* Gert Doering wrote:
The contribution to ICANN is split into two parts totalling 823 kUSD: [...] So, close to one million dollars for that?
The main purpose of ICANN is, to keep all kind of non-technical influences (government, law enforcement, intellectual property, moral attitude, organized crime^W^Wcommerce, ...) distant from the really working technical people. In order to reach this goal, ICANN is stuffed with processes, spans working groups and small teams, holds meetings (three times the year in person), reviews the already completed work, reviews the ongoing processes, and the future one by creating new working groups and more meetings. By including everybody and his dog, ICANN binds all interested parties in procedural activities without any hope of any relevant outcome. The main point is, that all those parties are now bounded and do not try to find other ways to aim their pressure to the technical community. Hence: Well spend money.