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Annex 2:  A Glossary of ICANN Acronyms and Terms

As in many organizations, you’ll hear and see a staggering number of acronyms when you participate in ICANN. Below is a guide to some of the more frequently used, and important to consumer organizations. Most are pronounced by their letters; we’ve included a pronunciation guide for those that aren’t.

ALAC (“A‐lack”) ‐‐ The At‐Large Advisory Committee. Two members are elected by each of the five  regional organizations (RALOs) while one member from each RALO is appointed by a nominating committee (NomCom). ALAC’s job is to advise the ICANN board and community on issues of importance to Internet users, with a view across the whole organization. The ALAC has no voting authority. However, it selected a member of the ICANN Board in November 2010.

ALS – At‐Large Structure. A group or organization, subject to accreditation, that makes up the members of a Regional At‐Large Structure, the entities that elect members to the At‐Large Advisory Committee and help determine policies and priorities for Internet users. ALSes are the grass-roots basis of the At-Large community.

BC – The Business Constituency. Represents business interests in ICANN policy matters, as a stakeholder body in the Generic Names Supporting Organization.

BGC – Board Governance Committee. Currently a six‐member group that assists the ICANN board and reviews its performance.

• Add separate new definitions (including, in each, a link to the simple GNSO structural org. chart showing the two houses, on the ICANN Web site) for:
  • Contracted Party House;
  • Non-Contracted Party House;
  • Commercial Stake Holders Group; and
  • Non-Commercial Stake Holders Group (since this would mainly be the entry point for consumer groups).
• Add to the GNSO a link to the GNSO structural org. chart showing the two houses, on the ICANN Web site.

As in many organizations, you’ll hear and see a staggering number of acronyms when you participate in ICANN. Below is a guide to some of the more frequently used, and important to consumer organizations. Most are pronounced by their letters; we’ve included a pronunciation guide for those that aren’t.

ALAC (“A‐lack”) ‐‐ The At‐Large Advisory Committee. Two members are elected by each of the five  regional organizations (RALOs) while one member from each RALO is appointed by a nominating committee (NomCom). ALAC’s job is to advise the ICANN board and community on issues of importance to Internet users, with a view across the whole organization. The ALAC has no voting authority. However, it selected a member of the ICANN Board in November 2010.

ALS – At‐Large Structure. A group or organization, subject to accreditation, that makes up the members of a Regional At‐Large Structure, the entities that elect members to the At‐Large Advisory Committee and help determine policies and priorities for Internet users. ALSes are the grass-roots basis of the At-Large community.

BC – The Business Constituency. Represents business interests in ICANN policy matters, as a stakeholder body in the Generic Names Supporting Organization.

BGC – Board Governance Committee. Currently a six‐member group that assists the ICANN board and reviews its performance.

ccNSO ccNSO – Country Code Names Supporting Organization. The policy development body for issues regarding country‐code top level domains (such as .us for the United States, .cn for China, .au for Australia).

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GAC (“gack”)---The Government Advisory Committee. Made up of representatives from more than 125 countries’ governments. Carries some responsibility and identity for representing the interests of consumers or, more specifically, citizens.

GNSO --

The Contracted Party House -- One of two organizational "houses" into which the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is responsible for developing and recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies (and potential changes)

relating to generic top-level domains (gTLDs) (e.g., .com, .org, .gov).

The GNSO is currently (as of February 2011) comprised of four main groups of stakeholders.  These Stakeholder Groups are the Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG), the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG), the Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG), and the Registrars Stakeholder Group (RrSG).

The four GNSO Stakeholder Groups occupy two organizational “houses.”  The RySG and the RrSG comprise the Contracted Party House.  The CSG and the NCSG comprise the Non-Contracted Party House.

GNSO Council

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 is divided.  Each of the two houses include two of the four main stakeholder groups that currently (as of February 2011) comprise the GNSO.  The Contracted Party House includes the Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG) and the Registrars Stakeholder Group (RrSG).  The other GNSO house is the Non-Contracted Party House, which includes the Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG) and the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG).  Please see ICANN's "GNSO: Council Members" Internet page for a schematic representation of the GNSO structure, along with further information regarding the GNSO houses and stakeholder groups. 

GNSO --

The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is responsible for developing and recommending to the ICANN Board substantive policies (and potential changes)

relating to generic top-level domains (gTLDs) (e.g., .com, .org, .gov).

The GNSO is currently (as of February 2011) comprised of four main groups of stakeholders.  These Stakeholder Groups are the Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG), the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG), the Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG), and the Registrars Stakeholder Group (RrSG).

