[Community-Discuss] Visit AFRINIC member by NRS (Number Resource Society)

[John Curran]

On 20 May 2022, at 4:08 AM, Owen DeLong via Community-Discuss <community-discuss at afrinic.net<mailto:community-discuss at afrinic.net>> wrote:

On May 20, 2022, at 00:51 , Ish Sookun <ish.sookun at lasentinelle.mu<mailto:ish.sookun at lasentinelle.mu>> wrote:

Hi Owen,

On 20 May 2022, at 11:11, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com<mailto:owen at delong.com>> wrote:

I have no affiliation or business with NRS whatsoever, but I will say that we do need to hold RIRs accountable when they are not properly serving the community.

My question is not how do we hold the RIRs accountable. My question is how does the Number Resource Society hold the RIRs accountable?

I will leave answering that question to them. Since I have no affiliation, I cannot usefully comment on what they will or will not do.

Owen -

Actually, you may have that backwards –  it appears that a membership “affiliation” with the opaque NRS likely means that one cannot comment on these questions:

From the NRS terms and conditions of membership <https://www.nrs.help/terms-conditions> –

                        vi. shall not undertake any action that could damage the reputation of NRS;
                        vii. shall not make representations on behalf of NRS without prior approval in writing from NRS; and

I.e., “Members of the NRS" are actually prohibited from speaking about what the NRS is or how it functions – this is a very challenging prohibition for a community-based body (i.e., compare/contrast to the RIRs where volunteers routinely present on behalf of the body, speak at other functions about RIR activities and developments, etc.)

Since you’re not affiliated, you actually have freedom to opine here – how do you see the governance provisions of the NRS being an improvement over AFRINIC’s existing provisions?  As there is a distinct possibility raised by the NRS membership terms and conditions that it will provide instructions to NRS members regarding voting, how does that comport with the NRS claim of trying to improve ecosystem accountability and transparency in light of its own opacity?

You’ve got experience in the RIR system and likely have more familiarity with the various players behind the NRS than many on this list, so it would seem quite reasonable to elaborate on such matters (so as to aid others in their understanding of the relatively strengths of the NRS governance structures being proposed as substitutes.)

Thanks!
/John

John Curran
President and CEO
American Registry for Internet Numbers


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