Thinking about it, just in the last day or two I've realized that RIPE, ARIN, IANA, ICANN, and all such authorities are in many ways quite analogous to our Federal Reserve here in the United States. In both cases, the entities have much authority and are widely perceived as having charters that somehow commit them to pursuit of the public good. But in both cases, the reality is rather different... these entities are in fact merely commercial associations of business interests that are pledged, if not by law then by contract, to never reveal even a smidgeon of their commercial member's dirty laundry to any "outsider", and their iron-clad commitment to this goal always takes precedence over any other consideration.
I agree. The main goal of these organisations for me seems to be not protecting public goods but protecting the commercial interests of their members. So they aren't nonprofit organizations? Best regards, - Karl-Josef Ziegler