[arin-ppml] Serious question for the list.

[David Farmer]

On 5/5/11 18:01 CDT, Martin Hannigan wrote:
> Context does not require an engineering degree or a shred of
> experience as a technician. The fact that you disagree underscores the
> potential of the problem that we seem to have with IP number policy.
> People who are currently writing them seem to be trying to legislate
> the technology instead of stewarding the numbers for the greater
> overall good of the community which includes the end users.
>
> This would seem to be an even greater argument to insure that the
> general public has continued easy access. Creating classes of
> participants does nothing except create harmful  inequities.

I think I see the problem here, first I think I didn't say exactly what 
I meant.  I said "minimal level of technical expertise and interest in 
the details of the subject matter", when I really meant "minimal level 
of technical expertise and/or interest in the details of the subject 
matter."  In fact you could probably even eliminate the first phrase and 
just go with "interest in the details of the subject matter." Now the 
fact is that a great majority of the people with sufficient interest are 
probably from the networking industry or more generally Information 
Technology.  But that is by no means a requirement, it is more a 
correlation then anything else.

Furthermore, "technical expertise" isn't limited to network engineers, 
or engineers at all.  One of your examples from earlier, M&A contract 
law is a highly technical field too.  Something doesn't need to be about 
Information Technology to be technical, the word has a much broader meaning.

------

tech·ni·cal

adjective /ˈteknikəl/ 

    1. Of or relating to a particular subject, art, or craft, or its 
techniques
           * - technical terms
           * - a test of an artist's technical skill

    2. (esp. of a book or article) Requiring special knowledge to be 
understood
           * - a technical report

    3. Of, involving, or concerned with applied and industrial sciences
           * - an important technical achievement

    4. Resulting from mechanical failure
           * - a technical fault

    5. According to a strict application or interpretation of the law or 
rules
           * - the arrest was a technical violation of the treaty


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David Farmer               Email:farmer at umn.edu
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