While the formation of Internet Governance has been occurring over the last couple of years, only a small number of stakeholders have been involved in the process. Those that were, however, represented many large corporate and government interests. Thankfully, a handful of individuals and small organizations have been in the trenches fighting for fair and open processes, protection of minority interests, and most importantly, representation for the only constituency that ultimately matters -- the Internet users (aka Netizens).
Consequently, Netizens have been afforded limited opportunities to be represented in Internet Governance, especially in the Legislative Branch. And even though some concessions were won, the lack of an organized Netizenry has resulted in limited representation opportunities for this most important constituency. As a result, Iperdome has taken the lead in forming the Personal Domain Name Holders Association (PDNHA), an organization designed to give individuals a voice in the legislative branch of ICANN.
Unfortunately, ICANN has yet to live up to these high ideals. For example, many of our most closely held beliefs about governance have not been incorporated into ICANN. Things like no taxation without representation, due process, consent of the governed, etc.
But if history is any indication, this is not unexpected. In many ways, the White Paper is a vision for Internet Governance, much like the Declaration of Independance was a vision for U.S. Governance. (To read about these similarities, press here) It will probably take years of work before Internet Governance even approaches the ideals as articulated in the White Paper.
The PDNHA mission, therefore, is to continue to work towards the ideals inherent in the White Paper, with a specific emphasis on fair and open processes, the protection of minority interests, and most importantly, the protection of civil liberties.