It's easy to see why those re-reporting Ed Hasbrouck's complaints about the ICANN's approval of a .travel domain focused on conspiracy allegations -- that's far sexier than the intricacies of ICANN process -- but it's not the heart of Ed's concern. As he writes today at The Practical Nomad blog, who's got .travel is "really the fifth and least important level of my criticisms of ICANN's actions." More important is how ICANN got to the point of making the award for the new sponsored Top-Level Domain (sTLD), and whether it followed properly open procedures in getting there.

Hasbrouck doesn't think so, and he wants to use the independent review process in ICANN's bylaws to examine that decision, saying

violation of ICANN's bylaw requiring that "ICANN and its constituent bodies shall operate to the maximum extent feasible in an open and transparent manner", is the sole basis of my request for independent review of the ".travel" decision-making process.

Agree or disagree with Hasbrouck's fifth-level suspcions about the .travel award, we should all press ICANN to open its process and submit to the bylaws-mandated review so we can see for ourselves how the organization reached its decision.