[db-wg] proposal: haiku object

Proposal for Adding a Haiku Object to the RIPE Database

Requirement:

System Administrators and other users of the RIPE Database need some 
avocation beside their exhausting work with ip address space assignments, 
routing and other occupations concerning database objects which have to be 
taken seriously. The existing limerick object provides such avocation but 
obviously has some limitations:

  - The limerick has to have a fixed aabba rhyme scheme which restricts 
    the creative genius of the author in an inadequate manner. It has to 
    be admitted that this restriction can be considered as a challenge,
    but for spontaneous poetical outbreaks the fixed specifications and 
    the great length of five lines are more debilitating than inspiring.

  - The limerick has to be humorous. While there is nothing wrong about
    funny poems, there are always moments in a System Administrators' 
    life, when there is just not the need for jokes. Deeper insights into 
    the meaning of life and other more or less important things are said 
    to have come to people's minds while working with internet protocols.
    These insights should be given the opportunity to be put into a 
    poetic form and as such into the RIPE database for the enlightenment 
    of like-minded people.

  - Even System Administrators and other users of the RIPE Database need 
    some variety, at least when writing poems. There is a need for another 
    poem object beside the existing limerick object.


Solution:

The haiku ist a traditional Japanese poetic form without the restrictions 
of the limerick described before. It has no rhyme scheme and no measure 
encumbering the author. The only formal requirement (which is not even 
mandatory) is the segmentation into three lines of 5, 7 and 5 units each,
which are usually understood as syllables in languages other than 
Japanese. Haikus don't have to be humorous, in fact the traditional 
Japanese haiku is not humorous at all.[1]

Haikus have attracted attention in the IT world already some time ago. 
Mentionable appearances include the Salon Magazines's Haiku Error Message 
Contest[2] and the ActiveState Perl Haiku Contest[3]. Although there are 
also voices condemning the joke haiku (and proposing the limerick as an 
adequate poetic form)[4], the old Japanese poem still has its right to 
exist, even and particularly in the world of computer professionals. 
People occupied with servers, routing and internet protocols at large tend 
to have an own kind of humor not comparable to the stupid corny jokes told 
in the world outside. Besides the humorous aspects of computer 
adminstration, the haiku empowers computer professionals to turn their 
insights into other aspects of computer adminstration or even life to 
poetry.

The haiku object as described below gives System Administrators and other 
users of the RIPE Database the opportunity to share their thoughts and 
feelings put into haikus with like-minded people. 


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku
[2] http://archive.salon.com/21st/chal/1998/02/10chal2.html
[3] http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Perl/Haiku/
[4] http://www.phenry.org/junkdrawer/haiku/


The haiku class:

      The haiku object represents a poem that usually has three
      lines with 5, 7 and 5 units. In languages other than Japanese
      units are generally applied as syllables.
      There is no rhyme scheme at all.
    
haiku:         [mandatory]  [single]     [primary/look-up key]
descr:         [optional]   [multiple]   [ ]
text:          [mandatory]  [multiple]   [ ]
admin-c:       [mandatory]  [multiple]   [inverse key]
author:        [mandatory]  [multiple]   [inverse key]
remarks:       [optional]   [multiple]   [ ]
notify:        [optional]   [multiple]   [inverse key]
mnt-by:        [mandatory]  [multiple]   [inverse key]
changed:       [mandatory]  [multiple]   [ ]
source:        [mandatory]  [single]     [ ]

The content of the attributes of the haiku class are defined below:

haiku

   Specifies the title of the haiku.
    
     HK-<string>

     <string> can include alphanumeric characters, and "_" and 
     "-" characters.
       
descr

   A short decription related to the object.
    
     A sequence of ASCII characters.
       
text

   Text of the haiku. There are no fixed rules about the subject or
   form of the haiku although there are some traditional conventions.
   Further information about this Japanese poetic form can be found at
   <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku>.
    
     A sequence of ASCII characters.
       
admin-c

   References an on-site administrative contact.
    
     From 2 to 4 characters optionally followed by up to 5 digits
     optionally followed by a source specification.  The first digit
     must not be "0".  Source specification starts with "-" followed
     by source name up to 9-character length.
       
author

   References a haiku author.
    
     From 2 to 4 characters optionally followed by up to 5 digits
     optionally followed by a source specification.  The first digit
     must not be "0".  Source specification starts with "-" followed
     by source name up to 9-character length.
       
remarks

   Contains remarks.
    
     A sequence of ASCII characters.
       
notify

   Specifies the e-mail address to which notifications of changes
   to an object should be sent.
    
     An e-mail address as defined in RFC 2822.
       
mnt-by

   Specifies the identifier of a registered mntner object used
   for authorisation of operations performed with the object
   that contains this attribute.
    
     Made up of letters, digits, the character underscore "_",
     and the character hyphen "-"; the first character of a name
     must be a letter, and the last character of a name must be a
     letter or a digit.  The following words are reserved by
     RPSL, and they can not be used as names:
   
      any as-any rs-any peeras and or not atomic from to at
      action accept announce except refine networks into inbound
      outbound
   
     Names starting with certain prefixes are reserved for
     certain object types.  Names starting with "as-" are
     reserved for as set names.  Names starting with "rs-" are
     reserved for route set names.  Names starting with "rtrs-"
     are reserved for router set names. Names starting with
     "fltr-" are reserved for filter set names. Names starting
     with "prng-" are reserved for peering set names. Names
     starting with "irt-" are reserved for irt names. Names
     starting with "lim-" and "hk-" are reserved for limericks
     and haikus respectively.
       
changed

   Specifies who submitted the update, and when the object was
   updated. 
    
     An e-mail address as defined in RFC 2822, followed by a date
     in the format YYYYMMDD.
       
source

   Specifies the registry where the object is registered.  Should
   be "RIPE" for the RIPE Database.
    
     Made up of letters, digits, the character underscore "_",
     and the character hyphen "-"; the first character of a 
     registry name must be a letter, and the last character of a
     registry name must be a letter or a digit.

-- 
RSP-RIPE