For Sale CIRA Election

[Jeff Rybak]

So in your opinion how many current board member do you feel need replacing? Surly being as honest as you are you cannot feel everyone is doing a crack job so how many do you feel need not be re elected?

This election makes it very easy to comment on that one. We've got two ways directors get elected. One way is to be selected as a candidate by our Nominations Committee (very arms length - you'll appreciate how much so in a moment) and three are elected from that list. And the other way is to be elected from a list of members' candidates. One person is elected from that list.

This year, for reasons I have no access to because they do their thing off on their own, the Nominations Committee selected no incumbents at all. So you're guaranteed three new directors there, from a list of six. You can check out their details here, if you like. I don't know any of them personally but I guess they're pretty qualified. None have prior history with CIRA.

https://elections.cira.ca/2009/finalslate/list/en

That leaves me running for one seat on the members side. There's another incumbent there named Barry Shell. Considering that I'm running directly against him, I guess I could say you're welcome to not reelect him. =)

Everyone else you've got for at least 1-2 more years. Several are also newish, with only a year or two under their belts. I would encourage you to pay close attention in future election years, however. You can usually tell the difference very quickly between those who know what they're talking about and those that don't.

To add to this, what do you feel CIRA's biggest blunder has been, executed or not.

Well, it's easy to agree with what's already been said, but I do acknowledge our marketing efforts have been a regular drag. The only reason that doesn't really qualify as a great "blunder" is because it's a long simmering problem without a single flash point. I could cite a couple of other things that come to mind, like the membership mess or the way WHOIS was handled.

Actually, in a sense, all of these things have a similar basis in the way CIRA is run and organized. For a long time CIRA's public face and policy positions were heavily influenced by, if not run directly by, our legal team. Now CIRA's got a good legal team, but if you want a public document written for the average person you don't want a lawyer drafting it. And that's been a long running problem. All of these various issues were made worse or complicated by the fact that legal concerns were driving the discussion more than they should be. Now the legal concerns are real and shouldn't be ignored. But they also can't trump everything else all of the time.

I'd say, lurking behind many of these issues, that's been CIRA's biggest mistake in the past. Letting legal do too much of the driving. We're trying to simplify things now, and make them easier and friendlier. I know Byron (our CEO) is serious about that. And I hope you're feeling the effects and continue to do so.

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

Hhhmmm like your response. VBery good, that about does it for me, you would get my vote.

 

[Belzibut]

You get my vote too.

Thanks,

D.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

You get my vote too.

Thanks,

D.

Thanks guys, and those are both votes worth having. Let's face it, a lot of the time people will vote for whoever they know with pretty much no knowledge of the issues or even any interest. I've got some friends with dot-ca domains who I've prodded to get signed up mainly so they can vote for me. But it's earning the votes of people who know what they're talking about and have some tough questions that really matters.

I'll still be sticking around, and the official forum doesn't even open for another week or so, then voting a week after that. Note the AGM in Toronto on the 22nd (you should have notice of that already via email) and please say hi if you happen to make it. You should even have time still to become a member of CIRA if you aren't already. I've been impressed. Some folks I knew got it processed in about a week. Way better than the initial mess two years ago.

 

[A D]

Jeff,

I have been following this thread and will give you my vote as well.

You have not avoided any questions and that is good to see.

Too bad you don't get a vote for easch .ca I own, you would win by a landslide.

Good luck in the election and stay on the forum after you get in.

-=DCG=-

 

[jaydub]

Me too...nice to see you step up and try and answer everything tossed out there...and you didn't always answer what we "wanted to hear"..

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Thanks guys! And yeah, in reference to not telling you what you want to hear ... I really think some folks get stuck in exaggerated rhetoric where the Internet is either going to be "free" or entirely subjected to commercial purposes. While there are going to be conflicts of priority and times when not everyone can be entirely satisfied, my general impression is that Internet-based communities are genuinely decent folks who recognize the value of community and the need for compromise sometimes.

Call it the Main Street effect, if you like. (I just invented this). Even though we're part of a big world the Internet brings people closer together and creates a tighter sense of community. So just like business people in a small town may be focused on their commercial goals, sometimes, they still have concern for other folks. I've never really doubted that most people involved with the Internet can appreciate that it's more than just a tool for making money. So I don't see this as an us-vs-them discussion.

I'll certainly stay available after the election. I doubt I'll check this forum daily as I have been lately. But I registered this forum off my main e-mail account and I'm only ever a PM away.

 

[zerokarma]

This may be a stupid question but I am curious, do you get paid anything for being on the board?

 

[Belzibut]

It's not a stupid question but it's on page 2 of this thread.

 

[katherine]

It's good to know that not all CIRA board members are domainer-adverse.
I have never really bothered with voting so far, as I just don't know any of the candidates.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

It's not a stupid question but it's on page 2 of this thread.

Yep - thanks for getting that one. What's there already is better than anything I'd paraphrase. Hopefully zerokarma is satisfied with the answer, as others were.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Hey all. For any who may have missed the message, the election forum is now open and available at this link. So now you can throw your questions at all the candidates:

https://elections.cira.ca/2009/campaign/welcome/en

In related news, the forum is real-time and unmoderated (save retroactively) which is a huge improvement. Unfortunately, the formatting is still really pathetic and it doesn't even recognize paragraphs. As I've said in the past, God forbid we should use phpBB or yaBB or some damn thing like that. Ah well, one step at a time.

Edit - The forum now recognized carriage returns and so paragraphs are properly formatted. Credit where credit is due, someone on staff fixed that one very quickly.

 

[DropWizard.com]

Jeff:

Kudos for coming out to the forum and accepting all these questions.

