RFC 2690

RFC 2690: A Proposal for an MOU-Based ICANN Protocol Support Organization 🎀

Network Working Group 🌸 Author: Scott Bradner, Harvard University 🧚 Category: Informational 📚 Date: September 1999 📅 Obsoletes / Updates: The header doesn't list anything this one obsoletes or updates 💅

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Status of This Memo ✨

okay so this memo is just information for the Internet community 🫶 It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind, so nobody has to implement it to be compliant. Distribution of this memo is unlimited, so share it with everyone you want 💖

Copyright Notice 🌈

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved. 💜

1. Abstract 🦋

this is a copy of the proposal for an MOU-based Protocol Supporting Organization that got submitted to ICANN on April 23, 1999. the whole vibe here is that we're putting the plan on the record 📝

2. Cover Letter 💌

this is a copy of the cover letter that went along with the draft when it was sent to ICANN 🎀

Dear Esther,

okay so, enclosed is a description of a proposed Protocol Support Organization (PSO) for ICANN to think about 🧚 It's purposefully informal, because it's meant to kick off a discussion and not to be a final formal legal document. no pressure!

This proposal was mostly built on the open Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) poisson working group mailing list, where people talked through each new version of the proposal 🌸 It also got a ton of feedback from the IETF's Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG) and Internet Architecture Board (IAB) 👑 And it benefited from long chats with representatives of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) ✨ the collab is giving real main character energy 🙌

I'm really looking forward to ICANN's evaluation of this proposal 💖 I'm also excited for the MOU development meeting mentioned in section 1.c of the proposal 🍓

Thanks 🫶

Scott

3. Proposal for a MOU-based PSO 🌟

ICANN Protocol Supporting Organization

1. Definition of the PSO. 🦋

a. Purpose.

the Protocol Support Organization (PSO) is going to be a consensus-based advisory body inside the ICANN framework 🫶

b. Components.

the PSO will set up a "Protocol Council" and host an annual open meeting, known as the "General Assembly" (described below) 🎀

c. Creation through a Memorandum of Understanding.

the PSO's arrangements are supposed to be written down in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ICANN and a group of open international Internet related standards development organizations (SDOs) 📝 SDOs must satisfy a set of objective criteria before they can be considered for membership (see Appendix A) ✨ Once ICANN accepts a proposal for an ICANN PSO, including the SDO criteria, there will be a meeting that's open to every SDO that thinks it meets the criteria. That's where the MOU gets written 🌸

All existing MOU signatories must agree to admit new signatories 💅 Rejected applicants can appeal to the ICANN Board, where a 2/3rds majority can override a rejection if the board finds the SDO meets the criteria 👑

2. The Protocol Council 💜

a. Members

the Protocol Council will have up to [12] individual members, selected by the SDO signatories of the MOU (see below) 🧚

b. Term

Protocol Council members serve a term of 2 years. Removal will follow procedures set up through the MOU 🌈 (Initial terms will be 1 and 2 years, so the terms can become staggered from the start ✨)

c. Powers/Duties of the Protocol Council

i Appointment of ICANN Directors 👑

the Protocol Council will nominate 3 Directors to the ICANN Board (By-laws, Art. V, Sec. 4(iii)). The initial directors would have terms of 1, 2 and 3 years (By-laws, Art. V, Sec. 9(d) 🍓

The Protocol Council will run an open call for nominations for any open PSO seats on the ICANN board. Each SDO signatory to the MOU is entitled to nominate candidates through procedures of its own choosing 🫶 Nominations from the public at large should also be allowed, under conditions the Protocol Council defines 🌸

The Protocol Council will then pick the PSO nominees to the ICANN board from among those nominees, using a means of its own choosing 💖

ii Qualifications of ICANN Directors 🎀

No more than 2 PSO-nominated Directors may come from the same geographic region. the diversity rule is serious 🌍💅

iii Role of ICANN Directors 🦋

The Directors appointed by the Protocol Council will not represent the PSO on the Board. They'll function as full Directors of ICANN (By-laws, Art. V, Sec. 8) ✨

iv Advisory Role 🧚

The Protocol Council will advise the Board of ICANN on matters the ICANN Board refers to it. As per the ICANN By-laws, only matters relating to the assignment of parameters for Internet protocols would be referred 🌟

d. Policy Development

okay this part is giving "the Internet has always been self-governing" energy 🌈 In the tradition of the Internet, standards development policies and conflict resolution mechanisms should be created by the institutions most directly involved, without undue interference from centralized bodies 👑

The ICANN By-laws give the PSO primary responsibility for developing and recommending substantive policies on protocol parameter assignment 💜 The PSO is committed to the idea that policies for parameter assignments for particular protocols belong to the individual SDO that developed the protocol 🫶 The Protocol Council will be available whenever SDOs need help developing policies and procedures for resolving conflicts between SDOs (By-laws, New Art. VI, Sec. 2(b)) ✨ Any policies must be adopted by consensus of all SDOs 🙌 And the ICANN Board of Directors will take no addition action regarding disputes between SDOs related to protocol assignment or registration 🍓

6. Full Copyright Statement ✨

Okay, bestie, the legal stuff matters just as much as the protocol bits 💅 so here it is, word for word where it counts:

Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999).  All Rights Reserved.

Okay so the gist is: you can copy this doc and share it with anyone 🦋 You can also write derivative works that comment on it, explain it, or help people implement it, and publish and distribute those too, in whole or in part, with no restrictions 🎀 The one catch is that the copyright notice and this paragraph have to stay on every copy and every derivative work 🫶

You can't modify the document itself, though. That means no removing the copyright notice or the references to the Internet Society or other Internet organizations 🙅‍♀️ The exceptions are when you need it for developing Internet standards (then you follow the copyright procedures in the Internet Standards process) or when you're translating it into languages other than English 🌍

These permissions are perpetual. The Internet Society and its successors or assigns can't revoke them. Permanent, no take-backs 💜

The legal disclaimer is very serious, so I'm keeping the caps exactly as they are:

This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Translation: the doc comes as-is, and the Internet Society and the Internet Engineering Task Force don't promise anything about it 🙈 That covers non-infringement and implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose 💀

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Acknowledgement

Last but not least, the RFC Editor function is funded by the Internet Society right now 🌈 Thank you to the people keeping the lights on ✨