[Membership] RE:: [IFWP] COMMENTS ON M.A.C.RECOMMENDATIONS of MARCH 18

[Izumi AIZU <izumi@anr.org>]

At 08:16 1999/04/12 -0700, Michael Gendron wrote:

> 
> Dues will separate out those that are casual observers from those that hav
e a
real interest in the work of this organization.

I think we have to understand the other side of the world, not only where we
live
and work,  if ICANN really wants to be a 'global' entity.

The other side of the coin is:
Dues will separat out those who are serious and have more money to influence
the
process from those who are equally serious but have less money.

I also do not like the use of 'coca cola' which is a typical American product,
another symbol of the innocent, but American mentality.

Through my own direct experience, all the cost already required to participate
the
debate in Reston, Geneva, Singapore, Boston, Singapore again, are already
putting burden to those who cannot afford, and have certain effect to
exclude them. 

$10, or $20 sounds very nonimal for these people who are making 100 times 
more a day, but please look at some basic facts of GDP per capita table, 
and quite a few people who are involved with Internet development in these 
development countries are oftne not making much more than these average
figures.

I do understand the importance of preventing capture and fraud, as much
as you do, but dues are not the only means for that.  How to prevent
capture by rich and haves is eqally important.

Or, do you really really think that dues is by far that important? I think we
have
other more important (and often conflicting) issues.

best,

izumi




> 
> Michael Gendron
> Lecturer
> State University of New York at Albany
> Mgendron@gcstech.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Sondow [SMTP:msondow@iciiu.org]
> Sent: Sunday, April 11, 1999 9:20 PM
> To:   Darrell Greenwood
> Cc:   izumi@anr.org; ICANN MAC list
> Subject:      Re: [Membership] Re: [IFWP] COMMENTS ON M.A.C.RECOMMENDATION
S of
MARCH 18
> 
> Darrell Greenwood a 馗rit:
> 
> > >In some countries, the income for professional people, say in university
or
> > >government organizations, are making as much as, sometimes US$ 200 or
> > >$300. That is the fact. And often these people run the Internet, in
> > >country NICs or other administrative/operational activities.
> > 
> > This is a key point, easily overlooked by North Americans.
> 
> It would be very instructive, I'm sure, if the people making these
> pleas for no dues, on the grounds that non-Americans can't afford
> them, would reveal what their present jobs and incomes are. My
> experience has been that people connected with the Internet outside
> the U.S., and particularly in the third world, are invariably from
> the upper-middle-class and can afford even substantial dues payments
> much better than the average American Internet user, for the sole
> reason that the Internet is open to all in the U.S. because it is
> cheap and anyone can have a domain name, whereas in other countries
> it is very expensive and domain names are restricted to businesses
> or wealthy people.
> 
> It would be nice to imagine that the ICANN membership will be
> composed of all people, including the working classes and
> peasantries of underdeveloped countries. Perhaps some day it will
> be. But for now, those who will join ICANN from outside the U.S. can
> afford dues. As far as I'm concerned - and speaking as a person who
> rents a small apartment in a lower-class suburb of an industrial
> city, has no family, and must live by his wits - anyone who can't
> pay US$20/year to join ICANN should have to show why they can't.
>   
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
             Izumi Aizu  <izumi@anr.org> 
 
  Principal, Asia Network Research (Malaysia)
                     www.anr.org
 
Sec. General, Asia & Pacific Internet Association
                     www.apia.org

 >> WRITING THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE <<
                      (beyond Y2K)