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Canadian Internet Registration
Authority (CIRA) Nomination
June 1, 2004 - I feel truly honored and thrilled
to be in the list of final candidates for the CIRA
Board of Directors. I
am very grateful for your support for me and my vision for CIRA's future.
With your continued support I am confident that we can win this election.
I am convinced that I have what it takes to effectively represent your
voice and your needs at all
CIRA forums. I have the right education,
experience, dedication, motivation and determination to play a pivotal
role in influencing CIRA's decisions to represent your opinions. Over the years, I have had the
opportunity to prove myself at a number of regional, national and
international
platforms. It is this proven handwork and commitment that this year the
Regina Engineering Society presented me with
their excellence
in
Volunteer Service Award.
I stand for
better transparent management at CIRA and its operations. I stand for open
dialogue and open management. I want CIRA to eliminate red tape and
bureaucracy in its operations, build common-sense solutions, help fight
spam and pornography, safeguard Internet consumer rights and protect the end user. I believe in international collaborations,
building of alliances and team work to learn from each others strengths. I see Canada as a leader in local and
international Internet related issues. I believe in consensus building and
open communication between the Board of Directors, members and registrars. With your
support and vote for change we can make all of this happen!
I invite
you to write to me at
cira@upal.ca
with any any questions, concerns or feedback that you may have. I would love to hear
from you!
Sincerely,
My Responses to Your
Questions!
Q- What is
the current candidate's position on cira's domain name price drop on july
1st?
A- It is a step in the right direction. It will
translate into savings for the end user. We must be seen as competitive and
adaptive in the market. Our aggressive cost structure is necessary to
retain existing members and attract new ones. Thank you.
Q- As a registrar, last year we received one
call from a potential representative, and suggest that once we vote for
someone, we shall never hear from them again. As such, this forum is a
great idea, and should be carried though for the whole year. My question
to all potential reps is: What will you do for the registrar community,
and how will you improve communication between you, and the registrars?
A- Blair, I agree with you that it would be a
great idea to make this forum a permanent part of CIRA’s website. It can
serve as an effective communication tool between CIRA, its Board of
Directors and all parties concerned. As servants of registrants and
registrars we must be approachable and available to address their
concerns. If elected, I will work to make sure that each board members’
email addresses is listed along with his/her profile on this link
http://www.cira.ca/en/about_ca.html#b3. This would be useful in
improving direct communication. CIRA can also send survey forms once a
year to each registrar to get their feedback. CIRA can do better and we
deserve and demand better! Thank you.
Q-I'd
like to ask all nominees a general question: It seems like everybody sees
the role of the Internet in Canada, and thus CIRA's role, to be focused
around enabling business, and primarily small and non-profit business.
Obviously this is a good thing. However, I am curious to know what, if
anything, you see as CIRA's role in promoting non-business use of the web
and the .ca namespace. If CIRA does have a role to play in that, what do
you think are its goals, and, more forward-looking, what should its goals
be? How can it achieve those goals if they exist at all?
A- CIRA has an all encompassing role in regulating
and prompting the .ca domain name irregardless of its use whether it be
for government, business, non-profit or private use. According to its
current stated goals, CIRA’s primary responsibilities do not include
promoting the use of Internet. However, by the intrinsic nature of
managing and encouraging the use of .ca namespace CIRA in fact indirectly
promotes the use of Internet. In the future, I believe CIRA’s new big goal
would be consumer protection. CIRA should promote “good and responsible”
use of Internet by placing in safeguards to protect the end user. I also
believe that this is the right time to get started on this important
initiative. This new role should be explicitly listed in CIRA’s goals and
responsibilities. CIRA can achieve this by monitoring the use of .ca
domain name to protect against its abuse and to uphold it integrity. CIRA
should work with consumer protection agencies and law enforcement agencies
to safeguard consumers and Internet users from fraudulent sham companies,
unwanted spammers and any other illegal activities. The same way we don’t
allow our Canadian soil to be used for harmful and illegal activities, we
must ensure with the same determination that our namespace is reputable
and of the highest integrity. Its time to demand better from CIRA! Thank
you.
Q- What is the current candidate's position about
application of strong anti-spam policies for domain holder and registrar.
Ie, suspend or cancel .ca to active spammers and the supporters.
A- Spammers are like the
creators of viruses, very creative, determined and persistent. As long as
spammers see return in their activities there will be spam. Fight against
spam must be just as determined and sustained. Any step that helps reduce
spam is a move in the right direction. Domain suspensions or cancellations
are very limited weapons to fight with. For any significant impact, CIRA
would need to work with more sophisticated tools and resources. CIRA would
need to make global alliances with other international registration
authorities, ISPs, law enforcement agencies and policy makers. We have one
of the most advanced telecommunication, Internet infrastructure and
software development expertise in the world. Using this advantage, I
believe Canada can play a leadership role in the fight against spam and
Internet consumer protection. Its time to demand better from CIRA!
