[address-policy-wg] Re: Can the RIRs bypass the IETF and do their own thing?

On 2007-05-14 16:08, Shane Kerr wrote:
> Brian,
> 
> On Mon, May 14, 2007 at 01:34:31PM +0200, Brian E Carpenter wrote:
>> On 2007-05-11 23:32, JORDI PALET MARTINEZ wrote:
>>> The RIRs don't depend on IETF at all, they can define global
>>> policies for things that the IETF failed to complete if that's the
>>> case. IANA can be instructed the same by the RIRs (which a global
>>> policy) than by the IETF itself with an RFC.
>> Not quite. The RIRs have authority delegated to them by IANA, and
>> IANA operates under the terms of its MoU and SLA with the IETF. So
>> the RIRs' scope is to set and implement policy within their
>> delegated authority, which itself has to be within the terms of the
>> IANA MoU and SLA.
> 
> The RIRs authority comes from their communities, not from IANA.
> That's what "bottom-up" means.

We're both right. It works because there is a wide consensus to both
listen to the community and respect the mechanisms in place.

     Brian