[ppml] Technical error was ( Regarding private residence... )

[Michael.Dillon at btradianz.com]

> Do you mean "network operator" in the NANOG sense, or in the
> sense of someone who operates a network? 

The second sense which includes the former.

> Listings in whois [1]
> are for /29 or greater, meaning multiple hosts, i.e., a network. 

This does not mean that the person who pays for 
Internet access is the operator of the network.
Let's imagine a guy named Lee living in Virginia
with a grandmother in California. Grandma orders
Internet access for her home network which was
designed by grandson Lee. She gets a /29 assignment
as requested. Lee flies over and sets up the network
including various remote network management tools. 
If there are any network problems, Grandma calls Lee
who logs in remotely and fixes them.

Who operates this network? I would argue that Lee
in Virginia is the network operator. If the California
ISP puts Grandma's contact info in the whois directory
then I believe they are doing the wrong thing. They 
should be asking the question...

> Network operators in either sense may be listed [2]; the person
> responsible for resolving network issues should be listed.

"Who resolves network issues for this /29?" The 
correct answer is "Lee in Virginia" so they should
answer with that. If there is any uncertainty about
who is the real technical contact, then they should
list THEMSELVES as the network operator.

Uncertainty could be there on day 1 when it is
clear that Grandma is no technical wizard. Or it
could arise at a later date when the California ISP
does its annual update of contact records and discovers
that Lee in Virginia has moved on and not left an
updated address and phone number.

> > If statistical analysis is an important role for the whois
> > directory then people need to speak up about it.
> 
> People did, which is why there's a bulk whois policy.

That is an awfully weak response. ARIN has always made
bulk whois data available. But ARIN has never accepted that
statistical analysis is a justification for collecting whois
data. And ARIN has never asked "What statistical information
is useful to researchers and is it justified to collect such
statistical info?". People hunting down spammers are not the
only "researchers" out there. It is my understanding that 
the bulk whois policy is just ensuring that people which had
access to the existing data, continue to have access.

I believe that statistical analysis is a good thing and 
that ARIN should facilitate such analysis. But making available
the existing bad and incomplete data does not serve the goal
of statistical analysis very well. If an effort was made to
provide clean data and relevant data, then there would be a
lot more justification for the whois directory than there is
today.

When you compare ARIN's record on this to the record of RIPE
or APNIC, then ARIN looks like the poor second cousin wearing
ragged hand-me-downs that grandpa used to wear.

--Michael Dillon

P.S. the whole "private residence" issue is still based on
a flawed assumption. Hiding the street address is not sufficient
to provide privacy when a postal code is in the directory.