CYBER-FED 10: Origins Of ICANNS's At Large Membership

[Hans Klein (by way of chiari mario <chiari.hm@flashnet.it>)]

                        Please forward
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  CYBER-FEDERALIST          No. 10          March 27, 2001

         THE ORIGINS OF ICANN'S AT LARGE MEMBERSHIP

                         Hans Klein
   Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
                  http://www.civsoc.org
               The Internet Democracy Project
         http://www.internetdemocracyproject.org/
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THE ORIGINS OF ICANN'S AT LARGE MEMBERSHIP

Of the many controversies surrounding ICANN, perhaps the most contentious
have been those about At Large Membership (ALM). Should there be a
membership?  If so, what form should it take? Now that it has been created,
should it be abolished? Who would want to abolish it and why?

Underlying all these issues is one foundational question: What is the
appropriate role of the Internet user in Internet technical coordination?
Furthermore, as we recognize the linkages between Internet technical
coordination and public policies for intellectual property, industry
competition, and even national sovereignty, the foundational question can
be restated as: What is the appropriate role of the Internet user in global
Internet policy-making?

The ALM issues go very deep indeed!

Here I don't attempt to define the user's role in technical coordination or
in policy-making.  Instead I review the history of the ALM's creation. By
understanding that history, we can better understand questions confronting
us today.

Before ICANN: The Internet Society (ISOC)
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