ICANN's Board met on August 5th and approved a number of resolutions, including one that must have been particularly pleasing for Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush. Even before he became Chair, Dengate Thrush has always argued for some kind of compensation for that position.

Now approved, this will be paid on a pro-rata basis starting on August 6, 2010.

I think this is one of the sanest decisions the ICANN Board has taken in years. The amount of work asked of ICANN volunteers, specially the Board and its Chair, is enormous. Chairing the ICANN Board has become a full-time job and if the body in charge of coordinating the Internet's naming and numbering system wants to keep drawing quality people to its top volunteer positions, it must be ready to compensate them.

At all levels, there's a terrific amount of volunteer goodwill within ICANN. Taking one group I am currently involved in as an example, the Vertical Integration Working Group, I am stunned by the dedication of its members. With 2 teleconference meetings a week (each lasting from 1.5 to 2 hours) and numerous position papers and other reports drafted, the sixty plus members of the group have spared no effort in their quest to find a solution that will then benefit the whole community as part of the new gTLD program.

Being on the Board is even more demanding. And it requires complete impartiality. I know of several people who have both the expertise and the will to serve as Board members but to do so, would be required to give up their day jobs. The question then becomes: how can ICANN expect them to give up their salary and maybe even a long-term career just for the "honour" of serving a 3-year term on the Board?

Compensating the Board Chair is clearly a sensible decision and a step in the right direction, but it does generate its own sets of problems. Why only the Chair? In fact, why stop at Board members?

These are questions that ICANN will also have to look at in the near future.