It’s that time of year again when CIRA holds it’s elections for seats on the Board. As I never tire of relating: when I was on the CIRA Board, I got the opportunity to travel across the country and meet .CA domain holders from all walks of life. When the Board held open forums in various venues, the turnout was usually pretty good, and people had a lot to say. Then, near the end of the forum I would always ask the room: Who here voted in the last CIRA election? Very few hands would go up.
The .CA space is unique in that it is one of the very few top-level domains that provide direct member input via the public consultations and the Board elections. I think all interested parties should avail themselves of that opportunity.
Every year the CIRA members (that’s pretty well anybody who holds a .CA domain name) can put one candidate onto the ballot, in addition to the slate of candidates proffered via the CIRA NomCom (Nomination Committee). The member nominees this year are numerous, and I recognize a few names there. It’s a shame we can only show our support for one member nominee at this stage of the game.
So, who should you support from the members’ side of the slate this year?
My overall number one choice is Zak Muscovitch, a domain name lawyer and all around advocate for domainer rights. I’ve had numerous dealings with him in the past and he’s very plugged in and attuned to the domain name space. He’s also written some groundbreaking articles about reverse hijacking.
If your main concern about the .CA space is around technical stability and security, I would look at Andrew Sullivan, a long time DNS guru who I’ve turned to for advice and guidance in the past.
And if you’re looking for an all around generalist with a good head for numbers and a down-to-earth grounding then I see that Rick Anderson is running on the member’s side of the ledger this year. He’s been on the Board before and I thought it was well served by his presence.
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