To clarify and be a bit more precise... when I wrote: "a couple of them were told in Rio of the idea for a TEAC, and told Sebastien would be heading the Evaluation"...

Of course, these former Task Force members already knew about "the idea for a TEAC" because the TEAC was originally proposed by the Task Force (in other words: them!).

What I meant was that two of them met up with Stuart, Paul and Sebastien in Rio, and they were told about the idea of co-opting them onto a TEAC, told that Sebastien would be heading the Evaluation, and there was some abstract 'talk' about how the evaluation might work...

After which... no TEAC... no TEAC involved in soliciting bids to select the best contract... no TEAC involved in the appointment of Sebastien (because he was already appointed!)... no TEAC involved in overseeing the Evaluation... no TEAC submitting their quarterly reports... no TEAC announced on the ICANN committees list or webpage... no TEAC on the ICANN website at all... no TEAC mailing-list... no TEAC interface with anyone... why? ... because no TEAC!

I think it's fair to say that some of the potential TEAC members are as perplexed about the TEAC's non-emergence as anyone else, because they were led to believe they were going to be invited onto this process and instead...

Well... where are the bids? Where are the contracts? Where are the announcements? Where's the agenda? Where's the participation? Where are the mailing lists? Where is the TEAC? Where are the Registry Reports (sorry potential TEAC member, but you're not allowed to view them!... preposterous!)... and when Paul Twomey was challenged on when the TEAC would really start functioning (and this was recently) he just reportedly said that this was not a high priority right now.

Trouble is, they've been saying this all along about the New TLDs Evaluation Process - it was delayed for ages because of the Lynn "Reforms" - then you get almost two years on "How to do the Evaluation" - and now, here it is, from behind closed doors!!

And still not a Registry Evaluation report to be seen, even though the Task Force pressed for this central data to be made available and ICANN said a year ago that they were in the process of dealing with this.

Most of us, if we managed in this way, would be looking for new work... the management of a resource for the whole world, with vast social and economic implications, deserves better than this.

Amateurs?

...

Richard Henderson