[ncc-services-wg] RIPE tasks

On Wed, Aug 13, 2003 at 03:17:27PM +0100, Neil J. McRae wrote:
[...]
> I'm not against a number of the RIPE's activities, in fact some
> of the work that has been done has been great, but it needs to have 
> strong foundations and support from the RIPE NCC members and 
> stakeholders and at the moment that isn't the case. 

Most of the tasks RIPE is taking up are things that *are*
of relevance, but most members do not notice the relevance for
a few years *after* 8-)

E.g. the k-root multisite experiment or the anti-spam wg
(which lagged, but was and is very important).

> I'd hazard a guess that a vast majority of the members 
> signed up so they can register IP addresses, AS numbers and get 
> reverse DNS and if all the other stuff stopped tomorrow that they
> wouldn't even notice.

Yes, they would not notice for a few years and then would wake
up and say "We *had* this and killed it, my, now, that we need it".

> The purpose of the RIPE NCC are the registration services which is what 
> we signed up for. 

The purpose extends to other important areas, and they need to
be covered in an open manner. I know other ways this can be
covered (DE-NIC, ECO) and I do not prefer those ways.

It was suggested: "If you need lobbying, start another group". I've done
that already (www.ispeg.de, very german-centric), but this does
not keep me from wanting RIPE being the platform for advanced
topics it currently is.

> There are a several other organisations that have been setup working
> with the public and the media to lobby specific points and actions.

Yes, and most/all of them failed for critical mass, skills, person power,
influence, you name it.

> > 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?

How much is required to cover all the costs ?

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MfG/Best regards, Kurt Jaeger                                  17 years to go !
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