On 29/08/2012 11:08, Nigel Titley wrote:
This actually raises an interesting issue. Are there any circumstances in which RIPE policy would apply to legacy space? Could, for example, the AP-WG unilaterally propose a policy that annexed legacy space? I've heard this suggested several times. And of course, if RIPE policy doesn't apply to legacy space, why are the legacy holders raising a proposal at all?
RIPE policies do not apply to ERX address space - there is no real argument about this. However, we have an immediate operational problem caused by the fact that the RIPE NCC has withdrawn the ability for ERX holders to make updates to their address blocks. We got here because some people decided to pass the can from ddn / internic / arin to the RIPE NCC due to geographical considerations. Now that the RIPE NCC has been landed with this mess, they felt that there is a requirement to do something about it rather than let it sit there and fester due to hijacking / illegal transfers. I can see a lot of operational and legal reasons that the NCC blocked updates to the space, even though they were given no direct mandate to do this from the RIPE community. So the issue is really a question of balancing the rights and responsibilities of both the RIPE NCC and the ERX holders. This is why I asked last week if there was an agreement in place between the InterNIC and the RIPE NCC for handling the ERX transfers - if there was a formal agreement in place, then it needs to be given serious consideration when the RIPE community forms a new policy for the RIPE NCC which can be applied to the address space, because the terms of that agreement may still be binding on the RIPE NCC. If there was no agreement in place, then more options are open. Basing a policy on "annexing legacy space" is a red herring. Tut, tut, naughty Nigel. What isn't a red herring is the notion of creating a policy which accepts and understands the requirement of a quid pro quo between the ERX holders and the RIPE NCC. This principal is notably absent in the pre-publication proposal that Niall emailed to the list a couple of days ago, and without prejudice to that document, it is a principal which I suspect would radically change the conclusions of any such proposal. Nick