| Frequently Asked Questions Updated 03, October 2000. We add/revise material on this page frequently. If you have visited here before, please reload/refresh this page. Click on the links below to read the response:
What does ICANN do?
ICANN is involved in the overall technical management of the Internet, including such functions as the definition and supervision of the domain name system and the unique assignment of IP addresses and protocol parameters (such as port numbers). ICANN establishes basic policies for these activities through a consensus-based process that gives those affected a voice in how the Internet is managed.
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What is ICANN's At Large Membership?
ICANN's At Large Membership is a new way to participate in the ICANN process. The At Large Members will help select Directors to the ICANN Board. The At Large election process will give individual members of Internet communities worldwide a voice in the selection of policymakers to oversee the critical Internet resources entrusted to ICANN's technical coordination process. The selected At Large Directors will help the ICANN Board be representative of (and accountable to) the vast diversity of the worldwide Internet.
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What are the benefits of At Large Membership?
At Large Members of ICANN will participate in the selection of Directors to the ICANN Board. The rules for the process are posted on the At Large website.
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What are the privileges and responsibilities of At Large Members?
Because of the unprecedented nature of the At Large Membership, which allows worldwide participation in deciding how a global resource should be managed, there will be specially tailored provisions defining the privileges and responsibilities of members. These include participation in the selection of At Large Directors. The future role of the At Large membership will be the subject of an intensive and inclusive study, which will commence in November 2000 and conclude in mid-2001..
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Can I still join?
For purposes of this year's At Large elections, the registration period began on February 25 and closed July 31. Future registration periods will be announced through the At Large membership web site.
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Will ICANN protect my personal data?
Yes. ICANN will use the personal data you provide in the application form only for purposes relating to its At Large Membership and election efforts. Your data will not be sold or transferred to unaffiliated companies or organizations, or used for any commercial purpose whatsoever.
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How much does it cost?
Thanks to the generous grant of the Markle foundation, initially there is no fee to become an At Large Member of ICANN.
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What happens after I apply for membership?
After you submit your application, you will receive an email from ICANN confirming that your application has been received. Once your application has been approved, ICANN will (1) send you a password via email, and (2) mail your PIN number to your physical address.
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How will ICANN protect against fraudulent membership registrations, such as multiple applications by the same person?
Before holding any election, ICANN will conduct an audit of the membership database, using generally accepted techniques to detect multiple and fraudulent membership registrations. In addition, ICANN is planning to ask independent monitors to verify the integrity of the election process.
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How will I cast my vote? How will ICANN protect against fraudulent voting?
In order to vote, you will required to provide your user name, password (which you will receive by email), and PIN number (which you will receive by physical mail). This system is not foolproof, of course, but, together with a vigorous audit of the registration data, should be sufficiently verifiable and transparent to provide reasonable assurances against significant degrees of fraud.
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Do I have to renew my membership every year?
Yes. Members will be asked to reconfirm their membership data every year.
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What if I lose my password or PIN number?
If you have lost your password, you should go to the members only area and click on the appropriate button. Because of the cost of mailing PIN numbers via surface mail, ICANN will send no more than one PIN reminder. Passwords and PIN numbers will not be given out by telephone.
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Can I still become a candidate for member-nomination?
No. The deadline to notify ICANN of your intention was August 14. Back To The Top
What is the deadline for membership activation?
To vote in this year's At Large election, the deadline to activate your membership will be 8 September 2000 (midnight UTC/GMT). To activate, you must have your membership number, password (sent via email), and PIN number (sent via postal mail).
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What should I do if I do not have my PIN letter yet?
Be patient. All PIN letters were mailed by 7 August. That allows more than 3 weeks for members to receive the PIN letter, activate, and make an endorsement before the 8 September deadline for endorsements. Also, it allows more than one month for the letters to arrive before the 8 September activation deadline for purposes of voting.
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What happens to a membership application if the PIN letter is returned to ICANN by the Post Office?
