ICANN news
Seoul meeting briefing note
Briefing Note – Overall Summary of the Seoul Meeting
What was it?
ICANN’s 36th international public meeting was the last of three held annually to conduct policy development and outreach. It was hosted by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and KISA(Korea Internet & Security Agency), a public agency that plays a major role in developing and researching the Internet in Korea.
The meeting was opened by three local dignatories: Mr. See Joong Choi, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission; Mr. Heung Kil Ko, Senator and Chairman of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the National Assembly; and Ms. Hee Jung Kim, president of KISA.
Mr. See Joong Choi spoke about how the Internet was 40 years old, and the impact it has had in that time. He talked about how important IP addresses were as assets for the future and that they become a common resource for all. And he welcomed the introduction of IDNs as paving a “new way toward the future”.
Mr. Heung Kil Ko spoke about how Korea was a leader in the knowledge and information society, with 77.6 percent of its citizens online. He spoke of the importance of an efficiently and stably managed IP address system, as well as dealing with security threats such as hacking and phishing. The conference would hopefully lead to close ties between ICANN and Korea, he added.
Ms. Hee Jung Kim also heralded the introduction of IDNs, and welcomed a recent change in the agreement that ICANN has with the United States government as strengthening the autonomy of the IP addressing system.
There were 1,207 attendees to the conference from 111 different countries. The participants engaged in a wide range of discussions about the Internet’s domain name system and related issues.
Further information about the meeting, including presentations and transcripts, is available at http://sel.icann.org.
ICANN’s next international public meeting will take place in Nairobi, Kenya beginning on 7 March 2010.
What happened and what are the next steps?
Many meetings, workshops, public forums and informal discussions were held over seven days by the different stakeholders of the ICANN model:
- Business interests
- Civil society – – including the At-Large Summit of individual Internet user representatives
- Governments and government agencies
- Internet service providers
- Registrants
- Registrars
- Registries
- The technical community
Several key issues and themes evolved over the course of the meeting. They are summarized below.
Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs)
WHAT HAPPENED: The most significant progress at the Seoul meeting was the approval of the “fast track”, which will see a limited number of internationalized domain names introduced to the Internet’s root possibly before the end of the year. To celebrate the occasion, a special evening reception was held on the Monday.
The fast track was formally approved by the Board on Friday, and although there remain concerns about their introduction, the Chairman noted it as an historic achievement and the vote was met with a standing ovation by the audience. Dozens of press articles from across the world also recognized the event.
For the first time, Internet users that speak something other than Western languages will be able to represent an entire Internet address in their own language.
NEXT STEPS: Applications to the fast track will open on 16 November.
MORE INFORMATION:
Official announcement of the approval: http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30oct09-en.htm
Fast track webpage:
http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/fast-track/
New gTLDs
WHAT HAPPENED: The third version of the Applicant Guidebook, as well as a range of other papers and explanatory memoranda, were produced for discussion at the meeting. A main session on the program was held on the Monday.
In particular, additional work was done on the “overarching issues” that need to be addressed before the introduction of new top-level domains (see below for more specific information).
ICANN staff revised the deadline to the opening application date for new gTLDs. Instead of giving a date, or quarter, the launch date will be dependent on community efforts to find solutions to the overarching issues. This approach prompted some in the community to argue that ICANN needed to demonstrate its determination to the process.
The result at the end of the week was a compromise solution, approved in a Board resolution, that asked staff to look into how to introduce a system for allowing “expressions of interest” to be shown in new gTLDs. That process may allow for likely demand to be gauged and provide useful data to move some discussions from theoretical to pragmatic.
The Applicant Guidebook is out to public comment until 22 November.
Trademark Protection
The issue of how to protect trademarks in the event of a massive expansion in the domain name space continued to be an issue of much debate. A special session was held on the Wednesday to discuss the issue.
Following public comment on a report produced for the previous meeting in Sydney (the IRT report), possible solutions to the issue were reduced from four to two in a staff paper released prior to the meeting. Those solutions are: the creation of an IP Clearinghouse, or database of validated trademarks; and a Uniform Rapid Suspension process for use in clear-cut cases of trademark infringement.
That paper has been put to the GNSO for review.
Malicious Conduct
Two sessions on Monday afternoon addressed the concern that a large expansion of the domain name space will present new opportunities for abuse of the DNS, such as phishing, malware, the distribution of illegal content, and so on.
