A curious email appeared in my inbox this morning. It was titled ‘Concerns at ICANN’, was addressed to the Board,…
Blog Read MoreThe United Kingdom’s dot-uk Internet domain is now 25 years old. Which in the Internet world is ancient. The first…
Blog Read MoreThe dot-uk registry Nominet has passed a crucial governance test with flying colours, voting yes [pdf] on eight Board resolutions…
Blog Read MoreA quick update to my earlier post about voting to ensure that the .uk registry isn’t regulated by the government….
Blog Read MoreNominet is canvassing support for a crucial Net governance vote that it says will help prevent government regulation of Britain’s…
Blog Read MoreFor the past year, the company that runs the UK’s Internet registry has been the unlikely location for a corporate soap opera, complete with scandals, villains, twists and turns, allegations of corruption, resignations, grand plans thwarted at the last minute and some nasty in-fighting that had left people alternatively amazed, entertained and worried.
The dust finally began to settle in January this year when a second director resigned (loudly) from not-for-profit Nominet and ever since the management team has been frantically trying to tidy up. In an effort to avoid the same problems emerging further down the line, a big spring clean was ordered and an independent expert brought in to assess what had gone wrong and what needed to be done.
Last week, that expert – Professor Bob Garratt – delivered a surprisingly frank and blunt assessment. In it, he told Nominet – and Nominet’s members – that they had to sort out a list of issues, and they had to sort them out fast.
In effect, he gave Nominet three months to live. If the warring tribes can’t find a settlement before then, Garratt warns, the UK government is going to step in and Nominet as it has existed since 1996 will cease to be.
It now rests on the shoulders of Nominet’s CEO, Lesley Cowley, to make enormous progress within an extremely short period of time, and persuade groups that were until recently at war with another to come together and rebuild the organization.
Here’s what needs to be done and how Cowley says she is going to do it.
Blog Read MoreLetter of support for Nominet CEO and Chairman from current non-exec directors, 12 November 2008 Dear Bob & Lesley, We…
Blog Read MoreResignation letter from Angus Hanton, Nominet director, 12 November 2008 Dear Board and Co. Secretary, I am resigning my position…
Blog Read MoreResignation letter from Jim Davies, Nominet director, 20 January 2009 Dear Mr Gilbert I hereby tender my resignation as a…
Blog Read MoreOne day after the first announcement that angrily refused claims made in a resignation letter by former Nominet director Jim Davies, the .uk registry operator put out a second announcement covering in some detail why it believes Davies’ accusations are false and without merit.
The statement providing significant information about the executive compensation package that Davies had complained was providing the CEO with a large sum of money. It also deals with his accusation concerning the chairman’s role on the Renumeration Committee.
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