Introduction

Where Services Are

Once the schedule has been posted for a meeting, you can identify remote services, and differentiate between low and high bandwidth services on each session page. An example of how the session page will look is available at http://meetings.icann.org/remote-services-guide.

In addition, there will be a special 'remote participant view' of the entire schedule for each meeting. This view is a condensed view of the schedule showing all the remote participant options in one place.

Improvements and Feedback

On the links to the right you will find more details about the various remote participation services offered at an ICANN meeting, as well as the rationale behind the way services are provisioned.

We have made what we believe are many improvements to remote participant services - we're very interested in your thoughts and hope you'll take the time to talk to us about your remote participation experience by sending a note to us at participate@icann.org.

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Objectives and Principles

The guiding principles behind the provision of services is as follows:

1. A more standardized approach – we've divided up the different sessions into classes, and then given each class of meeting a set of basic services in common for session organizers. We've ensured flexibility by adding to this a set of additional services available on request. Where that doesn't provide enough flexibility and where special needs exist, additional services can be requested.

   For example, where a key presenter at a session is unable to attend the physical meeting, we've had good results with them attending via Skype, with their audio connected to the public address system and video displayed onscreen.

   This standardization provides participants with advance notice of what they can generally expect as remote participants (and as a result they can then plan their attendance further in advance) and allows ICANN to announce remote participation for all meetings much earlier.

2. A more level playing field for participants irrespective of the bandwidth they have. Both those with high bandwidth connections and those with more limited connections will find tools available to help them participate remotely designed to support their bandwidth requirements. We've also reduced the bandwidth required for many services and provided more flexible choices for remote participants. For example, participants are able to choose a low-bandwidth streaming audio feed (for those sessions that support streaming audio) that requires 75% less bandwidth than it did at previous meetings.

3. Work to create a more equivalent experience between those participating 'in the room' at a session and those outside. Several measures have been taken to help integrate remote participants on a more equal level to those in the room. Everyone knows that there are many elements to a meeting that cannot be experienced remotely but ICANN is working to 'narrow the gap' between those in the room and those who are not.

4. Services should be designed in a way that does not require the installation of any software on the remote participant's computer or device, and which do not provide a better or more feature-rich experience on any particular operating system or platform. This is for several reasons, amongst them being: the need to allow people on devices as diverse as mobile handhelds, office computers, the use of many different operating systems across the ICANN community – and most importantly, so that everyone is treated equally. Wherever possible, we also are employing open source products and systems.

5. In order to create a more coherent virtual attendance experience, all services will be setup per room, not per session. Amongst other benefits, this makes it easier for participants to bookmark URLs for remote participation services. It also helps give remote participation an underlying relationship to the physical meeting, as the remote participation 'rooms' in Adobe Connect, for example, have the same names as the physical meeting room names.

6. Monitoring Services during Sessions. A key part of ensuring the remote participation experience works well is ensuring that services are monitored – from a technical perspective but also from the participants' perspective. In order to do this, technical staff in-room will be connected to the chat room for meetings with chat facilities so that remote participants can identify problems they experience (for example, that audio volume is too low for certain speakers on audio streams).

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Standard Services

From the submenus to the right, select the service you are most interested in.

Adobe Connect

Typically, an Adobe Connect session will exist for all sessions. There's an Adobe Connect 'virtual room' for every physical room at the meeting; the link to enter the virtual meeting room can be found on each session page.

As outlined above, Adobe Connect rooms will have the same names as the physical rooms at the conference site. Where some groups have established AC sessions that they use everyday and want to use for their session, those Adobe Connect rooms will be linked to the agenda page in question in place of the default room.

ICANN Staff has created a presentation to show remote participants how to utilize Adobe Connect as a remote participation tool at each ICANN meeting; simply follow this link: http://dakar42.icann.org/meetings/dakar2011/remote-participation-services-22oct11-en.pdf [PDF, 983 KB]

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Video Streaming

Streaming video is available as standard for the largest general sessions, such as the Opening Session, Public Forum, and the Public Board meeting. When provided, it will be indicated on the remote participation session details in the ICANN meeting schedule. Streaming video can only be viewed through the Adobe Connect virtual room for those meetings where it is available.