The broad concern is that with a large number of new companies entering the domain name market – both registries and registrars – that there will not be sufficient awareness of the problems of dealing with the criminal element online.
Summaries of the input received so far on this issue as well as a report by ICANN staff with proposed mitigation measures were posted for review prior to the meeting and a panel discussion dug further into both.
Security and Stability
A session on Wednesday focused on a report that review how the Internet’s current systems could scale to accommodate new Internet extensions, as well as other security related issues such as the introduction of a more secure form of the current system, called DNSSEC.
Broadly, there are some concerns that if a large number of extensions were introduced to the Internet at the same time, that the systems currently in place would not be able to cope.
There was some discussion about whether the report effectively recommended that new gTLDs would need to be delayed or spread out over time, although there was no agreement on that point and it remains for ICANN’s Advisory Committees in this area (RSSAC and SSAC) to review the report, public comments on the issue and report back to the community.
The root scaling report is out for public comment until 29 November.
Demand and Economic Analysis
Further economic analysis will be commissioned by ICANN in order to address outstanding concerns raised following review of the two previous economic studies.
NEXT STEPS: Feedback from the meeting, as well as comments sent to comment periods covering the third version of the Applicant Guidebook and papers related to the overarching issues, will be used to produce a fourth version of the guidebook for the Nairobi meeting in March.
Staff will review the possibility of introducing a system where potential gTLD applicants are able to provide “expressions of interest” in new Internet extensions in order to help the work move forward more effectively.
MORE INFORMATION:
The new gTLD program webpage contains the latest information as well as extensive background information on the whole process: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm"> http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-program.htm
Root scaling study session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7084">http://sel.icann.org/node/7084
Trademark Protection session: http://sel.icann.org/node/7116"> http://sel.icann.org/node/7116
Malicious Conduct and new gTLDs session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7117
Malicious Conduct and Consumer Protection:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7288
Registry/registrar separation session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7083
New gTLD update session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/6739
Strategic Planning
WHAT HAPPENED: ICANN held its first strategic planning session for 2010 was held on Wednesday morning.
The strategic plan is the process by which the organization’s priorities are mapped out, feedback is received from the community, and all the input is pulled into an Operating Plan, from which the organization’s budget is decided and allocated.
The session was more interactive than previous years with an online survey asking people to rank the importance of various areas of work e.g. implement new gTLDs, strengthen accountability, etc.
The plan recognized four main areas of focus for ICANN: preserve DNS stability and security; promote competition, trust and consumer choice; excel in IANA and other core operations; maintain ICANN’s long term role in the Internet eco-system. Within these, no less than 18 projects were highlighted as being of strategic priorities over the next three years.
NEXT STEPS: A draft plan will be drawn up based on community feedback and provided to the Board for review. The plan will then be put out to public comment in early December, with the second set of feedback used to draw up a revised plan to be put before the Board for approval in February 2010.
MORE INFORMATION:
Strategic plan session: http://sel.icann.org/node/7103
Online survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Auve9xOKvl0YbWhg1NLKmA_3d_3d
Affirmation of Commitments
WHAT HAPPENED: The Joint Project Agreement (JPA) that ICANN had with the US government concluded in September and was replaced by an Affirmation of Commitments.
Under that Affirmation, ICANN becomes accountable to the global Internet community and a series of reviews are outlined that help ensure a high degree of public, global accountability.
A special session was held on the Wednesday afternoon where the Chairman and CEO took questions about the Affirmation and also outlined a path forward for carrying out the reviews.
The Affirmation was also given an hour-long slot at the public forum on Thursday.
NEXT STEPS: The Affirmation outlines a number of reviews. An initial draft of how these might work will be produced following community feedback and presented at the next ICANN meeting in Nairobi.
MORE INFORMATION:
The Affirmation of Commitments: http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30sep09-en.htm#affirmation
Affirmation session: http://sel.icann.org/node/7481
GNSO Improvements
WHAT HAPPENED: After years of hard work, the new GNSO Council sat for the first time in Seoul. There are now two main stakeholder groups: Contracted (made up of registries and registrars), and Non-Contracted (made up of commercial and non-commercial interests).
A new chair was chosen by both houses – Chuck Gomes – and he will work alongside two new vice-chairs: Olga Cavalli (Non-Contracted) and Stephane van Gelder (Contracted).
