[Community-Discuss] The Looting of AFRINIC

[Ronald F. Guilmette]

Mr. Folayan,

Let me begin by saying that I greatly apperciate your thoughtful response.

At the moment, I have only a few brief comments to add, above and beyond
what I have already said and what Jan Vermeulen has already written.


In message <4ad77d37-f1d5-04a2-86bd-79802faeb235 at gmail.com>, 
Sunday Folayan <sfolayan at gmail.com> wrote:


>I am sure you want to see the issues addressed, and not that we should 

>conduct a requiem mass for AFRINIC right away. The former is much more 

>honourable and deserves the support of every right-thinking stakeholder. 

>It is the later that I seek to ensure is not your intention.


Please allow me to give you my most sincere assurances about that.

Neither I nor Jan Vermeulen have either any intention or any wish to see
the demise or disappearance of AFRINIC.  That is quite certainly not a
goal for either of us, and as far as I am concerned, at least, is, as
you have said, not even something that any right-thinking stakeholder
should wish for.  AFRINIC is and has been an integral part of global
Internet governance.  I cannot even envision things as being otherwise.
No rational man would tear down an entire house at the first sign of a
few cracks in the foundation, nor even at the second.  And to use an
even move vivid analogy, I cannot, at present, envision the ongoing
smooth functioning on the global Internet without AFRINIC any more than
I can envision a horse deprived of one leg galloping across the plains.

If I had been present and involved back in 2004, when AFRINIC was being
formed, I have no doubt that I would almost certainly have suggested
that some things might be done differently, but that ship has already
sailed, a long long time ago, and by my own choice I wasn't on it, being
preoccupied, as I was, elsewhere.  Now I may stand on the comfortable
shore and express some disagreement about the direction of travel, but
I do not question the utility of the journey.

The problems that I and Jan have brought to light are, I think, matters
of implementation and not of fundamental design or purpose.  Time will
tell if that is an accurate assesment.


Regards,
rfg