Q- I
stopped buying .ca domains, and here's why: When I bought the first one
and read the rules it said I had to register subdomains as well as
domains. This is impossible as far as I know. So I wrote to CIRA for
clarification. In fact, I wrote a number of times and each time got abrupt
responses simply repeating the confusing rule letter for letter, never a
word of clarification. My final request for an explanation of how one
registers a subdomain was simply ignored. My question: does this rule
still exist, and if so how the devil is anyone supposed to adhere to it?
A- I have shared your unfortunate experience of
trying to register a top level .ca domain name with some other provincial
sub-domain names. And I feel your pain and frustration. I was trying to
register pti.ca and my company already owned pti.sk.ca. I actually went as
far as calling and emailing other companies who owned their provincial
sub-domains (i.e. pti.bc.ca, pti.qc.ca and pti.nb.ca). As per CIRA’s
guidelines I tried to convince them to give me their consent so I can
register pti.ca. Well, of course they wanted pti.ca just as badly as I
did. And you know what… pti.ca still remains unregistered. What is the
solution to this? Well, I believe that this is not really CIRA’s fault.
CIRA inherited this from the old registration system. I like to see a
resolution to this problem just as much as you would. However, it’s a
tricky business requiring a creative solution. The only resolution that
immediately springs to mind is that a solution must be forced. Companies
with provincial rights must submit to a closed bidding process. The
company with the highest bid wins the rights to the top level domain name.
The winning company will also have to financially compensate the other
companies (a prefixed amount) for giving up their rights. Hope that helps.
Thank you.
Q- Do
any of the Candidates propose an enforcement of the level of service
provided by the registrars? I have visited various CIRA registrars and can
first hand tell you, some of level of support and service they provide it
absolutely pitiful. There HAS to be enforcment on part of the CIRA to
prevent this discrepancy between the registrars.
A- CIRA is in service to its members. If these
services can be improved then they must be improved. As representatives of
CIRA, Registrars have a big responsibility to bear. It is CIRA’s job to
ensure that these Registrars are meeting their end of the bargain. CIRA
has to take better steps to ensure that standards for minimum quality of
service are defined, understood and enforced. CIRA can do better and we
deserve and demand better! Thank you.
Q-
What are the candidates' opinions on the public disclosure of domain name
registrant personal information, are you for or against it and why? The
reason I ask is because I registered a domain name as a gift for my 10
year old niece and was horrified to learn all her personal information is
easily accessible. P.S. Privacy.Ca is a deterrent and not a solution. In
fact, who are these people? They hardly have any information concerning
their company on their web site, not reassuring...
A- Dear Sandy. Our privacy and that of our loved
ones is precious to most of us. I believe there can be a common ground
that meets the legal requirements of disclosure while at the same time
offering us a sense of security. Leasing of webspace is similar to leasing
of property. I believe the current level of disclosure to CIRA is
necessary for legal reasons, but what is not necessary is the display of
all that information to the public. I think the information displayed on
whois should be limited to names, email addresses and telephone numbers of
the admin and technical contacts. CIRA should have to be contacted for
more information. The information specific to the domain name such as the
registrar, DNS and renewal date is important, however the registration
number is irrelevant. I would feel comfortable with this level of privacy.
As for your gift to your niece is concerned, I recommend keeping the
ownership under your name for the time being. You can transfer the
ownership to her when you feel she is of a mature age, perhaps at another
birthday! I believe the part of your question about privacy.ca has already
been answered.
Q- A question to all candidates: What platforms will
you undertake to ensure there are more women involved in future elections?
There surely can be no shortage of qualified candidates -- so there must
be a bias in the practices or policies somewhere. If this is to be a
Canadian authority for Internet registration, it should represent us all,
and not end up disproportionately represented by one half of the
(Internet) population. That's only good business for everyone!
A- I do believe the process of
candidate selection is unbiased and transparent. However, your concern is
valid. I can understand your unease very well because I am myself a
visible minority and I get very alarmed when minorities are not being
represented adequately. You are absolutely right that the CIRA Board
members should be a reflection of the Canadian population. To help make
this happen, I pledge that if elected I will work towards setting up a
CIRA task force to find answers to why there is a lack of women
candidates. I will help set up workshops and seminars to encourage women
participation and to take steps to alleviate any fears that they may have.
Q- I
for one have always been nominated to the Board as an independent voice,
in no way affiliated with CIRA, CANARIE or the Registrars. Unlike a direct
statement by a current candidate, neither I nor my professional
affiliations have anything to gain by serving as a Board Member. My
nomination is based on work at www.cadomain.com and I would serve the
Registrants and Registrars equally as a CIRA Board Member. Thank you!
A- Transparency is very important. Scott, thank you
for requesting this disclosure. I have no affiliation whatsoever directly
or indirectly with anyone from the Registrar Community, CIRA, or CANARIE.
My only connection with CIRA is because of my .ca domain ownerships. I
love the Internet and working with web based technologies. My only goal is
to use my industry and business skills to help transform CIRA into an
effective and efficient organization that we can all be proud of. CIRA can
do better and we deserve and demand better! Thank you.
Q- A question to all candidates in general but to
Ahsan M. Upal in specific. How do you see your role in representing
Canada's minorities on CIRA. By the way, it is great to see that in this
election for the first time we have a candidate belonging to a minority.