That membership application is invalid. To be valid, the application must contain a valid name, email address, and physical address. If the physical address is invalid, the application is considered invalid.
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Can I endorse more than one candidate?
No. You can only endorse one candidate for member-nomination.
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Can I change my endorsement?
Yes. Simply log in again and make your new endorsement. Your prior endorsement will be automatically deleted.
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How will the 2% nomination threshold be calculated?
The minimum number of endorsements to qualify for member-nomination will be 2% of activated members as of the end of the member-nomination period (currently scheduled for 8 Setember, midnight UTC/GMT), or 20 members (whichever is greater).
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Can a candidate for member-nomination drop out? If so, what will happen to that candidate's endorsements?
A candidate for member-nomination is free to take his/her name off the list of candidates at any time. If the candidate does so, the endorsements will be deleted, and the endorsing members will be free to endorse another candidate. If time allows, ICANN will send an email to the affected members stating that their endorsed candidate has dropped out. As endorsements belong to the members, not the candidates, a candidate cannot "transfer" her/his endorsements to another candidate.
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Will the names of endorsers be made public or shared with the candidates?
No, the names of endorsers will not be made public or shared with the candidates.
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Can I endorse a candidate in another region?
No. You can endorse a candidate in your region only.
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How often are the endorsement counters updated?
Approximately 3 times each day.
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What is the deadline for endorsements?
September 8, midnight UTC/GMT. The original deadline of 31 August was extended to 8 September to allow more time for PIN letters to be delivered by postal systems, and to increase the overall rate of participation in the member-nomination process. The extended deadline will not delay the vote, however, which is still scheduled for 1 - 10 October.
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Can I change my vote, after it has been submitted?
No. A vote cannot be changed after it has been submitted. Votes are
recorded anonymously; therefore, it is not possible to change votes once
they have been submitted.
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Will ICANN be posting interim daily voting results?
No. There will be no interim results posted. Such a practice would
tend to distort the voting process, giving greater weight to votes cast
early in the process. In order to give all At Large votes equal weight, no
interim results will be posted.
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When will ICANN post the results of the At Large vote?
The deadline for the At Large voting process is midnight GMT/UTC,
Tuesday, 10 October 2000. The At Large votes will be tabulated following
the conclusion of hte deadline. Results will be posted as soon as the
tabulation is complete. Depending on the number of rounds of vote
tabulation required in each region, the tabulation and posting process
should take no more than a few hours.
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I'm not familiar with Alternative Vote procedures. How will the At Large vote be tallied?
See the Rules :
1. ICANN will use the Alternative (also known as "Preferential" or
"Single-Transferable") Voting System to conduct this election. Members will
rank the candidates in order of preference ("1" for their first choice, "2"
for their second, etc.). Members may rank as many or as few candidates as
they choose. The votes will be tallied according to the first preferences
(the "1"s). If at that point one candidate has an absolute majority (50% +
1) of the vote, he/she is selected. If not, the candidate with the fewest
votes is eliminated. The eliminated candidate's votes are redistributed to
the next ranked candidates (the "2"s). The votes are counted again to
determine whether any candidate has an absolute majority. If not, the
elimination process is repeated until one candidate gains a majority.
2. In the event of a tie, the candidate with the greatest number of first
preferences (the "1"s) will be selected. In the event of a tie in the number
of first preferences, the candidate with the greatest number of second
preferences (the "2"s) will be selected, and so forth through the sequential
preferences as required. In the highly unlikely event that two candidates
get exactly the same number of votes at each preference, the selection will
be decided by a coin toss supervised by the Election Monitoring and
Oversight Panel.
Some useful (and entertaining) background resources on the Alternative Vote
process (sometimes called "Instant Runoff Voting") have been published by
the Center for Voting and Democracy:
-- Chart of voting tabulation process:
http://www.fairvote.org/irv/flow.pdf
-- Demo: "The Muppets Use Instant Runoff Voting":http://www.fairvote.org/irv/muppets/index.html
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