MORE INFORMATION:
The GNSO Improvements webpage:
http://gnso.icann.org/en/improvements/
The GNSO Council session: http://sel.icann.org/node/6708"> http://sel.icann.org/node/6708
Independent Reviews
WHAT HAPPENED: A number of sessions that covered the review of specific parts of ICANN were held during the week.
Currently, two bodies are in the implementation phase: GNSO and ALAC. The GNSO process was largely finished with the sitting of the new Council; whereas the ALAC met the Board’s Structural Improvements Committee to discuss the implementation of its changes.
Meanwhile, going through the Working Group stage (i.e. just before implementation) there is: the Nominating Committee; Board; and SSAC.
Other reviews ongoing included: RSSAC (just at the start of the working group period); ccNSO (just about to head into the review process); and ASO (terms of reference for its review being drawn up).
NEXT STEPS: The reviews will progress through the clearly defined processes in each case. More sessions will be held in Nairobi to discuss and review that progress.
MORE INFORMATION:
ALAC and Board SIC session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7183
Nominating Committee review session
http://sel.icann.org/node/7094
Board review session: http://sel.icann.org/node/7252"> http://sel.icann.org/node/7252
SSAC review session:
http://sel.icann.org/node/7098
Board members and Councillors
Since this was ICANN’s annual general meeting, there was turnaround in Board and Council members.
In particular, Roberto Gaetano, Steve Goldstein, Wendy Seltzer and Thomas Roessler left the Board. From ALAC: Jose Ovidio Salgueiro, Fatimata Seye Sylla, Vanda Scartezini, Nguyen Thu Hue, and Sivasubramanian Muthusamy all ended their terms. And from the GNSO: Tony Harris, Philip Sheppard, Greg Ruth, Tony Holmes, Ute Decker, Cyril Chua, Carlos Affonso Pereira de Souza, Maggie Mansourkia, Jon Nevett, and Steve Metalitz all left the Council.
Special mention was given to leaving GNSO chair Avri Doria and leaving NomCom chair Tricia Drakes.
Peter Dengate Thrush was re-elected as chair of the Board, and Dennis Jennings as vice-chair.
Board Resolutions
The full set of Board Resolutions at the public meeting on Friday can be found online at http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-30oct09-en.htm.
A transcript of the meeting can be found at: http://sel.icann.org/meetings/seoul2009/transcript-board-meeting-30oct09-en.txt
And video recordings of proceedings can be found in two parts at:
http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/p77419459/ and
http://icann.na3.acrobat.com/p19863704/
Other Matters
Pictures of the conference can be found at: http://www.icann.org/photos/
Bangladesh Consultation on Fourth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
Mr. Hasanul Haque Inu, MP, Chairman, Parliamentary Standing Committee, Ministry of Post and Telecommunications attended the workshop as the Chief Guest while Mr. Akram H Chowdhury, MP, Chairperson, Center for e-Parliament Studis attended as the moderator of consultation.
The consultation jointly organized by Computer Jagat, Bangladesh NGOs Network…
IGF process
Allow me to present my thanks to Diplo for this brilliant initiative. The process on Internet Governance knew a significant progression in certain countries with key questions about intellectual property,data protections, cybersecurity…. But it is advisable to note that the majority of the African countries are always absent in this debate. IGF 2009 in Africa is a very good opportunity for African countries to bring their view compared to experience gained in using digital technology.
