I am more patient. I think that you and others are doing a good job of
pressing for the right structure that would command trust and legitimacy.
It is not that I am uncritical. It is that so long as I see movement I will
not make a final judgment. Further, I do not believe that ICANN is a sham.
Sham means that what you see is not there. I do not believe that ICANN is a
sham. It is not acting the way you (and sometimes I) want it to act. That
is different from sham. In any event, I wish I could engage more in this
discussion because it is important. One of the reasons I am not actively
involved is that teach and write and have other obligations. Another is
that I have a lot to learn about the more technical and historic aspects
(and am doing so). So please forgive me for withdrawing.
By the way, do you ever visit Boston? I would very much like to see you
again. If not, when you have time, how about a longer conversation? You can
call in the evenings (508 820-1889).
Best regards.
Tamar
At 12:10 PM 1/14/00 -0500, you wrote:
>At 08:30 AM 1/14/00 , Tamar Frankel wrote:
>
>>In the US legitimacy is gained more by the trustworthiness of the system
>>than that of the leadership. We trust the banks but not necessarily the
>>bankers. We trust the constitution and political system but not necessarily
>>the politicians. This balance may be different in other countries. So, from
>>the US perspective, the ability of the system to ensure good successors is
>>crucial. I believe that in ICANN's case-the ability of the leaders to
>>establish such a systm is the main test.
>
>
>Hi Tamar,
>
>Why is this the "main" test?
>
>Doesn't ICANN's flagrant disregard for process
>in pursuit of an agenda cause you any concern?
>
>Hasn't this disregard for process established a
>system favorable to a minority, at the expense
>of the majority?
>
>How many tests will you give ICANN before
>you admit that it is a sham?
>
>Jay.
>
>P.S. Congratulations to John et al -- they
>obviously put a lot of work into their paper.
>I certainly hope they receive extra credit.
>FWIW, I especially liked their conclusion:
>
>"It is therefore more important to ensure that a healthy system is
>installed, rather than just a competent management structure. While our
>analysis has not been exhaustive, it nevertheless points to the conclusion
>that, likely, ICANN is not this structure."
>
>
>>Tamar
>>
>>At 05:58 AM 1/14/00 -0500, you wrote:
>> >Yes, and their ability and that of the system to ensure good successors.
>> >
>> >Esther Dyson
>> >
>> >At 04:29 pm 01/13/2000 -0800, Greg Skinner wrote:
>> >>Just one minor comment (for now). The proposed new structure for ICANN
>> >>closed with this comment:
>> >>
>> >>"The question then becomes whether ICANN has sufficient time to foster
the
>> >>goodwill necessary for it to establish the requisite legitimacy to
>> >>authoritatively act. Furthermore, the legitimacy cannot be tightly tied
>> >>to the skills of its leaders, since this introduces the danger of an
>> >>"ad-hocracy," in that a system whose successes are dependent on the
talents
>> >>of its leadership decays when those leaders exit."
>> >>
>> >>Don't you (the authors of the draft) think that to a certain extent, any
>> >>"governance" system is dependent on the skills and talents of its
leaders?
>> >>"Governance" systems tend to break down when the leaders are felt to be
>> >>incompetent, unqualified, or otherwise inappropriate to lead. Thus part
>> >>of the skills and talents of the leaders would be the ability to gain the
>> >>trust of those they lead.
>> >>
>> >>--gregbo
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >Esther Dyson Always make new mistakes!
>> >chairman, EDventure Holdings
>> >chairman, Internet Corp. for Assigned Names & Numbers
>> >[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> >1 (212) 924-8800 -- 1 (212) 924-0240 fax
>> >104 Fifth Avenue (between 15th and 16th Streets; 20th floor)
>> >New York, NY 10011 USA
>> >http://www.edventure.com http://www.icann.org
>> >
>> >PC Forum: 12 to 15 March 2000, Scottsdale (Phoenix), Arizona
>> >Book: "Release 2.1: A design for living in the digital age"
>> >High-Tech Forum in Europe: October 2000 - probably Barcelona
>> >
>> >
>> >
>
>Respectfully,
>
>Jay Fenello,
>New Media Relations
>------------------------------------
>http://www.fenello.com 770-392-9480
>Aligning with Purpose(tm) ... for a Better World
>------------------------------------------------------
>"We are creating the most significant new jurisdiction
>we've known since the Louisiana purchase, yet we are
>building it just outside the constitution's review."
> -- Larry Lessig, Harvard Law School, on ICANN
>
>
>
