[db-wg] Proposal to remove "referral-by" attribute in "mntner" object or make it optional

On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 12:46:14PM +0100, Job Snijders wrote:
> > I think this may be a bit over cautious for this object type. 
> 
> When none of the other participants in this thread have objections to a
> 'fast phase-out', I will not persue a more cautious approach for this
> attribute. :-)

Although I'm quite happy to move forward with this case without any
unnecessary steps/hassle, I would like to avoid such discussions like
this one from last year about urgent release of RIPE DB software.

And yes - this is over cautious from my side. ;-)

> > The MNTNER object is not created, update or queried as often as
> > operational data. And it is one of the least likely objects to be
> > subject to automated scripts creating or querying & fully parsing it.
> > Because of the hidden password hash, most MNTNER objects can only be
> > fully accessed by an authenticated lookup in Webupdates. This takes
> > care of issues surrounding a missing, previously mandatory,
> > attribute.
> 
> I agree. 
> 
> > So for this object maybe we can:
> > 
> > -drop referral-by to an optional attribute with warning if used. Of
> > course it will follow our now standard deployment process.
> > -send the reminders to the DB WG after 1 and 2 months
> > -deprecate the attribute fully after 2 months
> 
> Would it be possible to monitor the amount of creations/updates to MNTER
> objects which contain a 'referral-by' attribute from the moment the
> attribute becomes optional and generates soft warning? 

Good idea.

Piotr

-- 
gucio -> Piotr Strzyżewski
E-mail: Piotr.Strzyzewski at polsl.pl