Government laws make it difficult for U.S. citizens (as private parties) to TALK about some topics
The incumbent Registries continue to RAISE prices as technology costs are dropping.
The incumbent Registries continue to increase volume which one would think would lower the Unit Cost
FREE domains that .KIDS use will likely be the only thing that ends the travesty
yes says
agree about tech savvy kids. not only in the west, but in india, china and elsewhere. imo they are not going to keep paying more for what they will learn is freely available technology (e.g. domains), or keep buying new devices every few months based on marketing. they’re too young to care about some clueless tech journalist’s notion of “obsolete”. and most importantly, many kids don’t have the money. but they have the brains and they’re getting the access. they will learn more about info technology, and learn it faster than any of the post-internet generations that are running things now. they’ll learn to program out of necessity. they’ll know these devices are very inexpensive to make. and they’ll likely know how to make things themselves. imo.
it must be unnerving for many industries knowing that things are progressing this way. the poorly drafted domestic legislation authored by industry, the secretly negotiated ip treaties, also authored by industry. it all looks quite desperate and fearful of a future that is inevitable given the consistent rate info technology is advancing.
the icann circus is a mindsore.
but if we are in the info tech business, shouldn’t we be be rejoicing at the opportunities? gullible new users, with discretionary income, are still flooding onto the network, ready to try whatever is shown to them. why not join the icann board? start a registry. sell some names. set up a ppc network. have a party. set off some fireworks. life is good. if you’re in the info tech business.
shouldn’t we be hoping for as many generations of ignorant consumers as possible?
however, imo it can’t last forever. so should we surprised at icann, or anyone else, for living it up, while they can? unlike large companies who can use ip law to reduce competition (and, more recently, to intimidate tech savvy consumers), icann is a monopoly that appears to have no notable protections, other than user ignorance and apathy.
all multi-level marketing scams collapse, eventually.
thanks to mhb for the honest opinions of the meeting. by far the most candid accounts i’ve read anywhere.
yes says
correction:
post-internet –> pre-internet
many industries –> some industries
TheBigLieSociety says
“shouldn’t we be hoping for as many generations of ignorant consumers as possible?”
===
That sounds like something the Madoffs would have said.
By the way, there is a subtle phenom that many people miss. The “Good People” are always being drained from the Eco.System. They cash out, they give up, they become CO-Opted.
One promise of “the NET” and CyberSpace was to give people a chance to escape from evil people. Allowing the evil I* Eco.System to exploit “ignorant consumers” seems unethical.
———————-
“Evil flourishes when good men do nothing.”
~British statesman Edmund Burke
yes says
the phrase “don’t be evil” is incredibly widespread on the ‘net. it’s attributed to google. as if the founders themselves were resposnible for it.
in truth it came from a former intel employee who had joined google, during a forced brainstroming session. he had hoped google might be “different” from what he had seen at intel, hence the phrase.
maybe the good people get drained out because it is so taxing on them to work with unethical colleagues day after day.
that google employee who coined “don’t be evil” cashed out years ago. well before some very substantial growth. but i’m sure he had his stomached his fair share of evil by that point.
he’s also the one who came up with linking gmail to the ad database.
i.t. is an ethically challenging sector. empowerment of end users is the carrot. but “too much” empowerment of end users means they could cease to need certain products or services.
the founders of some of the most successful i.t. businesses, when they were young and learning technology, did not resign themselves to using crippled technology. they worked around limitations. and many of them broke “rules” (sometimes resulting in discipline from academic institutions who owned the equipment).
they did this to be able to use technology the way they wanted to. not necessarily the way someone else intended them to use it. and they went on to build successful businesses.
yet these same individuals now run businesses that rely on selling crippled technology. they impose “rules” that their users must not break.
the i.t. business has matured considerably and is now much more important to economies than it was when these entrepreurs were students. as such, the “rules” they now impose as businesspeople are perhaps taken much more seriously than simialr rules were in the 70’s and 80’s. govt’s are behind them. govt’s may even take on some of the enforcement duties. but govt’s may fail to understand that “rules” were broken to get these companies started. that’s how innovation occurred.
the kid who started facebook broke all kinds of rules. both academic and ethical. but it’s full steam ahead. users have the final vote.
icann’s “rules” mean little if someone else creates something that becomes more popular among users.
yes says
correction: forced brainstorming session –> forced brainstorming session to come up with “company values”. so maybe google did not really have any such values when they started. or they wanted some new ideas.
enrique says
http://www.goodmorningcolombia.com/?p=9004
there is NOTHING better than THIS says
at least, they haven’t approved hundreds new TLDs… 🙂
Grace in Cartagena says
There are a few misconceptions out there about Colombia and the idea that it is a poor and therefore cheap country is one of them.
You can find cheaper accommodation in Cartagena, hostels can even be found at around the 10us$ level but you are correct to live at the standard you would expect in the US is not cheap. Colombia has an affluent section of the population who do not need to worry about how much they spend, many of those live in Medellin and bogota and frequently visit the Caribbean area on breaks. – if you know where to go though you can get good food at reasonable prices.
there is NOTHING better than THIS says
my hope for the next ICANN meeting is that they will CUT all the useless or poor used TLDs but I already know that this will remain just an hope
You Know Me says
@Grace ……. I agree. Much of Latin America is not cheap anymore like it used to be.
Try Brazil or Argentina even…….not cheap by any standard. You have to go to Ecuador, Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc….. to find “cheap” these days .
.
TheBigLieSociety says
“to find “cheap” these days”
====
Five most expensive (22 July 2010) (not considering the fact that the buyer’s equivalent minimum wage, and so his purchasing power, is different)
1. Norway – USD 7.20
2. Sweden – USD 6.56
3. Switzerland – USD 6.19
4. Brazil – USD 4.91
5. Denmark – USD 4.90
://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mac_Index
TheBigLieSociety says
All Talk; No Action” ???
===
ICANN seizes control of IPv4 Address Space
://blog.icann.org/2010/12/planned-changes-to-ipv4-reverse-dns-infrastructure/
Odd, why would IPv4 matter ? People claim it is depleted, finished.