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Scribing

Live scribing in English will be available for sessions in the main meeting room only. This will be presented from within the virtual meeting room. To the extent that it is technically possible to deliver, a low-bandwidth simultaneous text-based scribe feed will be indicated on session agenda pages and on the remote participation schedule as 'Scribe Feed'.

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Audio Streaming (listen-only)

Audio streaming is available in two flavors, a higher-bandwidth 64kbps stream, and a 16kbps stream, as shown in the remote participation session details in the meeting schedule. Where a session features interpretation, audio streaming will be available in all languages available to in-room participants.

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Chat

Adobe Connect has a chat room for all participants to interact in one virtual room. All chat rooms are attended by a member of staff to ensure face-to-face participants hear remote participants' views and questions. In a case where.

Behavior in Chat Rooms

Please be advised that comments made in chat rooms are subject to the Expected Standards of Behavior which are a part of the Accountability and Transparency Frameworks and Principles adopted by the Board of ICANN on 15th February 2008. These may be found at http://www.icann.org/en/accountability/frameworks-principles/community.htm#f.

Chat room participants who behave in a manner that is clearly in breach of these standards may be removed from the chat room without warning, depending upon the seriousness of the breach, as perceived by those staff attending the chat room.

If you are excluded or asked to desist in making certain comments and believe the treatment you received was unreasonable, you are entitled to ask the Ombudsman of ICANN to review the matter. You may find more information about the Ombudsman here: http://www.icann.org/ombudsman/.

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'Remote Interventions' During Attended Chat Sessions

Where attended chat is available – a facility will enable real-time questions and comments to be submitted by online participants for reading out to the room. Questions or comments submitted – known as 'remote interventions' – will be read out by the member of staff attending the chat room. Session moderators in-room will turn to the chat attendant on a one-for-one basis – ensuring that equal time is given to remote and in-person interventions.

There are a few conditions attached to remote interventions:

• They must respect intervention time limits (if imposed) – to the same extent as in-room participants must.
• Remote Interventions may not breach the Expected Standards of Behavior as published in the ICANN Accountability and Transparency Frameworks and Principles, available at http://www.icann.org/en/transparency/acct-trans-frameworks-principles-10jan08.pdf.

If not enough time is available for all interventions (Remote and In-Person) to be made orally, they will be treated as follows:

• Statements or comments will be compiled and annexed to the records of the meeting
• Questions will be forwarded to the relevant person and answers published after receipt to the records of the meeting.

Remote Intervention Guidelines

In order to ensure that the maximum numbers of remote participants are able to have their views expressed in a session, please be aware of the following:

1. Remote and in-room interventions are treated equally. This means, for example, that just as in-room comments or questions are generally preceded by the person stating their name and affiliation, the same is expected of remote interventions.
2. If you are in a session which does not have a form to use to submit questions, you'll want to enter your question or comment in the chat room for the session. Please precede it with "Question" or "Statement". Don't forget to include your name and affiliation.
3. If a time limit is imposed on interventions made in person, those same limits are applicable to Remote interventions.

All comments and questions, both in-person and remote follow the ICANN EXPECTED STANDARDS OF BEHAVIOR. Remote or in-room questions or comments in breach of these guidelines will not be read out and that person will be called to order.

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Special Services

Audio (bidirectional)

For some sessions, a telephonic conference bridge will be connected through the public address system in the room, allowing remote participants to listen to anything said in the room through a microphone, and allowing anything said by remote participants on the conference bridge to be heard by the remote participants.

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Video Presentations

Where a presenter is not physically present at the conference, Skype will be used to connect the presenter to the in-room audio system with a bidirectional connection, and Skype video will be projected onscreen. This is a special, limited availability service.

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Records and Recordings

Video

Video recordings will be available the same day the session ends as a part of Adobe Connect session recordings. After the meeting concludes, recordings may be made available independently of AC recordings on ICANN's hosted video channels.

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Audio

All audio recordings will be posted the same day of the session, in every language that was audio streamed during the session.

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Transcriptions

Where a session will have a transcript made, this will be clearly noted on the agenda for the meeting. Transcripts will be posted within seven days of the end of the session. Where a session with a transcript has interpretation, transcripts will be available in English only.

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