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26 October 2012: Big news! The official website of the ICANN Independent Objector is now online. Another piece of good news announced at the same time is that the site will also offer a French version, which was under construction at the time. More than a month later, the French version is still under construction. Do we have to wait for eternity?
While this situation may not seem critically important on the surface, it must in fact be taken very seriously because it is symptomatic of a far deeper problem: it means that there is no equal opportunity for English- and non-English speaking candidates to obtain a new generic top-level domain name. In the recent past, ICANN has demonstrated that it is not insensitive to this "lack of opportunity due to lack of understanding", and we appreciate this (its new website is available in the six official languages of the United Nations).
We urge you, ICANN, not to relent in your efforts in this crucial area. We urge you to keep your promises to publish versions in languages other than English, and always to abide by the two guiding principles underlying your multilingual Web policy: to ensure that the translations of the English versions are of high quality and to publish them (virtually) simultaneously with the English versions. By making us wait more than a month for a French version that should have taken less than a couple of days to prepare, you are exposing yourselves to...serious objections from independent objectors.
Web site of the Independent Objector.
By Jean Guillon, New generic Top-Level Domain specialist. Visit the blog maintained by Jean Guillon here.
Related topics: ICANN, Top-Level Domains
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The IO office is independent of the operations of ICANN. They have their own budget and procurement of things like websites.
Given that it is run from Paris, it would have made sense for the IO to appear first in French. I have every expectation that it will be in multiple languages ASAP.
I think it is too easy: ICANN is the only entity - worldwide - who has authority on the new gTLD program. Hasn't ICANN allowed the IO process?
Why would English readers have access to it and not...Spanish applicants?
It would be like writing that ICANN is not responsible for delays in the new gTLD program because what: the multi stakeholder's model is managed by people who do not receive a salary from ICANN?
:-)
In other words, neither the Board of ICANN nor it's CEO can tell the IO what to do (as it should be).
You can ask the IO directly when Spanish/French, etc languages will be available.
Many delays in the last 7 years of the new gTLD history HAVE been caused by various stakeholders, as ICANN is merely the secretariat for it's policy making community.
It it funny because I thought Alternative roots were a joke until very recently and I wonder if these would not be an alternative for the EU (EC) to stop relying on ICANN.
In any project management there is a dead-line and most of the time it is respected. The ICANN model (the famous multi stakeholder's model) has far too many parties doing whatever they want with the possibility to slow (stop?) the process. Not only it does not end but the language problem increases the non and misunderstandings.
For information, the "under construction" front page just acquired its French translation.
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