Congrats and thank you Mr. Upal for taking up this challenge.
A- Thank you for your kind words
of appreciation. I consider it an honour and a privilege to have an
opportunity to bring unique perspective of minorities to the table.
Belonging to a minority I have a first hand experience and natural
understanding of our concerns. It is equally as important to me as it is
to you to make sure we are adequately represented at all levels of
governance. I believe that concerns of minorities are similar to the
concerns of majority. We all want our voices to be listened to and dealt
with accordingly. We all want to eliminate red tape and bureaucracy in
CIRA’s operations, build common-sense solutions, help fight spam,
safeguard Internet consumer rights and protect the end user. I am
convinced that we have a common cause and demand a common and equitable
solution from CIRA!
Q- I
like to direct this question to Ahsan M. Upal. If there was one thing that
you could change in CIRA what would that be?
A-
Luke that one thing
in short would be to simplify CIRA’s routine operations and develop common
sense solutions. My agenda also includes a list of other improvements that
you can read about at
www.upal.ca.
Q- What
could be the purpose of forcing people to read such a long legal agreement
that no-one I know has read, and I have registered dozens of .ca names? It
really sets the tone with a lack of good faith right off the bat, don't
you think? Second comment: I have nothing but good things to say about the
staff at CIRA I have had dealings with - polite, professional, responsive
and quick in their help. The processes themselves stink though - I have
been making jokes at CIRA's expense every time I ask the CEO of a
multimillion dollar corporation to fax me an enlarged scan of their
driver's licence - I mean for God's sake! It's a domain name, not the
crown jewels! Oh, and let's follow best practices in usability, please,
for example, how many packaged bulletin board programs are there out
there, and how many of them force you to jump through such hoops to read a
discussion thread? None, but this one does. Good thing I'm not running for
the board :).
A- Kevin I am with you on this. I most certainly see
an immediate need to reduce the unnecessary legal burden that CIRA
subjects us to. That is why I kept this item high on my agenda list. I
believe that besides developing our own common sense solutions to deal
with this problem we should also look at the procedures in place at other
ccTLD registration authorities in other countries such as AUDA of
Australia and NIC of US and England. I am certain that we can find more
efficient ways of handling CIRA’s routine operations. At the same time, I
am confident CIRA can teach them from its experience and expertise.
Q- What issues from the Federal election campaign impact on
the mission and goals of CIRA in your view?
I think CIRA’s
mission and goals are mostly independent of Federal election campaign.
There are, however, some issues from the Federal election campaign that
are also being discussed here at this Forum in the context of CIRA. For
example, equal representation of Western Canadians, women and minorities.
There’s also the hot topic of transparency and accountability in the
government. The idea of tax relief can be compared to reduction of domain
registration costs and the issue of safe communities is similar to the
concern for Internet secure from spam and pornographic material.
Q-
Je comprends que pour la
transparence et la sécurité, beaucoup d'information sont donnée sur le
propriétaire du nom de domaine. Or il arrive que des personnes mal
intentionnées utilisent ces informations pour des buts autres que ceux
voulus au départ de la divulgation de toute cette information. Que peut-il
être fait pour remédier à cette situation? Jean Jolicoeur.
A- Cher Jean Jolicoeur. J'ai adressé cette question
avant, ainsi je répéterai ma réponse précédente. Je crois que le niveau
courant de la révélation à CIRA est nécessaire pour des raisons légales,
mais ce qui n'est pas nécessaire est l'affichage de toute cette
information au public. Je pense que l'information montrée sur le WHOIS
devrait être limitée aux noms, aux adresses d'email et aux numéros de
téléphone de l'admin et des contacts techniques. CIRA devrait être entré
en contact si plus d'information est exigée. Le détail de l'information au
Domain Name tel que le conservateur, la date de DNS et de renouvellement
est important, toutefois le numéro d'matricule est non pertinent. J'espère
ce des adresses votre question et désolé au sujet de cette écriture faible
en français.
Q-
Bonjour, Nous avons toujours eu des discutions par
rapport au ECAC ou sur les MCAC. J'aimerais avoir l'opinion des candidats
sur ses procédures qui sont longues et compliqués, tant pour le client et
le registraire. Merci aux candidats anglais qui prennent le temps de
répondre en français, ceci est TRÈS apprécier.
A- Cher Jean-Luc SansCartier. Je conviens que les
ACEI procédures sont très compliquées et devraient être simplifiées. Nous
devrions voir comment les organismes dans d'autres pays effectuent leurs
opérations. Pouvons être nous pouvons trouver de meilleures solutions
d'elles ! Merci.
Q- Bonjour, Je me présente,
Jean-Luc SansCartier, responsable des noms de domaines chez le Groupe iWeb
Technologies (registraire 134). J'aimerais avoir la position des candidats
par rapport aux informations disponible sur le WHOIS du CIRA ainsi que les
moyens que vous désirez mettre en place pour être confirme à la nouvelle
loi du Canada. Merci.
A- Jean-Luc vous avez un souci valide. L'information
sur le WHOIS est étée une matière chaude de discussion. Peut-être elle
devrait aller à l'étude. Merci.
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