This RC domain names issue points back to a bigger issue for NCSG, the 
non-commercial/not-for-profit society constituencies, and civil society 
in general. It is almost as though the civil society stakeholders take a 
Whack-a-Mole strategy, mobilizing to Whack at a policy issue when it 
surfaces, often to then go on to other areas when another Policy-Mole 
sticks sit head up in ICANN’s policy remit.

This is in marked contrast to how the commercial and government 
constituencies approach these issues. They maintain both early warning 
and early intervention systems.  As has been pointed out, business 
constituency lobbyists are already at work in the halls of government 
advancing their strategic interests in the IANA transition process.  
Their 360 degree assessment (environmental scan) assumes early and 
sustained intervention as ongoing process, one which by the way breeds 
familiarity and has benefits beyond the Policy-Mole at hand. This is the 
opposite of a Whack-a-Mole strategy. In the case of RC, they understood 
this and used their clout to act more like commercial stakeholder 
protagonists.

The wider lesson here is that the NCSG needs not only broader and deeper 
stakeholder engagement. It needs an internal strategy that goes beyond 
Whack-a-Mole and better matches with on-going strategies used by 
commercial and government protagonists, at least within the domain of 
ICANN’s remit. NCSG directly, or via its members, can only do this in 
collaboration with others, across the full scope of the Internet 
ecosystem. This is an area that needs development, possibly within 
ICANN, and certainly beyond ICANN.

Sam L.