[arin-ppml] A compromise on legacy space?

[Stephen Sprunk]

Lee Dilkie wrote:
> That was kind of my point, just leave them alone. The problem is the "ipv4 exhaustion". Some folks seem to view legacy space as a free gold mine.
>   

Yes, there are folks who view abandoned or disused legacy space as a 
"gold mine": spammers.  Despite the best (and time-consuming, i.e. 
costly) efforts of ARIN staff, blocks do get hijacked now and then, and 
it's a mess when it happens -- one which is completely avoidable if the 
legacy holders would cooperate even minimally.  Most do not, so someone 
has to be an adult and force them to.

> Presumably you, like I, block malicious traffic from networks regardless of the contact details, it *is* malicious after all..... The fact is, my contact information, like many legacy holders, *is* up to date. My in-addr *is* also up to date.

Thank you.  However, stats at a recent ARIN meeting showed that ~50% of 
legacy records hadn't been updated even once since ARIN's formation a 
decade ago.  A significant fraction of legacy space doesn't show up in 
the DFZ either.

Those "innovators" are not keeping up with their obligations, do not 
appear to be using their space, and may not even _exist_ anymore.  That 
is all _I_ am proposing we attempt to reclaim.  If you're using your 
space (no matter how inefficiently) and you keep in contact with ARIN, 
keep it.  That is how I read the intent behind the LRSA and what I know 
(as a co-author) the intent is behind 2007-14.

> I am a good net citizen and I wouldn't at all mind contributing a "fair/reasonable" share towards the costs to keep my records available. (I'd prefer a single 10 year payment than the yearly stuff, that should cover the lifespan of IPv4)

A side effect of requiring annual payments, rather than letting you 
prepay for a decade, is that it ensures the contact information stays 
current.  While you may be diligent about taking care of that, many 
others obviously are not.  It also means that, when you finally decide 
IPv4 is no longer useful to you (be that in 3 years or 30 years), you 
will return it.  There may be no demand from others at that point, but 
there might for reasons we can't predict today.

S