[ppml] [arin-discuss] Legacy Legal Defense Fund and LegacyRegistry

[Stephen Sprunk]

Thus spake "Michael K. Smith - Adhost" <mksmith at adhost.com>
> If a separate registry was formed, it seems to me that the
> funding for this registry would be accounted for from within the
> membership, i.e. the legacy address holders participating in the
> registry.  I can't think of a reason why ARIN would be responsible
> for these costs.

I am assuming that Dean's theory is that ARIN promised to provide registry 
services for legacy holders, therefore it would fund a separate registry to 
do so.  However, doing so would impose additional costs due to the 
separation of operations, and therefore it doesn't make fiscal sense.

In reality, the creation of such a registry (if it were possible) would 
release ARIN from its moral obligation and need to be funded by its 
registrants.  Note that these folks are the subset of ARIN registrants who 
have largely refused to pay ARIN money for the services they receive today, 
so I fail to see how an alternate registry, without fee-paying registrants, 
would be able to operate.

> As a Member, it concerns me that the legacy holders only pay
> $100.00 into the coffers, although I understand the reasoning.

Actually, the vast majority of them pay nothing.  Only a very few, AFAIK, 
have joined the ARIN process and pay the $100/yr maintenance fee.  The 
remainder get their registration services for free, funded by the (mostly 
non-legacy) fee-paying members of the community.  Those folks're getting a 
free ride.

Frankly, it'd be a lot cheaper for them to join PPML and shout down any 
policy proposal that would adversely affect them (which costs exactly $0) 
than it would be to form any sort of "legal defense fund" -- which is a 
misleading name itself, since that term is commonly used for "defense" 
against lawsuits, and there is no indication that ARIN has any intent of 
suing anybody.  What it really is is a "legal attack fund", i.e. a way for 
legacy holders to pool their money to sue ARIN.

S

Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking