The latest

[Jim Fleming]

On Wednesday, June 25, 1997 8:18 PM, Mark Kosters[SMTP:markk at INTERNIC.NET] wrote:
@ > There is no sign whatsoever that this will change. I ask you to show one piece 
@ > of documentation from anyone responsible for the current or proposed 
@ > management of in-addr.arpa saying that it will change. I have no interest in 
@ > comments that are not authoritative, we know there are quacks out there.
@ > 
@ > Kim, Daniel, David Randy:
@ > 
@ > Can we have a very short response saying that in-addr management will not 
@ > change in basic ways from how it is done now an dispense with this nonsense.
@ 
@ It will not change from its current basic form. Is that short enough? :^).
@ ARIN will do in-addrs (as RIPE and APNIC do as part of their registry
@ functions).
@ 

It is all quite simple, ARPA can be viewed as a Top Level
Domain just like any other TLD. The one difference is that
delegations under IN-ADDR.ARPA are very valuable and
will not cost $50 per year.

Also, people claim that it is a difficult job making the
arbitrary decisions about who gets delegations in the
IN-ADDR.ARPA zone. In the past, the the U.S. Government
was there to look over the shoulder of the people making
those delegations as contractors.

Now, instead of the government being there to review that
decision making on the front-end, the government will be
there to review the decisions after they are made. This is
common in many industries.

The whole thing is very similar to the end of prohibition.
Bootleggers and mobsters can now become "business
people". Other business people will pay for their IP addresses
and the government can make sure that the money flows
and is taxed.

This system will be much better than the old system
where we had the worst of both worlds. We had the government
(NSF) claiming they were managing things when they were
not, and we had a private company making decisions as
if they were the government when they were not.

Now we will have a private company selling products and
services and their actions will clearly not be on behalf of
the U.S. Government. It will be easier for business people
to deal with this arrangement.

I hope that a dozen more private companies start up to
serve the public in this important role.

--
Jim Fleming
Unir Corporation