The four GNSO Stakeholder Groups occupy two organizational “houses.”  The RySG and the RrSG comprise the Contracted Party House.  The CSG and the NCSG comprise the Non-Contracted Party House.

GNSO Council

The GNSO Council is the body within the GNSO responsible for strategically managing policy development efforts consistent with Annex A of the ICANN Bylaws (see http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm#AnnexA). The GNSO Stakeholder Groups and other members of the ICANN community contribute to these Policy Development Process (PDP) efforts as set out in Annex A.

gTLD – generic Top‐Level Domain. One of the three types of domains, the others being infrastructure top‐level domain and country‐code top‐level domain. There are 21 gTLDs, soon likely to be many more, that include the familiar .com and .org but also .aero, .cat (for Catalan language), and the financially troubled .travel.

ICANN (eye‐can), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. A non‐profit corporation created Sept. 18, 1998 and headquartered in Marina Del Rey, Calif., with offices in Brussels, Belgium, Silicon Valley, USA, Sydney, Australia, and Washington, D.C. USA. ICANN is responsible for administering domain names and IP addresses (the numbers that make up a computer or network address, like 204.88.313.155) on the Internet.

IANA (eye‐anna), usually heard in conjunction with (“the IANA contract says…) – the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Managed by ICANN, IANA allocates names and numbers that make up IP addresses.

NCSG

The Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) is one of the four Stakeholder Groups that comprise the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO).

The purpose of the NCSG is to represent, through its Constituencies, non-commercial Internet users of generic top-level domains (gTLDs), including:

• Non-commercial entities such as educational institutions, research organizations, philanthropic organizations, foundations, and non-commercial service providers;
• Registrants of domain names for non-commercial purposes; and
• Entities advocating for non-commercial Internet users.
  

The NCSG is one of the two key groups, along with the ALAC, for consumer organizations’ participation in ICANN affairs.

NCUC

The Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC) is one of several organizational Constituencies in the GNSO.  The NCUC is a structure in the GNSO’s Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group.  It represents civil society organizations and individuals in the GNSO by developing and supporting policy positions that favor non-commercial communication and activity on the Internet. 

NCUC participants include public‐interest groups, advocacy groups and educational institutions.

Non-Contracted Party House -- One of two organizational "houses" into which the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) is divided.  Each of the two houses include two of the four main stakeholder groups that currently (as of February 2011) comprise the GNSO.  The Non-Contracted Party House includes the Commercial Stakeholder Group (CSG) and the Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG).  The other GNSO house is the Contracted Party House, which includes the Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG) and the Registrars Stakeholder Group (RrSG).  Please see ICANN's "GNSO: Council Members" Internet page for a schematic representation of the GNSO structure, along with further information regarding the GNSO houses and stakeholder groups.

gTLD – generic Top‐Level Domain. One of the three types of domains, the others being infrastructure top‐level domain and country‐code top‐level domain. There are 21 gTLDs, soon likely to be many more, that include the familiar .com and .org but also .aero, .cat (for Catalan language), and the financially troubled .travel.

ICANN (eye‐can), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. A non‐profit corporation created Sept. 18, 1998 and headquartered in Marina Del Rey, Calif., with offices in Brussels, Belgium, Silicon Valley, USA, Sydney, Australia, and Washington, D.C. USA. ICANN is responsible for administering domain names and IP addresses (the numbers that make up a computer or network address, like 204.88.313.155) on the Internet.

IANA (eye‐anna), usually heard in conjunction with (“the IANA contract says…) – the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Managed by ICANN, IANA allocates names and numbers that make up IP addresses.

NCSG

The Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG) is one of the four Stakeholder Groups that comprise the Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO).

The purpose of the NCSG is to represent, through its Constituencies, non-commercial Internet users of generic top-level domains (gTLDs), including:

• Non-commercial entities such as educational institutions, research organizations, philanthropic organizations, foundations, and non-commercial service providers;
• Registrants of domain names for non-commercial purposes; and
• Entities advocating for non-commercial Internet users.
  

The NCSG is one of the two key groups, along with the ALAC, for consumer organizations’ participation in ICANN affairs.

NCUC

The Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC) is one of several organizational Constituencies in the GNSO.  The NCUC is a structure in the GNSO’s Non-Commercial Stakeholder Group.  It represents civil society organizations and individuals in the GNSO by developing and supporting policy positions that favor non-commercial communication and activity on the Internet. 

NCUC participants include public‐interest groups, advocacy groups and educational institutions.

NomCom – Nominating Committee. Members are appointed by users’ regions. In turn, the Nominating Committee makes appointments, via applications, to the ALAC and other parts of ICANN.

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