This page is the launching pad for an effort to come to consensus in the ICANN community about the process for evaluating, approving, and launching new TLDs (Top Level Domains) (See Consensus:New TLDs). Consensus is ramped up by succeeding at a series of three consensus polls. Each stage builds on the preceding stage, adding additional sections to the consensus document and increasing the breadth of participation.

Each poll is open to anyone who would like to add value. Recognizing that transparency deepens trust, each person's evolving status (YES or NOT YET) is made publicly available. Anonymous participants are welcome to comment and edit, but aren't counted in the poll.

[edit] How to Participate

All are warmly welcomed to fully participate. To get started, visit Consensus:New TLDs and follow the 30 second instructions to add your name and status to the "current consensus" table. You may change your status as often as you like. It is common for participants to begin their participation with status NOT YET. Then as the document evolves to address their concerns they change their status to YES.

[edit] Responsibilities of ALL participants

If your status is YES, you have no other responsibility, but you are warmly encouraged to work as a facilitator.

If your staus is NOT YET, you have a responsibility to the community to articulate why and to think creatively of solutions that you feel good about saying yes to. There are two good ways of doing this.

1. The best way to articulate your concerns is to actually change the document to work for you. Consider your edits to be "efficiently expressed suggestions."
2. Sometimes instead of editing the document directly, it makes sense to write comments about particular parts of it. For example, when there is a conflict on a particular point it is generally better to leave off editing that point in the document and for the conflicting parties to work toward listening to each other in the discussion space for that section. Also, when an individual is concernced but can't yet articulate exactly why, it often makes sense for that individual to have a conversation with a facilitator to tease out the core of their unease.

The facilitators will work to make sure that your concerns are fully heard. This usually includes attempts to rephrase what you've said using different words. This is not meant to imply that you have been unclear, rather it helps us to avoid leaping to unwarranted interpretations. Interacting online is difficult :-)

[edit] Responsibilities of facilitators

All participants are warmly encouraged to act as facilitators. We can't move to discussions of tradeoffs until all interested parties feel that their interests are fully heard and understood by the others. Until they feel heard, folks will continue to repeat their views, often with escalating vehemence.

The job of the facilitators is to "Understand the interests of participants so well that we can articulate them better than the participants themselves." This is not meant to imply that participants are unable to clearly articulate their viewpoints, rather to emphasize the depth at which we seek to understand. This emphasis means that we don't dismiss the views of others, nor explain how they have already been addressed UNTIL the other participant has indicated that they are perfectly comfortable with our comprehension of their concerns.

[edit] What happens once we are done?

We're done once we create a consensus that all participants understand. The strength of that consensus is clearly documented by the Yes Meter. The consensus is not policy, but creating policy based on a strong, clearly defined consensus is trivial. We leave that up to the board.

[edit] The Three Stages

[edit] Stages and minimum levels of participation and agreement

Stage	Purpose	Minimums
	Frames the issue, lays out the stages of the process for addressing it, and identifies the minimum levels of participation and consensus required to move from one stage to the next.	For the New TLDs Framing stage to be considered "finished": at least 10 ICANN people must participate in the YES/NOT YET poll at least 1 GAC member at least 1 ICANN Board member at least 1 ALAC member at least 1 member from each of at least three different GNSO constituencies at least 1 member from RSSAC or SSAC at least 90% of all participating ICANN people must vote yes with a cloture threshold of 80% the framing document must remain unchanged for at least 5 days while continuously maintaining at least the minimum levels of participation and consensus
	Creates a comprehensive background of relevant and fact-checked information.	Participation increases to 40 ICANN people: 4 GAC members from at least three different countries 4 ICANN Board members 4 ALAC member 2 members from each of at least five different GNSO constituencies 2 members from RSSAC 2 members from SSAC
	Assembles the best pieces into a comprehensive, consensus solution.	Participation increases to 160 ICANN people: 12 GAC members from at least six different countries 12 ICANN Board members 4 ALAC members 4 members from each of at least five different GNSO constituencies 4 members from RSSAC 4 members from SSAC