RSSICANN, You Can . xxx Can!
I have just attended my first ICANN meeting and wow, I am very thankful for the 14 hour plane ride home to catch up on some sleep! The most notable outcomes of this meeting include the ICANN Board laying out a new timetable for the gTLD program, the approval (despite much objection) of the ICM application to run the .xxx registry and witnessing auDA CEO Chris Disspain’s heartfelt departure from his role as Chair of the ccNSO.
New gTLDs Timeline
So the ICANN Board laid out a timeline for the new gTLD program. This highlights some important questions about how the new gTLDs will change the way the Internet operates. Not only from a technical perspective but more so about how the end user will find information online - how businesses, organisations and individuals will position their online presence and ultimately (from our perspective) the affect this will have on the .au space. Although our space is strong as highlighted by the 2 millionth domain name registration a couple of weeks ago, we will embark on an educational campaign this year to further amplify the significance of .au as a trusted, well-recognised space for Australian Internet users.
.xxx approved!
Possibly what will be most talked about after this meeting was the Board’s approval of the ICM application to run the .xxx registry. Throughout the ICANN meeting there was substantial opposition to .xxx as seen at the public forum yesterday where an endless line of .xxx challengers took to the microphone. Despite the passion at the forum, many of us were a little disappointed at the lack-lustre protest earlier in the day (a handful of .xxx opponents and a couple of homeless people carrying placards http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keNAFjKVzcE&feature=related ) – the obvious omission being the scantily clad army of adult entertainers many hoped for.
ccNSO farewells Chris
For those of us representing .au at the meeting it was great to see the grand departure of Chris from his role as Chair of the ccNSO (as a result of his unopposed election to the ICANN board). This featured many standing ovations throughout the week and a tribute video that I would rate five stars: http://www.youtube.com/audachannel#p/u/0/O7kwUpQFB6g
The ccNSO through its many tributes praised Chris for his work as Chair including:
- Establishing bilateral relations by developing the Accountability Framework Programme
- Developing guidelines for Financial Contributions of ccTLDs to ICANN
- Launching the IDN ccTLD Fast Track programme by 7 March 2011
- Establishing numerous working groups of which 11 are active today
To DNSSEC or not to DNSSEC?
A personal goal of mine in attending this meeting was to try and gain a better understanding of this ‘DNSSEC’ thing everyone’s talking about. After watching a theatrical production in four acts at the ‘DNSSEC for Beginners’ workshop I think I’m finally getting somewhere – stay tuned for the ‘Demystifying DNSSEC’ blog piece.
Well that’s it from me after an amazing week in San Francisco with many new friends.
See you in Australia!
Jenelle.