As expected, the possibility of holding the next ICANN conference in the hybrid format, with limited in-person attendance, was among the most widely discussed issues at the recent ICANN 71 meeting. Many important questions came up during the discussion. Will the epidemiological situation deteriorate by October, when ICANN 72 is scheduled to take place? Will the organizers accept proof of vaccination for vaccine brands that are not currently approved in the US, such as AstraZeneca or Sputnik V? Could the quarantine restrictions tighten during the conference, forcing the participants to stay in Seattle and pay for expensive hotels out of their own pockets? Will they be subject to a long period of self-isolation after returning home?
According to Domain Incite, all these questions were fair. However, the problem is that ICANN cannot answer them. Not even doctors and scientists can predict the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and not even governments and the UN know if new quarantine measures will be introduced in the future. There is no point in demanding this information from ICANN. At the same time, the interest in in-person attendance at ICANN 72 is very high, above all from Americans and Canadians, who are least concerned with these issues. Hence, Domain Incite states ironically that the discussion can be summed up in one question posed by the Americans to everyone else, and it goes like this: “You guys cool if we go ahead without you?”
