[ppml] alternative realities (was PIv6 for legacy holders (/wRSA + efficient use))

[Paul Vixie]

> Saying that markets "might not form" is not the same as saying markets
> will not form.

not only am i not saying "will not form" i'm not saying "should not form".
so, when i said "might not form" i really meant only "might not form".

> Seeing 18.0.0.0/8 on ebay may be the reductio ad absurdum, but on the
> other hand, is, say, a struggling manufacturing firm with a legacy B
> more or less valuable as an M&A target than a similar firm with no such
> IP space? If more valuable, then by how much?

does the internet community want ARIN to scrutinize that transaction to
ensure that there's an operating network for which the company still
qualifies, or does the internet community want ARIN to turn a blind eye
if the "seller" forms a wholly owned subsidiary, transfers this "asset"
into it, and sells that company, with this class B as its only "asset"?

ARIN is an instrument of the community, and if the community wants this
kind of transfer to be a trivial matter of paperwork, then there are ways
for the community to express that desire through policy development.

> I think history shows that market mechanisms are better at distributing
> scarce resources than central planning is.

you could say that if you look for all the iron and coal that was dug out
of the ground under the soviet union and wonder "where's the steel?
where's the finished product?  where's the economy?"

you couldn't say that if you looked at the free market in electricity
pricing in california back in 2001.

so, i think history can show whatever we want it to show.

ps. i'm not speaking as an arin trustee in this message.