Standing for UKRAC Election 2022

As one of the first 6 inaugural members of the UKRAC my initial 1 year term is shortly coming to an end.

I have decided to stand again and hope to continue to represent members and work for sensible, pragmatic .UK policy for a further 2 year term.

I will be standing in the ‘Mid – Small’ segment.

In my first year as a UKRAC Councillor I am proud to have helped further the reform of Nominet’s engagement with members after a turbulent EGM (which I strongly supported), key achievements include:

  • Establishing the Nominet Community – After the former Nominet CEO closed the Nominet forum against many members wishes I created an alternative – Hostmasters.UK – to ensure Nominet Members could continue direct discussions on Nominet and .UK Policy issues. On the UKRAC I worked with Nominet Engagement to provide advice and insight in how Nominet could build a successful community for members – I’m pleased to see many members are again engaging on the Nominet Community.
  • Proposed access to .UK Zone file without requiring membership – I put forward a paper on opening up the .UK Zone file after discussions with a member who maintains membership purely to access the .UK Zone file for security and research purposes.
  • Nominet Moderation Escalations – Over the last year I have worked with Nominet Engagement on developing a moderation structure with UKRAC as an arbitrator for moderation issues to build a Nominet Community members can trust and engage on.

You can find further details on UKRAC accomplishments in the Member hub, along with work in progress.

Election Statement:

A Nominet member for 10 years, and an inaugural UKRAC Councillor, I’m passionate about domains and have broad experience managing registrars of all sizes.

I’m determined to continue the progress made since the EGM, by ensuring Nominet continues its journey of increased transparency and accountability. There have been significant  improvements but there is more to do.

When Members come together, we have shown we can achieve real change. I set up Hostmasters.UK when there was no official option. On the UKRAC I worked closely with Nominet to advise and develop the new Nominet Community, including a moderation escalation structure to provide confidence that member voices will continue to be heard. 

Looking towards the next year, there are significant proposals on the horizon, including rationalising and updating registration terms and proposals for .UK Standardisation, which would be the most significant change to Nominet since its founding. 

I believe we can move the registry forward to support more standards-based EPP without imposing significant burdens on Nominet Members. I am keen to continue the development of this proposal with Members, UKRAC and Nominet to ensure the registry is pragmatic, with little burden to non-ICANN Members, and balances the needs of all members when it comes to consultation.

I am committed to representing and remaining accessible to all Members, ensuring your views are heard, properly considered and discussed within the UKRAC to drive better policy in the .UK namespace. Email me at ukrac@drs.uk or check https://danrodgers.uk/ukrac for further details (or just to say hi!).

Proposer: Freethought Internet Limited

Seconder: KDA Web Services Ltd.

I encourage all Nominet Members to take part in the election process and cast your vote!  I hope you will feel confident casting your first preference for Mid-Small segment for me so I may continue to serve Members on the UKRAC.

I was selected! – Nominet GiveHub Panel

I’m pleased to say I have now been selected to sit on the Nominet GiveHub Panel for the next 12 months!

I’m excited to be part of the panel and look forward to assessing funding applications each month and being a small part of helping up to £50,000 per month go to good causes supported by Nominet members.

What is Nominet GiveHub?

Nominet GiveHub enables Nominet Members’ to apply for funding to support the organisations that are important to them. There is a monthly budget of £50,000 available and members’ can apply for funding of up to £10,000 per financial year. Eligible organisations must be registered in the UK and can be Community Interest Companies, Community Benefit Societies, Co-Operatives, and registered Charities.

Nominet posted a video which gives a great overview of what GiveHub does here:

I strongly encourage all Nominet members’ to consider working with a local charity (or CIC/CBS/Coop) to submit an application – As a member who submitted one last year for CALM: Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Movement, it just takes a couple of hours of your time in most cases!

Learn more about Nominet GiveHub here.