[arin-ppml] ARIN-PPML Digest, Vol 106, Issue 8

[John Curran]

On Apr 4, 2014, at 11:21 AM, David Huberman <David.Huberman at microsoft.com> wrote:

> Today, however, RFC2050 has been deprecated by RFC7020.  RFC7020
> lays out three primary goals:
> - Allocation Pool Management
> - Hierarchical Allocation
> - Registry Accuracy
> ...
> That's why I advocate removing needs-basis from transfers in a post-
> exhaustion world.  There's no pool to manage[1], so the only OFFICIAL
> mandate ARIN has from the network operator community is to run an
> accurate registry.

Be very careful, David, in referring to RFC7020 as a mandate from 
the network operator community... it would be best characterized 
simply as a document which has undergone IETF review.  Note that 
there are at least as frequent cries about the lack of operators 
at IETF as there are about lack of operators in RIR activities...

> When this community -- the ARIN policy making community -- makes
> rules (and takes on an attitude) that is beyond the mandate of the
> governing RFCs, 

To be clear - RFC 7020 is a cleanup of RFC 2050 to remove the embedded 
(and obsolete) 1996-era IPv4 allocation policy within the document, 
leaving a clearer description of the existing Internet number registry 
system.  The absence of policy is intentional, but that is not expressing
a constraint on policy creation, it is done with the explicit recognition
that "The RIRs also conduct regional number policy development used in the 
administration of the number resources for which they are responsible."

> I advocate the principles of RFC7020, and in doing so, beg this community
> to only make rules which conform to the spirit of IETF drafts.

To the extent that the community develops policy which is applicable in 
administration of number resources in the region, such policy conforms
to the spirit of RFC 7020.   

Despite the above, I agree that folks should think carefully about the 
need for any given policy-based restriction, as number resource policy 
can have real-world impacts on other organizations which are as great 
or greater than any perceived benefit that might result.  If there is an 
aspect of number resource policy that is needed because its absence will 
result in harm to your organization, then it is important to speak up and 
see if there are others who feel similarly with overall consensus to create
policy...  In cases where the harm is not apparent, there is no need for
creation or continuance of policy, since (in agreement with David) the 
policy is supposed to serve the community, not the other way around.

Thanks!
/John

John Curran
President and CEO
ARIN