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13 September 2013
15Hatfields
Europe/London timezone

Whatever happened to "rough consensus and running code"? Multistakeholder governance in .uk.

13 Sept 2013, 14:30
30m
15Hatfields

15Hatfields

15 Hatfields, Chadwick Court, London, SE1 8DJ
Main Session

Speaker

Ms Emily Taylor (Emily Taylor Consultancy Ltd)

Description

Nominet, the .uk domain name registry, has recently published proposals for sweeping changes. If adopted these will fundamentally alter both the structure of the .uk namespace, and the way that its registrars are accredited. The Internet community has traditionally followed a collaborative form of policy making, epitomised by David Clark's aphorism "We reject: kings, presidents and voting. We believe in: rough consensus and running code". Over time, this approach has become known as bottom-up, multistakeholder governance. The involvement of the full range of affected stakeholders lends legitimacy to the process, and to the relevant organisation. This presentation is a critical analysis of Nominet's policy development process, drawing on comparators from the Internet governance world. At the same time, it will ask whether it is realistic to expect full participation of stakeholders in .uk (or Internet) governance, especially in the increasingly competitive world of new Top Level Domains.

Primary author

Ms Emily Taylor (Emily Taylor Consultancy Ltd)

Presentation materials