On Sat, 18 Sep 2004, Milton Mueller wrote:

> In my opinion, complete reliance on
> teleconferences almost entirely eliminates the ability of
> people in Asian time zones to participate, and seriously restricts
> the participation rights of those for whom ICANN is a
> labor of 'love' (?) stolen from job time rather than a part of
> one's industry or lobbying/legal job.

  Amen.

  Not only is the cost a barrier, it also restricts people who use
English as a second language from participating. I find that
many people who use English as a second language (or third and fourth)
are better at reading English than speaking/listening English.
Assuming that they have the funding, there will still be a natural
reluctance to participate in such teleconferences.

  Many participants in the last ICANN meeting in Malaysia were
quite happy that there was an instantaneous transcription process
in the main hall precisely because of the difficulty with
listening to English.


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* Horacio T. Cadiz    | Open Source. No Gates. No Windows.  *
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