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CIRA Board Election Underway – Vote Now

The annual CIRA election is underway with five seats at stake.  Under the current rules, three of the positions go to candidates nominated by Nominating Committee; two positions are for member nominated candidates.  This past year I wrote several times about the adoption of a CIRA WHOIS policy and the open division on the board. Several board members involved in that decision making process chose not to run for re-election.  An important exception is Ross Rader, who has great experience in Internet policy matters and voted against the backdoor exceptions, expressing concern about the lack of transparency in the decision making process.  I strongly urge CIRA members to vote for Ross.  Other candidates worthy of support include Nomination Committee candidate Tom Williams (of the terrific Give Meaning), as well as member nominated candidates Barry Shell and Ben Lucier.  Voting ends on September 25th.  If you are a CIRA member and concerned with the future of the dot-ca domain, vote now.

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8 Comments

  1. Ack, when I registered my dot-ca domain, I didn’t fill out the form to confirm my membership! Thanks for reminding me. The form won’t be processed in time for this election, unfortunately, but at least I’ll be a member for future votes.

    For those reading this who are, like me, a dot-ca registrant who forgot or didn’t know that you could fill out an additional form and become a CIRA member, get a form today, fill it out, and send it to CIRA:
    [ link ]

  2. Nicholas Osborne says:

    Hi, I’m Nicholas and I’m also running for the CIRA board because I feel I would represent Canada’s unrepresented youth and student demographics. Right now the most innovative and prolific .ca namespace users are the least represented in the decision making process. Issues such as digital media rights, the ongoing Can-DMCA threat and traffic throttling (net neutrality) have disproportionate impact on young internet entrepreneurs. Give us a voice, and allow us to start taking responsibility for the future we will have to flourish in.

  3. I wasn’t planning on voting for the CIRA election, but looking back on the WHOIS issue has caused me to change my mind. I do totally agree with Michael as well as his selection. I do thank you for the prodding. đŸ™‚

  4. Your Government
    How To Write To Congress [ link ]

    It is named “How To Write To Congress”, but many points in it are good for those of us who send letters to our MP’s regarding the Copyright Bill C-61.

  5. [ link ]

    I wouldn’t vote for Tom Williams.

  6. In reply to Jesse, and to anyone else who may think similarly, I’ll say it’s a shame it takes a controversy to remind people why their votes matter, but I do understand and it’s human to feel that way. Much of what CIRA does probably seems boring to the average net-citizen and registrant. But then many things seem boring until they suddenly aren’t anymore, and affect people in some very real and immediate way.

    I’d encourage all registrants (anyone who has a dot-ca domain) to become members of CIRA. It costs nothing but a bit of time and bother. You may not care much about the election in any particular year, or about most issues at stake, but you never know when you will care. Given the relatively few people who vote, this is one time when your vote really does matter. Be sure to claim it.

    In the interest of disclosure, btw, I’m also on the board of CIRA. I’m in the second year of my three-year term, and therefore not up for reelection right now.

  7. Member-nonMember
    When I first registered a .ca domain name with CIRA about 5 years ago (I had one previously before CIRA existed) I took out the optional membership. I have received news bulletins by e-mail, I have voted in elections but now when I went to vote in these, I’m told I’m not a member, they can’t find a record of me being a member and I’ll have to apply to become a member.

    I even have the membership consultation survey e-mail fronm last July and the reminder email for the 2007 elections that starts out “As a member”. I received a mail for the “tokenize” membership renewal link, and the confirmation telephone call. Somewhere here is also the confirmation letter. Now it appears, a day prior to the elections that I am apparently “not a member” and must reapply. Of course that means far to late to cast a vore.

    Maybe one of the first things the new Board of Directors should do is overhaul the membership database and records keeping.

  8. Congratulations!
    Micheal,
    I see that you have won a spot. Top vote getter too. Way to go. You have injected life into an otherwise extremely dull process.