Is…
Neustar DNSSEC Proposal Approved Pending Contract Amendment
قرار الآيكان بتدويل أسماء نطاقات الإنترنت
في ختام اجتماع الآيكان في مدينة سيول بكوريا الجنوبية الأسبوع الماضي وتحديداً يوم الجمعة ٣٠ أكتوبر ٢٠٠٩، وافق مجلس إدارة الآيكان على الخطة التنفيذية لتطبيق أسماء النطاقات الدولية من خلال ما يعرف بعملية المسار السريع لأسماء نطاقات المستوى الأعلى لرموز الدول. وهذا القرار يعني ببساطة أن الدول التي لغاتها الرسمية لغات غير الإنجليزية، أو تحديداً لغات لا تعتمد على الأحرف الاتينية (الألمانية والسويدية وغيرها)، سيكون بإمكان هذه الدول الحصول على نطاقات عليا تمثل أسمائها بلغاتها المحلية. فعلى سبيل المثال سيكون لدول كالصين والهند والدول العربية وغيرها أسماء نطاقات بلغاتها الرسمية. ونص القرار على أن تبدأ الآيكان في تلقي طلبات من الدول التي ترغب في الحصول على نطاقتها العليا بدءاً من يوم ١٦ نوفمبر ٢٠٠٩
وخلال الأسبوعين الماضيين تلقيت العديد من الأسئلة بخصوص هذا الموضوع ماذا يعني وما هو أثره على الإنترنت بشكل عام وعلى استخدام الإنترنت في العالم العربي بشكل خاص. وسأقوم هنا بمحاولة الرد على هذه الأسئلة بشكل موجز ومن خلال النقاط التالية:
١- موضوع أسماء النطاقات الدولية ليس بجديد، فتسجيل أسماء نطاقات بلغات مختلفة على المستوى الثاني متاح تحت بعض نطاقات المستوى الأعلى (.com) منذ بضع سنوات، لكن الجديد في الموضوع هو أن تكون نطاقات المستوى الأعلى هي نفسها بلغات مختلفة وبالتالي يكون عنوان الإنترنت بالكامل بلغة لا تعتمد على الأحرف اللاتينية كاللغة العربية والصينية وغيرها.
٢- ما تم الموافقة عليه يوم الجمعة الماضي في سيول يخص فقط أسماء نطاقات رموز الدول وليس له علاقة بأسماء النطاقات العامة (com, net, org)، حيث أن هناك برنامج منفصل يهدف لاستحداث أسماء نطاقات عامة جديدة بأي لغة سواء كانت الإنجليزية أو غيرها.
٣- بالنسبة لاستخدام أسماء النطاقات باللغة العربية، يظن البعض أن ذلك قد يحدث طفرة في استخدام الإنترنت في العالم العربي من حيث انتشار الخدمات الإلكترونية والزيادة في أعداد المستخدمين. أنا شخصياً أرى أن أسماء النطاقات العربية، بالرغم من أهميتها، لا تقدم حلولاً سحرية لمشاكل النفاذ للإنترنت في عالمنا العربي. أنا أرى في أسماء النطاقات العربية عاملاً مساعداً للمحتوى العربي، فإذا ما توفر المحتوى العربي بشكل جيد على الإنترنت فعندئٍذ ستكون أسماء النطاقات العربية بمثابة العنصر التكميلي المشجع والمحفز للملايين الذين تقف اللغة عائقاً بينهم وبين الوصول إلى الإنترنت، بحيث يكون من السهل عليهم قراءة وفهم وكتابة العناوين كاملةً باللغة العربية وتصفح الإنترنت من خلال محتوى جيد باللغة العربية.
٤- بالإضافة للنقطة السابقة، فإن أثر استخدام أسماء النطاقات العربية سيختلف من دولة إلي أخرى. ففي المملكة العربية السعودية على سبيل المثال يستخدم الناس الكمبيوتر والإنترنت باللغة العربية بشكل كبير وبالتالي عند توفير أسماء النطاقات باللغة العربية سيستفيد هؤلاء المستخدمون بشكل مباشر وقد يمتد هذا التأثير لتشجيع أصحاب الأعمال والهيئات المختلفة على توفير المزيد من الخدمات الإلكترونية والمحتوى باللغة العربية وبالتالي تشجيع الناس على الدخول على الإنترنت واستخدام هذه الخدمات. في المقابل فإن بلد كجمهورية مصر العربية والتي وصل فيها عدد مستخدمي الإنترنت لحوالي ١٦ مليون مستخدم بنسبة انتشار حوالي ٢٠٪، والنسبة الأكبر من استخدام الإنترنت فيها باللغة الإنجليزية، فمن الصعب تصور أي أثر سريع لأسماء النطاقات العربية على استخدام الإنترنت في مصر. ولكن لو نظرنا إلى المدى المتوسط والبعيد وتأملنا نسبة انتشار الإنترنت في مصر وكيف يمكن أن تصل هذه النسبة إلى ٥٠٪ أو ٦٠٪ سنجد أنه لا يمكن تحقيق ذلك إلا من خلال نشر مزيد من المحتوى باللغة العربية سواءً كان هذا المحتوى في صورة خدمات عامة تقدمها الجهات الحكومية، أو خدمات بنكية، أو في صورة محتوى تعليمي أو ترفيهي أو غيرها. إذن مع وجود المحتوى الذي يتطلع إليه ٤٠ أو ٥٠ مليون مواطن في مصر ومع إمكانية قراءة وكتابة عناوين الإنترنت كاملةً باللغة العربية، أتصور أنه من الممكن الوصول إلى انتشار أكبر لخدمات الإنترنت في مصر وستكون أسماء النطاقات العربية هي أحد العوامل المساعدة لهذا الانتشار.
