[arin-ppml] ARIN releases new version of the Legacy Registration

[Howard, W. Lee]

Sorry, the length of this message kind of got away from me.  I'm
trying to put many thoughts into a single message, rather than
spew messages into PPML all day.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: arin-ppml-bounces at arin.net 
> [mailto:arin-ppml-bounces at arin.net] On Behalf Of Cort Buffington
> Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2008 10:04 AM
> To: arin ppml
> Subject: Re: [arin-ppml] ARIN releases new version of the 
> Legacy Registration
> 
> When I read Eric's post, which is outstanding by the way, I 
> recall what my fears were when I read the first LRSA offered 
> to me (I have not had time to read the new one yet). The way 
> things were worded make me feel kind of like this:
> 
> "So this looks pretty good, except all of the language 
> protecting ARIN's ability to arbitrarily change the agreement 
> in any way at any time."

Two things in the LRSA might mitigate that concern:
1.  Section 7 says you agree to be bound by community-developed
policies, unless they contradict the LRSA (e.g., section 10b).
2.  You always have the option to stay on your current LRSA or
accept a new one: section 15(m)

> And the first one did pretty much read that way. It's going 
> to take a long, long time to regain my trust. Interestingly 
> enough, I trusted ARIN before the one-sided contract and 
> extortive sounding tactics of the original LRSA. Whether 
> intended or not, that's the way it came across to me.

Let's talk about what we agree on.  While not universal, there's
rough consensus around these points:
* Legacy holders have a slightly different status than modern 
holders
* ARIN is the organization providing rDNS, WHOIS, and other
services that are useful to the community, in this region
* Legacy holders should pay some nominal maintenance fee, to pay
for maintenance of those services, and as an annual check that 
the legacy holder still exists and is using the numbers
* Legacy holders who are using the space should not have to 
give up the space (unless required by a force greater than 
community consensus).  Conversely, legacy holders who are not
using the space should make that space available for 
reassignment; those with partial utilization should be 
encouraged, but not forced, to release what they can.
* ARIN must abide by laws, government regulations, court 
rulings, and contracts.
* People and organizations holding address space must abide by
laws, government regulations, court rulings and contracts.

Right?


Under the new LRSA, the contract would be terminated, but the 
resources would remain with the legacy holder, under the 
following circumstances:

1. 14(c) the legacy holder terminates for cause, or 
2. 15(k) ARIN is unable to provide service due to force majeure.

Fair so far?


The only major point of contention is whether a legacy holder
should ever be required to release their resources to ARIN.  As
I read the LRSA, the contract would be terminated and ARIN
would stop providing service (i.e., revoke) under the following 
circumstances:

1.  4(c) Legacy holder does not provide "information, assistance,
and cooperation that ARIN requests in provision of the Services."
ARIN may simply refuse additional resources instead.
2.  4(d)(i) Legacy holder disrupts or interferes with ARIN's 
services, 
3. 4(d)(ii) Legacy holder "violate(s) any applicable laws, 
statutes or regulations, as established by a definitive ruling 
of a court or government agency;"
4. 4(d)(iii) Legacy holder "assist(s) any third party in engaging 
in any activity prohibited by this Legacy Agreement."
5.  6(b)(ii) Legacy holder falls more than a year overdue on 
maintenance fees (which are substantially capped).  ARIN may stop
providing Services without revocation, and in any case must allow
an additional year for the holder to make good before reassigning
the numbers.
6. 5(a) - (c) Legacy holder misuses ARIN's database
7.  14(b)(ii) Breach of contract that remains uncured for 30 days
8.  14(a) Legacy holder decides to terminate the contract for 
convenience.  Note that ARIN cannot terminate for convenience in
LRSA 2.0.

Please let me know if I've missed or mistated any scenarios; it's 
entirely possible and not intentional.  I'm just reading along 
like everyone else.


Now, I understand that some people believe they have an
inviolable right to maintain their resources under all 
circumstances.  I believe that if a legacy holder violates the
trust of the community, the community ought to have recourse.
The community founded ARIN, to operate the registry and reverse
DNS, and to facilitate community development of policies for
stewardship of numbers, and to do what is needed to support 
that mission.  It seems to me that the termination clauses are 
trying to protect ARIN's ability to serve the community and 
fulfill its mission.

I think ARIN has come pretty far with this new LRSA, trying to
protect both legacy holders and the rest of the community.  I 
appreciate the participation on this list by so many people 
responsible for legacy address space, when many of the 
policies developed will not ultimately affect you.  I 
acknowledge the concession many of you have made, in 
willingness to support ARIN financially.  I respect the 
contributions legacy holders have made to the development and growth of
the Internet.  I hope you can see the Legacy RSA, 
which was designed to offer greater assurance to the legacy
holder than the conventional RSA, as a tool for protecting the 
community's broader interest.

I must be clear, that I do not represent ARIN any more than 
any other community member when it comes to the LRSA.  I hope
that everyone with questions about the LRSA will call the 
Registration Services Help Desk at +1.703.227. 0660 or send 
email to hostmaster at arin.net, or with specific legal questions, 
contact ARIN General Counsel, Steve Ryan, at sryan at mwe.com. 


Lee