[arin-ppml] "Millions of Internet Addresses Are Lying Idle" (slashdot)

[Paul Vixie]

> Johns analysis is based on the premise that nodes respond to an
> ICMP echo request or the TCP equivalent.  That might temper ones
> expectations or presumptions about allocated but fallow data.
> 
> --bill

don't shoot the messenger, i found the article relevant since it touched
on reclaimation policy, even though i found the study itself irrelevant
since the RIR system and RFC2050 do not require connectedness for "need".

but it begs an interesting series of questions.  if "need" were redefined
to include connectedness, how much space would become "unneeded", how long
would that last in terms of randy's gold brick wall, and what legal regime
would apply since we can presume that most "unconnected" space is probably
legacy.  my personal suspicions are that the amount of space that would
become unneeded could push the brick wall back by more than two years, but
there's no way to define "connected" since there are so many private
interconnects between defaultless networks (and it's easy to connect a
network if it'd mean somebody keeping rights to their ip space).