٥- وفيما يخص ما تمثله أسماء النطاقات العربية بالنسبة لمسجلي الأسماء من الأفراد والشركات والهيئات وغيرها، فذلك سيساعد بالطبع هؤلاء المسجلون على تسجيل أسمائهم والعناوين التي يرغبون في الحصول عليها كاملةً باللغة العربية، مما يسهل على المستخدم النهائي الوصول لذلك الموقع. من ناحية أخرى، فإن وجود أسماء للنطاقات العليا باللغة العربية قد يشجع الشركات التي تعمل في مجال الإنترنت والخدمات الإلكترونية في العالم العربي على الدخول في مجال العمل في تسجيل أسماء النطاقات. ولا بد هنا من التأكيد مرة أخرى أن القرار الذي اتخذته الآيكان يوم الجمعة الماضي في سيول يخص فقط أسماء النطاقات الخاصة برموز الدول، بينما الحديث عن أعمال تسجيل النطاقات وشركات التسجيل وأصحاب السجل مرتبط أكثر بأسماء النطاقات العامة والتي لم تتم إتاحتها بعد بلغات غير الاتينية.
٦- ظن البعض أن هذه الأسماء الجديدة ستكون متاحة للاستخدام بدءاً من ١٦ نوفمبر القادم، والصحيح أن هذا التاريخ هو التاريخ المحدد من قبل الآيكان لبدء تلقي الطلبات من الدول. وتساءل البعض عن التاريخ المحدد لبدء تشغيل هذه النطاقات العليا الجديدة، وهو سؤال لا يمكن الإجابة عليه لأن هذا التاريخ بالقطع يختلف من دولة إلى أخرى بحسب ظروف استعدادية كل دولة ومتى ستقوم بتقديم طلبها إلى الآيكان وكذلك الوقت الذي ستستغرقه عملية التقييم، ثم عملية تفويض النطاق نفسه إلى المشغل في الدولة صاحبة النطاق. وقد يستغرق المشغل بعض الوقت للتجهيز وفتح باب التسجيل تحت النطاق، وبمجرد فتح الباب نستطيع القول أن المستخدم النهائي يستطيع التسجيل تحت هذا النطاق.
٧- يتساءل البعض عن الدول العربية التي من المتوقع أن تقدم طلباً إلى الآيكان للحصول على اسم نطاقها باللغة العربية. كانت الآيكان قد أجرت استطلاعاً عن هذا الموضوع وأعربت تسع دول عربية عن رغبتها في الحصول على اسم نطاقها العربي. الدول التسع هي الجزائر، تونس، المغرب، ليبيا، مصر، سورية، الأردن، السعودية، والإمارات.
خلاصة القول أن إتاحة أسماء نطاقات بلغات مختلفة هي خطوة مهمة للتغلب على أحد الحواجز اللغوية التي يمكن أن تعيق البعض من استخدام الإنترنت، لكنها بالتأكيد لا تقدم حلاً سحرياً لمشاكل النفاذ للإنترنت في الدول التي تستخدم لغات محلية غير الإنجليزية في تعاملاتها الرسمية وحياة شعوبها اليومية.
Internet Censorship in Ukraine
Here is the information from http://bmeyes.blogspot.com/2009/10/ukrainian-404-error-for-everybody-404.html…
CALL TO THE ICANN BOARD TO CORRECT PROBLEMS WITH THE NCSG CHARTER, AND...
18 August 2009
TO: THE ICANN BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND MR. ROD BECKSTROM, ICANN PRESIDENT
AND CEO
RE: CALL TO THE ICANN BOARD TO CORRECT PROBLEMS WITH THE NCSG CHARTER, AND
TO ADDRESS CONTINUING MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT NONCOMMERCIAL INVOLVEMENT IN
ICANN
This letter comes from nearly 150 individual and organizational members of ICANN’s
Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC). It is also endorsed by public interest groups
outside of NCUC. We are all deeply concerned about the July 30, 2009 ICANN Boar…
IG Youth E-consultation
These information will allow you to contribute for a suitable IG youth strategy.
