[AfriNIC-rpd] Open Policy hour for AfriNIC - just an idea.

[Owen DeLong]

Sent from my iPad

On Apr 19, 2012, at 12:54 PM, SM <sm at resistor.net> wrote:

> Hi Owen,
> At 08:34 19-04-2012, Owen DeLong wrote:
>> I apologize for the confusion. I should probably have made myself more clear about this initially.
> 
> Actually, the confusion was caused from my side as I did not get into the details.  I might comment about that in a message in future.
> 
>> Quite a bit less formal, actually.
>> 
>> The OPH does not usually have a defined agenda, per se. It is conducted as more of a free-form conversation. The microphone is usually passed around or people simply speak up from their seats. It is largely self-moderating and the presenter/leader/moderator only steps in if things start to get out of hand. There is no specific schedule of when or what is presented.
> 
> It's worth try if people think that it will have the intended effect in the AfriNIC service region.  As Maye Diop asked the question nicely, I would give some more thought to her advice.
> 
>> It is, literally, an opportunity for people to discuss and learn about the policy process (education), find out about how to go about writing a policy proposal (education), solicit early feedback on an idea and whether or not that idea is worthy of a policy proposal (community), refine an idea into a policy proposal (support for new authors), etc.
> 
> Agreed.
> 
> What if someone asks why a proposal submitted over a year ago and ratified nearly a year ago is still awaiting implementation?
> 

Then staff can answer that question or at their discretion defer it to the members or public policy meetings where it is certainly an appropriate topic for open mic.

>> Have you ever attended an ARIN OPH? I do not think your expectations about what it is
> 
> No.  BTW, my comments were not about the ARIN OPH.
> 

Understood. I believe, however, your comments were about the merits of trying the OPH idea in the AfriNIC region. Since they have had a beneficial effect in the ARIN region towards addressing the very issues you and I have agreed also exist in the AfriNIC region, I was attempting to point out that I thought it was worth at least trying in the AfriNIC region as well. It sounds like we are mostly on the same page at this point.

I am not insensitive to the fact that AfriNIC faces unique challenges. However, that does not mean that solutions that work for ARIN cannot at least help to solve similar problems in the AfriNIC region.

Owen