At 09:49 AM 11/9/2006, Milton Mueller wrote:
>Here is another new application. I know nothing about this 
>organization but have encountered its director once in a while in 
>France ISOC and ICANN-related meetings in Europe. Will take a look 
>and anyone who wants to help with the due diligence is welcome to do so.
>
>Two applications from organizations interested in IDNs in two days. Hmmmm.

I don't think it is necessarily suspicious.  Rather, I suspect it is 
a natural result of networking that comes out of things like the IGF.

Say you're an org with an interest but not much familiarity with 
ICANN or its policies.  But you know this stuff is being discussed at 
IGF.  And you keep in touch with other orgs with similar 
interests.  So one of the asks around how they get involved in 
ICANN's IDN debate and get told:
  "you need to be in a constituency."

"Great!  Where's the IDN Constituency?"

"There isn't one.  IDN is one issue ICANN does, but it isn't a constituency."

"O.K., so what constituency do we apply to?"

"Hmmm....you're not an ISP.  You're not really a business or a trade 
association, you're not an intellectual property organization.  You 
aren't registrars, registries, or even necessarily would be 
registrars or registries.  But you are organized as non-commercial 
organizations.  I guess you go to the NCUC."

So org applies and tells fellow org "Hey!  If you want to get 
involved in the ICANN process, you need to join a 
constituency.  Apparently, the right constituency for us is this 
'NCUC' thing.  Man, I hope this ICANN bureaucracy stuff gets easier 
once you join . . . "

Frankly, I keep hoping that we will use things like IGF to recruit 
other non-commercial orgs that are now interested in ICANN issues, 
even ICANN specific issues and areas we haven't traditionally covered.

HArold