Please take just 10 minutes to your precious time to fulfil the short questionnaire available at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=KrbuILlnM7lR_2fEAcETcoOw_3d_3d
We need your voice !
Deadline: 4th Nov.
Fourteen Lessons from the Internet Governance Forum
This post is one of the texts featured in the forthcoming publication "IGF: Identifying the Impact" that will be launched at the IGF meeting in Sharm El Sheikh.
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF - the principal global body in the field of Internet governance) has introduced some innovative approaches in managing global policy processes. Some of these may be useful for other polic…
Congratulations to the new GNSO Council and chair
Earlier today, Chuck Gomes was selected by the new GNSO Council as its chair.
The voting procedure needed 60 percent of both of the new houses – contracted and non-contracted – to vote in favour. A first round vote with Chuck Gomes and Olga Cavalli saw Chuck Gomes win 100 percent of the contracted house vote and 50 percent of the non-contracted house; a second round with just Chuck on the ballot saw him win all but one Council votes.
Chuck will be helped by not one but two new vice-chairs under the new system: Olga Cavalli (interim) and Stephane van Gelder. Chuck mentioned in his acceptance speech that he intends to follow the same pattern that he himself had as vice-chair, where they are included in all decisions.
So congratulations new GNSO chair Chuck Gomes and congratulations to the new Council, which has been formed after years of hard work balancing the various stakeholders’ interests.
Outgoing chair Avri Doria was given a standing ovation on standing down and we captured the moment:
WAIGF Communiqué
WAIGF Communiqué
14-16 October 2009
Accra, Ghana
“Promot…
Twitter #ICANN
http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/…
West Africa Internet Governance Forum
I had an awesome time, apart from the time changes that gave me a very difficult time to adjust......the forum was a great success.
I have always had the passion for capacity building . I fostered the partnership between KICTAnet(http://www.kictanet.or.ke/) and Dip…
the second East Africa Internet Governance Forum.
http://www.eaigf.or.ke/tl.html
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Newcomers from Saint Lucia
Best wishes to all
Deirdre
Update on website revamp
Just before the Sydney meeting in June we announced we were running a usability study on the main ICANN website at icann.org and opened a survey to the community to provide their feedback. This is an update on that process just prior to the next meeting in Seoul, starting on Monday.
A mock-up of what the new front page may look like
Since June, ICANN staff has been working hard with external consultants Revere Group to redesign the website to fit with the community’s needs. Revere first carried out a site audit [pdf], pointing out all the areas where the website didn’t fit in with best practices and guidelines.
Then it carried out the online survey as well as around 15 in-depth interviews with community members and staff to find out what it was that people felt the website needed to do. And it also went through the full logs of website visitors to find out who was coming to the site and from where. And from that created a research document [pdf] summarizing the findings.
Based on these two documents, a new taxonomy [pdf] of the site was developed in iterations. New categories and menus cover all the different aspects of ICANN as an organization and structure them more simply and logically. And from that, wireframes [pdf] – blueprint designs – for new webpages were drawn up and new functions and approaches were discussed in an effort to make the site as easy to use as possible.
Design
Once the wireframes were in place, the study then moved into a design phase where a wide range of different approaches to the actual site look were drawn up and run through a group of around 10 staff over the course of a month, and the designs were gradually honed down to the point where the blueprints for the different pages were created as images.
And that’s where we currently are, as of 21 October. The remaining steps are the important ones – figuring out how to implement the new approach, ensuring that we keep as much of the design and new functions sketched out earlier in the process.
We will be working on a timetable for that in the next few weeks and will try to be conservative in our estimates so we don’t end up over-promising. But it is probably safe to say that before the next meeting in Nairobi in March 2010, there will be an updated and fit-for-purpose website that should finally put an end to most, if not all, of the usability issues that the community has had to deal with on ICANN.org for the past few years.
We are publishing summaries of the different aspects of this whole process so you as the community can see the work that has been put into this effort. Hopefully you will like what you see.
Usability study work summaries [pdfs]
