I saw Bret Fausett's note "A Note Back to Kieren".
My own feeling is that the question is not whether ICANN's nominating committee should operate in the open.
(I do believe, however, that long as it exists that it should operate completely in the open - these are political choices being made, not employment decisions. And let's get real about the name: this "nominating" committee does not nominate candidates to be approved or rejected by others. No. ICANN's nominating committee makes the first, only, and final selections.)
I believe the proper question is whether ICANN's nominating committee should exist at all.
Nominating committees are an example of ICANN's excessive paternalism - ICANN (and its nominating committee) implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) assert, that they know the public interest better than do the people who are the public.
That's the principle of oligarchy - the belief that society should be governed by a small body. It is not the principle of democracy.
ICANN had successful worldwide elections in year 2000. Yes, there were a few problems - most caused by ICANN's own insiders who intentionally tried to disrupt the system or who were simply technically incompetent (or both.)
It is time to remember that the atomic unit of "stake" (as in "stakeholder") is the individual living breathing human being.
ICANN should drop the paternalistic nominating committee and revive the method that worked in the past - elections.
Avast! This be talk like a pirate day!
Me First Mate be thinkin: Cap'n the packet from London arrived in town today.
Sez I, Aye! Fetch the longboat so's me an the lads, needin some grog, can go ashore and visit the public house.
I sez: Me laddies! Bess be the landlord's daughter, she be the landlord's black-eyed daughter. She be a saucy and buxom wench, but keep your hands to yourself, we want no trouble with the highwayman.
So I says to Bess: Bess, Grog for me laddies! And a copy of the London School of Economics report on ICANN!
And we sets into drinking and readin, and readin and drinkin.
Finally me cabin boy pipes up: Cap'n. Aye?, sez I.
Cap'n they don't condemn the division of internet booty only to "stakeholders". And Cap'n they don't clearly recommend a place for internet users. And Cap'n they actually increase the voting strength for intellectual property and business interests!
Jim lad, sez I, what, me boy, did you expect? We be pirates by sea, but on the internet there be better, bigger pirates! We, me hearties, only take ships, booty, wenches, and grog. But the intellectual property and business pirates ravish the domain name system and have eyes on the whole internet. Me maties, doff our hats to the real pirates of ICANN!
Shiver me timbers! Arrr!
It's been a while since I've written anything - there are some good reasons for this but I won't bore you with that right now.
I was just reading the news about Senate race in Virginia.
And I am reminded of my interaction with Senator Allen during a hearing on ICANN.
I was sitting at the witness table - with the microphones and cameras, just like in the movies. The Senators were up there on the raised platform, looking down on us. I was beyond nervous.
I read my prepared statement and the Senators began asking questions.
Senator Allen seemed to be there to look out for the interests of Verisign. (Versign's DNS operations are in the northern Virgina suburbs of Washington DC.)
At one point Senator Allen looked down on me from his raised dais, wrapped himself in the full Foghorn-Leghorn stereotype, and in his most condescending voice asked: "Mr. Auerbach, how did you come to be on the ICANN board of directors?"
I replied in my own most condescending voice: "Senator, I won my seat the same way that you did: I won more votes than my opponent."
It appeared to me that I really hit a nerve. I could almost see him thinking "How dare a mere commoner compare himself with a United States Senator!"
I almost went on to add that I represented nearly 330,000,000 people, far more than he, a mere Senator, does and, indeed, even more than does the President of the United States.
It's not often that gets the opportunity to deflate a US Senator.
It really made my day.