Hi, On Tue, Aug 12, 2003 at 03:29:44PM +0100, Peter Galbavy wrote:
Gert Doering wrote:
You're confused. RIPE isn't funded in any way. RIPE is "all of us".
The funding goes to the RIPE NCC, which has offices, employees, and needs money to do the work that RIPE (we) ask them to do.
Then why do people (in RIPE / RIPC NCC) make a distinction ?
I don't understand that question. You were complaining that people make this distinction "just to confuse matters" - and I was trying to give a precise definition as for what is what. Especially it's not "RIPE *and* the RIPE NCC are both funded in some convoluted ways". RIPE is NOT (and can't be, by definition). [..]
be optional and extra. At the moment, those of us who just want IPes and ASes have to pay for others to play with their academic toys. Why ?
Because the majority of the members hasn't voted against it.
Because the system is weighted in such a way that getting a vote proposed, let alone voted on by any real number of people, is difficult to impossible.
I can't agree with that statement. I have been quite successful in changing some of those pieces that annoyed me. [..]
On the other hand, if you just want IP addresses and AS numbers, you *can* go through an ISP (but it will reduce the number of options that you have).
No you cannot, because you are then buying from your (potential) competition.
In what way is "getting an AS number from the competition" something that's harmful for your business in the long run? As far as I understand your situation, getting a PI address block through any other ISP, and announcing that via your AS (that you have already) should solve your needs without causing any competitive problems either. [..]
I am not looking to break the natural monopoly, but rather I am looking to move to a situation where the "monopoly" stuff is walled off from the optional stuff that RIPE/RIPE-NCC management (and friends) use to pay for their own pet projects. I am happy to pay on a cost basis for the "monopoly" stuff, but I don't get a choice.
Isn't that exactly what the activity plan is about, which is agreed-upon on a very specific date that was announced *WELL* in advanced, and where every LIR can go and vote for or against? You can even bring proxy votes. Gert Doering -- NetMaster -- Total number of prefixes smaller than registry allocations: 56535 (56318) SpaceNet AG Mail: netmaster@Space.Net Joseph-Dollinger-Bogen 14 Tel : +49-89-32356-0 80807 Muenchen Fax : +49-89-32356-299