[AFRINIC-rpd] PDP discussions

[Andrew Alston]

Hi All,

While I do not have the email I am responding to on his notebook due to
lack of mail sync and I am typing this as I fly back to South Africa, I
have the mail from Jackson on my phone, and I need to respond to a number
of issues.

Let us first look at the remarks about advantaging rich South and East
African universities.  This argument is fallacious at best, at worst it
shows that the individual commenting had not bothered to read the policy
at all or was deliberately attempting to mislead this community.  The
policy removes the need for certain documentation and justification that
large, rich universities would have no issue providing, which could
however be far more problematic for smaller, less wealthy institutions to
provide.  Hence, it actually advantages those universities who are still
building their infrastructure rather than sitting with already well
established networks.

Secondly, I wish to address the question of IPv4 burn rate and the
objections on this list.  The fact that this policy would result in faster
usage of the available pool was made very plain at the microphone by both
Sunday and myself when presenting this policy.  The community heard this,
and accepted the policy.  I believe this is probably because yes, it
increases the usage of the available pool, but it keeps the space where it
belongs, in Africa, for the African people.  Without increasing the burn
rate, rest assured the space would disappear off our continent fairly
quickly.

I point to the fact that currently, to my knowledge, there is *NOTHING* in
current policy aside from the soft landing policy that stops organisations
using space assigned by AfriNIC in places outside of the African region.
This policy will at least lock the space to Africa.

My second last point is, to my knowledge, this policy passed with a
greater on the floor consensus of any policy in African PDP history
(personal observation and echoed by others), the community overwhelmingly
supported this by a massive majority.  While I respect the democratic
right of any member to disagree with the policy, I do ask that the
decision that was taken by the community, by show of hands, and by massive
majority be respected as well.

Lastly.  Jackson, you had the audacity to call Sunday and myself "Africa
haters" and claim we "want to drop you all in a hole", while at the same
time echoing some pretty anti-southern/eastern african sentiments.  To you
I have this to say.  The attitudes you choose to display are the very
things that stop this continent advancing, it is these sentiments which
destroy the very unity of this continent that could lead it to being so
much more than it currently is.  It is these attitudes that allow the
colonial powers to exercise the power they do, because we as an African
people are not united.  I therefore put to you that you and those like you
are the ones destroying this continent through your small minded, shallow
and racial attitudes.  Grow up, it has no place in this community.

Andrew