[ncc-services-wg] RIPE tasks

Neill, all,

First of all I must say that I like the fact that
the new RIPE NCC Services Working Group obviously
is taking off :-)

With regard to the repeatedly stated opinion that
the RIPE NCC management, and the RIPE NCC Executive
Board are unaware of the members' opinions, and needs,
I am convinced that those members of the community
who have followed the events, presentations and planning
discussions of the last year (from the conduct of the
membership survey 2003, the move of the General Meeting
to the Friday of the RIPE Meeting, and through to the proposal
of the Activity Plan and other documents in preparation
of that General Meeting), know full well that we are very aware
of these concerns, and that actions continue to be proposed,
and are taken where approved, to adjust activities to
the expressed need of RIPE NCC members and stakeholders.

The existence of this Working Group and mailing list
in itself is just one minor outcome.

The point of "Just Registration Service" is moot.
As we all now, the industry has changed. Well, actually
the running of a geeks' network instead of the
politically correct technology has *become* the industry
before that. And thus has attracted all sorts of
people, politicians, lawyers, bureaucrats, the lot.
We cannot go back to the old days of just registering
numbers. The risk is high that one day we would awake
to the ITU doing Internet Governance. "Please see your
local MP to effect a change in IP allocation policy,
to be discussed at the next plenipotentiary of the ITU."
We need to do more, to establish the RIPE NCC in the minds
of politicians, journalists, "the public" as a trustworthy
place you can turn to to gain insight in the operations
of the Internet.

About the RIPE meetings: They are crucially important
to the functioning of the RIPE NCC, and of industry
self regulation. Yes, they should be self supporting,
but they aren't fully. Can we raise the meeting fees?
Of course. But we need to balance this very carefully, as
we cannot run the risk of eating into attendance numbers
too much.

regards,

Axel