[arin-ppml] End non-public IPv4 assignments?

[Owen DeLong]

On Jan 24, 2011, at 6:03 PM, Jimmy Hess wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 7:24 PM, Tony Hain <alh-ietf at tndh.net> wrote:
>> "The Internet" is a collection of diverse and independently operated
>> networks, some of which don't care to interact with your network. That does
>> not make either their network or yours any more or less a part of "the
>> Internet". The fact that some networks can operate with moderate success in
> [snip]
> No... the internet is not merely a "collection of diverse and
> independently operated networks".
> You missed the most important part.
> The internet is a collection of networks that interconnect with each
> other.    If your network does not connect any way, then you aren't
> part of it.
> 
If your network connects to the networks of several organizations whose
networks connect to the internet, the mere fact that you don't share
packets with other organizations on the internet to which you are not
directly connected does not mean that you are not connected.
It just means that you aren't connected to everyone else. Nobody on
the internet is connected to EVERYONE else for varying levels of the
definition of EVERYONE.

> If it is the exception to the rule, rather than the rule, that your
> network interconnects with other networks,  then you have excluded
> your network from the internet.
> 
Huh?

> Non-connected networks are by definition not internet connected networks.
> 
Not exactly, but, this is where the terminology has become unfortunately
disconnected from the reality of the activities actually going on.

Unfortunately, "non-connected networks" is much easier to write and to
say than "networks which do not connect directly to more than a handful
of internet-connected networks and which by policy do not use those
networks to which they do connect as transit providers to reach other
portions of the internet.".

> If IP addresses are for hosts to connect to the internet, then the IP
> addresses do not fall under the category of "non-connected".

IP addresses are for hosts which connect to other hosts using the
TCP/IP protocol. You cannot use TCP/IP without IP addresses.

Since the "are for hosts to connect to the internet" clause of your
IF statement is false, the "then" clause should not be executed.

Owen