[address-policy-wg] 2014-02 New Policy Proposal (Allow IPv4 PI transfer)

* Marco Schmidt

>     https://www.ripe.net/ripe/policies/proposals/2014-02

I think it makes sense to allow PI transfers, at least when taking into
account that we already do so for PA. So I'm generally supportive of
this proposal

A few comments though:

1) The new policy says: «Changes to the original criteria must be
documented in the RIPE Registry, or the assignment will no longer be
considered valid». What exactly are the implications of this
requirement? I am assuming that the «RIPE Registry» is not the RIPE DB;
as the original criteria isn't documented in the RIPE DB to begin with.

As I understand it, any criteria that somehow involves «operating a
network» is a valid assignment criteria (cf. section 3.0.3), with no
requirement for specifics. I'm thinking that it might be better to
simply say something along the lines of an assignment being valid for as
long as it is being used according to the policy, rather than worrying
about the «original criteria» and how it possibly have changed. Most
networks evolve and change over time; it wouldn't surprise me if a
majority of assignments are now being used differently than originally
documented in their associated assignment request form. That's not a bad
thing though, is it?

2) Editorial: The new section 6.4 «Transfers of PI space» appears to me
to be pretty much a carbon copy of section 5.5 «Transfers of
Allocations» with a tiny bit changed here and there. Rather than
duplicating all that text, would it not be better to move 5.5 out of
section 5, and re-title and generalise it so that it applies equally to
PI and PA?

3) The new section 6.4 speaks of «Non-approved transfers». Under which
circumstances would a transfer not be approved, exactly? Do we really
need this language anymore? (I'm regretting that 2013-03 didn't do away
with it already. Oh well...)

Tore