[arin-ppml] Draft Policy 2010-10 (Global Proposal):GlobalPolicy for IPv4 Allocations by the IANA Post Exhaustion- Last Call (textrevised)

[Ronald F. Guilmette]

In message <DDE139AF-24A9-4F9A-B524-2CB78272E735 at delong.com>, 
Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:

>rfg:
>> Conversely, if such things DO exist and if ARIN DOES perform any such
>> {utilization audits}
>> then please do stop beating about the bush and just describe how that is
>> done.
>>
>Why? There are very good reasons for ARIN not to publicly disclose the
>techniques and methods they use for conducting these audits.

I'm listening.  What are those?

Do they outweigh the many obvious good reasons to have a clear and transparent
statement of the process that all members know they may be held to, without
prejudice or favor?

>The details of any particular audit cannot be public because of non-disclosure

I took that as a given.  But that's not what I asked about.  I didn't ask
about any _specific_ review.  I have asked about how reviews/audits are done,
in general.

And I am still awaiting even some small clue of what such a thing might entail.

Look, I think I've made my interest clear.  I believe, based on evidence,
that there is rampant and profligate waste and fraud in IPv4 allocations
within ARIN-land, and most of it is unambiguously in the service of spammers.
The waste and fraud hasn't been a big issue for most folks.. with the possible
exception of virulent die-hand anti-spammers like me... as long as there were
plenty of IPv4 addresses to go around.  Next year, as I understand it, that
is all going to change, and leigitimate companies may perhaps start offering
their eye teeth, just to get a small bit of IPv4 space, once official
"exhaustion" occurs.  Based on that, I think that it may be safely predicted
that I and my current opinions (_and_ my current rudeness, such as it is)
will ultimately be seen to have been but a harbinger of what is sure to come,
i.e. a whole lot of other and different people asking a whole lot of very
similar sorts of very pointed questions about EXACTLY how so many organizations
seem to manage to get away with such apparently large amounts of waste and
fraud, year after year.

When and if that does indeed occur, I do think that ARIN is going to have to
come up with some better answer than just saying that it's all secret, and
that (thus) nobody is even allowed to question the process, or whether it
is being perform fairly, or whether it is being performed with the best
possible techniques and technology (e.g. for getting a _true_ measure of
"hosts" within a given space), or whether it is being performed at all.


Regards,
rfg


P.S.  Although it may seem otherwise, my actual goal is not to simply
criticise or throw rocks at ARIN's existing utilization review processes,
but rather to try to offer (if it would be accepted) some of my own tools
and techniques to possibly aid and improve the utilization audit process
further.  That would be a win-win all around I think... I and others would
see fewer spammers on the net and the entire ARIN community might benefit
from having more accurate utilization audits.  But in case it isn't obvious,
I and other such wlling souls cannot possibly offer any improved technology
which might be mixed in to improve the existing audit process if we... and
everyone else on the planet... are all kept utterly in the dark about whatever
ARIN currently is or isn't doing with respect to the conduct of these audits.

How can any well-meaning soul offer improvements to a process that is kept
entirely hidden behind the curtain, rather like the Wizard of Oz?