The Difference between CIRA and ICANN?
Earlier today BoingBoing ran a bit that characterized CIRA as playing the role of the censor as it related to some controversial content hosted at a web site using a dotCA address;
Joe Volpe had the Canadian Internet Registration Authority sever the link from YouthForVolpe.ca to the server which hosted the website."
– StephenTaylor.ca via BoingBoing
CIRA, characteristic of its forthright and responsive nature, quickly issued a press release setting the various press stories straight.Bernard Turcotte, CIRA's President and CEO states "We have no record of any contact between CIRA and Mr. Volpe or his staff. Furthermore, CIRA does not deal with website content. This is and continues to be a guiding principle underlying our operations."
– via CIRA
So what’s the difference between ICANN and CIRA? Well, CIRA continues to act in a responsive, proactive manner. I’ve never seen the press get ahead of CIRA, and I’ve never seen CIRA overreact to any particular stories. ICANN is famous for this type of behavior.
The second big difference? CIRA continues to play a hands-off role in the way it manages the namespace it is responsible for. ICANN, in stark contrast, is simply a lap dog for the United States Government and has no compunction playing the role of state censor.
The last big difference? I sent an email to senior ICANN staff mid-afternoon today and I have yet to get a response. I sent an email to CIRA’s most senior staff about the Volpe issue and I got a response back in less than two hours.
[Update: For the whole rundown on the Volpe/CA hullaballoo, check out Stephen Taylor’s comprehensive blog on the subject…]
See this post as it first appeared on Blogware.
3 comments
Comments are closed - these are kept exactly as they were left.
(name not saved), June 4, 2006
From a registrant perspective, the difference between CIRA and ICANN is that when I register a .com domain it goes quickly and simply, and I probably won't ever even be aware of the existence of ICANN. When I register a .ca domain, I find out that I can't have example.ca because someone else has example.on.ca (because, when CIRA first started and changed the rules, the wanted to give people with domains like example.on.ca the chance to change to example.ca now that they could -- why they are still doing this so many years later, I don't know) and when I do get the registration done, I have to respond to a verification e-mail from CIRA. Then when I think that the domain is registered properly I get an e-mail telling me that CIRA didn't like the way I filled out the forms and I have to change the information (and/or provide additional information, e.g. the registration number for the partnership to which the domain is registered) or I will lose the domain. Then the next time I register a domain in the same profile, I get a message telling me to change the information back to the way it was (and provide the registration number again) or I will lose the domain. Eventually I discover that if I just ignore these messages, nothing ever happens.
I appreciate the things you're saying but I'd like it better if they were competent at the basic job of being a registry.
(name not saved), June 9, 2006
If ICANN were actually running the registries, we would be in dire straits. Thankfully there's enough of a separation there, i.e. that companies like Neustar run the registries, so that this isn't a real concern.
I hear you about CIRA's issues. Hopefully I can count on your support come election time so that I can get back into the fray and get back on track to start making some difference in this area.
-ross
(name not saved), June 9, 2006
Absolutely. I've voted for you and supported your nominations every time I could.