If you win please make it a habit to stop by regularily. Most domainers are closer to the day to day problems of the registry/registrar than anyone else. You'll generally see problems brought up here first.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Hey Wizard - I will stop by once in a while, and I've actually been browsing around the site with considerable interest. It's like getting a tour of another world. This is never going to be my business, it's rather fascinating to see it from the inside.

As I mentioned elsewhere, discussion here is attracting more eyes from within CIRA than just mine. Can't be more specific than that, but I've had other folks bring up what's been discussed here. There is some interest.

And seriously, I swear this is 100% true. If you ever have something you really need to say to the board - simply send it to the board! It will be circulated to and read by all directors and it will receive a reply. The reply might simply be a polite "thank you" from the Chair (can't promise you'll always get what you want, after all) but it's the surest way to at least ensure that your points are heard by the full board. If there's merit to them then something may indeed happen, or at the very least they'll be remembered the next time we're discussing related topics.

 

[Namefox]

I for one appreciate your presence here Jeff. We are a growing group and I for one am proud of how we carry ourselves. I am looking forward to solidifying our domain business and becoming more and more legitimate over the next few years.

 

[DropWizard.com]

If you ever have something you really need to say to the board - simply send it to the board! It will be circulated to and read by all directors and it will receive a reply. The reply might simply be a polite "thank you" from the Chair (can't promise you'll always get what you want, after all) but it's the surest way to at least ensure that your points are heard by the full board. If there's merit to them then something may indeed happen, or at the very least they'll be remembered the next time we're discussing related topics.

Yes I can remember bringing up an issue with the board a few years back when they decided to idemnify the registrar community against C/C fraud by preventing transfers of tbr domains for a period of time after TBR registration (till the CC protest period had elapsed).

I pointed out the resale community was getting F***** by not being able to complete contracts we had for catching domains for clients and had no consultation in the process at all. Only the registrars had been consulted. In my opinion CIRA had no business providing them a process that protected them from normal business risks. (and still don't) But the registrars got it and you're right I did get a polite thank you.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Hey all

Voting starts in the CIRA election at noon tomorrow. Needless to say, I would certainly appreciate your vote, and any recommendation you might make to other members of CIRA that you know.

I don't for a moment believe I've earned your vote simply by showing up and posting here. It really wasn't a big gesture. But I believe CIRA needs to understand all of our registrants and member base and that certainly includes the resale market. As some have observed on this forum, I'm not inclined to always tell you what you want to hear, and I do not promise an agenda of domainer-friendly policies. All I do promise is that I share your frustrations with failed marketing, I believe simpler policies and practices are good for everyone, and I think we all want a healthy registry for Canada. I'm very open to hearing what you have to say in the future, and while I may not lurk on this forum constantly I'm never more than a PM away.

Voting happens here, starting at noon on the 23rd:

https://elections.cira.ca/2009/en/vote.html

If you've got any last minute questions or concerns, I'd be glad to hear them.

Cheers,
Jeff

P.S. Sorry I didn't reply sooner, DropWizard, but there wasn't much to say. Your story pretty much confirms my point. I'd never promise you'll always get what you want. But getting your point across to CIRA really is incredibly easy. Any letter that's addressed to the board is read by the board. That's something, at least.

 

[A D]

I met CIRA president Byron yesterday and have voted for Jeff today.

Get in there and vote for Jeff.

-=DCG=-

 

[Jeff Rybak]

I met CIRA president Byron yesterday and have voted for Jeff today.

Get in there and vote for Jeff.

-=DCG=-

Thanks Adam! I do appreciate the support. I'm sorry if I missed you at the AGM (I assume that's where you met Byron) but I hope you had a good time. Nothing too dramatic happened in the official portion of things, and the guest speaker at the end really seemed to be a hit. Have only heard good things about her.

In late reply to the questions about the Domain Registry of Canada (DROC is much easier) the point was raised at the AGM and got a lot of traction. There's a lot of desire around the board to reexamine what we can do to prevent any scam-like abuse in the dot-ca namespace, and that's a discussion that I'll be glad to carry into next year.

 

[Jeff Rybak]

Hey all

Update for anyone who happens to care. There's some interesting "debate" going on via Twitter and, frankly, some fundamental misinformation about what CIRA is and does. It's reaching the point where it's got me rather annoyed, so I want to make a final statement and register a final request for your support.

CIRA is not a political body. Yes, we elect a board, and I'm glad we do so in a transparent way, but that doesn't mean we're suddenly a clearing house for every political, Internet-related issue. Unfortunately it seems that my direct opponent in this election, who I have nothing but respect for as a person, seems to feel otherwise. He believes we are fundamentally political and should get on with better representing Canadians on Internet-related issues. I believe we have a very specific job to do, held in public trust, and we should do it as well as we can. And if we happen to end up with excess funds I've got no trouble devoting them to public-minded goals, but that should never be confused with our primary mission.

Whatever your dissatisfactions may be with CIRA, I trust that what you want us to do is to run the registry as well and as responsibly as we can, above and beyond any other goals or considerations. I'd urge you very seriously to take a hard look at my position in this election, as contrasted with that of my opponent. Here's the one and then the other:

https://elections.cira.ca/2009/finalslate/show/1053/en

https://elections.cira.ca/2009/finalslate/show/1071/en

Any support you can muster would be much appreciated. I'll add, one final time, that I really don't want to demonize my opponent. He's a great guy with the best of intentions. But there's a time and a place to debate the true spirit of the Internet and to take a stand against commercialism in society. I don't think CIRA's board is the right venue for that. Somehow I suspect most people here would agree.

Cheers!