A founding member of the Internet Commerce Association, Rick Schwartz, has announced his resignation from the non-profit domain industry trade group. Schwartz detailed his reasons for leaving in a post on his personal blog today. Schwartz concluded his post by saying "The bottom line is I had very little influence inside and sitting at the table. I am hoping I can do more to shape things from the outside."

As an ICA board member (I accepted an invitation to serve as an independent director a few months after the organization was founded in the fall of 2006), I knew Rick's announcement was coming and the reasons for his decision. Like so many domainers, Schwartz is a self-sufficient entrepreneur who is used to calling the shots and seeing immediate action as a result. Running an organization by committee, as is the case with the ICA, can be extremely frustrating for anyone who is used to running their own business. 

As everyone knows from his public comments, Schwartz has strong opinions about how things should be done and he has never shied away from voicing his opinions in board meetings as well as in personal discussions we have had about the ICA. I have always respected him for

Rick Schwartz

his candor and there are points he and I firmly agree on, especially the need to see much better daily communication between the ICA and the domain community. 

I still believe the ICA is the best hope for the domain community to survive the increasing assault they are facing from forces who completely missed the domain opportunity, but now want to change laws and policies so they can take domain owner's assets away from them. If there had been no ICA, odds are the Snowe bill would have sailed through Congress unopposed this year, leaving domain owners in dire straits. Many similar and even more threatening challenges lie ahead. 

Without question the ICA can be improved and the best way to do that is for more people to get involved and step into leadership positions. The current board will vote in the next annual meeting (to be held this month at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. New York) to expand the board so more people will have a role in determining the group's direction. The ICA can be shaped entirely by the community, but only if more community members get involved. 

So, do  I think Schwartz was wrong to walk away? Not at all. In fact I think that the hope he stated, that he could be more effective from the outside, could indeed be the case. As with all outspoken figures Schwartz has his supporters and his detractors. Many of the detractors refused to support the ICA effort for the sole reason that Schwartz was involved in founding the group. They mistakenly believed that the ICA was somehow a vehicle to further his personal agenda (and the agenda of other founding members). It has never been that, and this break should make that obvious to everyone. 

For his part, Schwartz has done nothing but generously contribute both time and money (more than $100,000) to the ICA effort. If the organization continues to grow and improve and become what everyone wants it to be, Schwartz will deserve much of the credit for that. It is regrettable that he feels he can no longer support the association, but for the long term health of the ICA, I think it is good for the leadership to keep changing so that the community can see an organization that represents ideas and the common good, rather than any person or group of individuals.