[rpd] Mass Hijacking of AFRINIC IPv4 Space by U.S.A. Spammers

[Ronald F. Guilmette]

In message <C93A9203-EBB4-4402-83C6-1476DA33641F at afrinic.net>, 
Alan Barrett <alan.barrett at afrinic.net> wrote:

>Are you suggesting that AFRINIC could take back legacy space from legacy
>resource holders?  I am not aware of any contractual provisions that
>would allow AFRINIC to do that.

If you come across a dead body, in the middle of the Sarhara Desert,
and you search his pockets, and you find that he hs no wallet and indeed
no identification of any kind on him, but he has two gold Krugerrands
in his pocket, would you

      a)  take the coins and keep them, or

      b) dedicate the rest of your year to searching the continent for any
         possible relatives of the dead man so that you can give the coins
         to them?

Many, most or all of the legacy holders I've identified as being involved
here were dead a long time ago, and that assertion can, I believe, be
reasonably well substantiated in many, most, or all of these cases, applying
due diligence to the effort.

You assert that there are "no contractual provisions" which would allow
reclamation of the long abandoned number resources of long dead companies,
but you do not state any legal basis for why any such contractual provision
might be in any sense required, i.e. under such circumstances.  Nor have you
cited any binding legal precedent in -any- jurisdiction which would even
apply in such a case, let alone produce the specific legal outcome that
you have pre-decided must be the case.

As an alternative to your baseless theory of legalisms which accrue in
such circumstances, I would like to put forward a different one of my own:

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_salvage

Under internationally recognized maritime law, the party who finds an
abandoned treasure and works to salvage said treasure is:

    "... entitled to a reward commensurate with the value of the property
    so saved."

Given that I found all these blocks, and that the only other interested
parties in these cases are the (pirate) spammers, I have a legal basis
for staking a salvage claim.  And I hereby do so.

Well, anyway, my attempt to play lawyer holds about as much legal validity
in this instance as your's does.  You ask "What are the contract provisions
that would allow reclamation?" in the absence of any contract.  I dunno.
What is the sound of one hand clapping?  Both are rather absurd questions
on the face of them.  If there's no contract, then there's no contract.
End of story.

I do -not- suggest taking back any legacy resources from any legal entity
or rightful successor in law where said entity or at least some rightful
succssor in law can be located with modest but reasonable due diligence.
But neither do I think it a wise practice to bury the dead with all of
their Krugerrands, e.g. out of some deranged and misplaced sense of duty
to their departed spirits.


Regards,
rfg