Public participation site

Voicing my thanks for action taken by ICANN. I know I speak for a larger number of festering people who have awaited the presence of a firm hand in these matters.

However. i have to redact some info here, due to the fact that expectations are now changed. Sorry.

It's very necessary to planify a regional and subregional meeting and to allow the local actors to be involved in debate.
It will be a good opportunity for goverment actors and private sectors to take part activelly.

Thanks for having an open area for discussion and participation. I have been in the web since it was launched and through the years have moderated in many open community environments. I lived through being a "Poderator" at TRIPOD for ALT_MUSIC. I observed ICANN come into existence and grow.

Although i'm sure that many would consider the world of webmasters and designers to be an essentially intemperate unwashed horde, those of us that do WebMastering as a craft for rich media ( audio video flash ) are a bit more likeable, I hope you will accept me.

YET??!

WHO, Exactly, DOES own the INTERNET? AND, WHO or WHAT has the AUTHORITY to uphold this?

A meeting of the new African Regional At Large Organisation (RALO)

"At large" is ICANN's terminology for the wider Net community of individual users.

There is a separate At Large Advisory Committee to feed recommendations into the ICANN processes which is undergoing radical reform at the moment, the most significant piece of which so far is due to be announced in Lisbon.

Three Regional At Large Organisations (RALOs) for Africa, Europe and Asia are due to be announced in Lisbon (following Latin America at the last meeting, and leaving only North America), which will themselves accredit "At Large Structures" - groups of Internet users.