[arin-ppml] Draft Policy 2012-3: ASN Transfers

[Matthew Kaufman]

On 3/16/2012 2:23 PM, Tom Vest wrote:
> The knowledge that route (a) was originated by AS (x) is only 
> meaningful insofar as one has some set of high-confidence 
> beliefs/expectations about AS (x). However, if AS (x) can change hands 
> at will, henceforth no such confidence will be possible for the 
> overwhelming majority if not all ASes.

I would point out that this fact is *already* true, as ASNs are 
transferred through merger and acquisition all the time, and have been 
for over a decade.

I don't see anyone proposing a policy where an entity is required to 
return (and have permanently marked as unavailable) their ASN when 
ownership changes... I see, for instance, that AS 1 and AS 701 are still 
out there, despite the above happening several times, and yet nothing 
terrible has happened as a result.

Matthew Kaufman