Colleagues

We really need some help from you guys who understand, and possibly wrote, (parts of) the IPv4 address policy. The most confusing part is this:

6.2 Network Infrastructure and End User Networks

When an End User has a network using public address space this must be registered separately with the contact details of the End User. Where the End User is an individual rather than an organisation, the contact information of the service provider may be substituted for the End Users.

Perhaps to some of you the intent of this is clear. But when I read these words I see ambiguity. Does the policy only require (tech/admin/abuse) contacts, or does it require publishing some details about who is operating the network? Help desks can be outsourced. So tech/admin/abuse contacts may not directly relate to the 'End User'. The policy appears to ask for contact details of the 'End User'. Also the second sentence is referring to the 'End User' as an individual or an organisation. Substitute that back into the first sentence and this policy is asking for 'contact details of the individual or organisation'. This is not the same as the tech/admin/abuse contacts.

So what does anyone else understand from this wording? Or maybe the question should now be 'what details need to be published in the RIPE Database about these End Users, for what purpose and who needs it?'.

cheers

denis

co-chair DB-WG