[rpd] Draft Policy Proposal - Hierarchical Names for New AS-SETs (AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02)

[Nyasha Ndemo]

Dear PDWG Chairs,

I object to AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02.

This proposal reflects a recurring institutional habit: when no clear
operational failure exists, create additional structure and then describe
that structure as progress.

The Internet did not become resilient because every identifier was
surrounded by increasingly elaborate policy. It became resilient because
coordination remained narrow, predictable, and justified by operational
necessity. The burden should always rest with those proposing additional
rules to demonstrate why existing practice has become inadequate.

That burden has not been met.

I have seen no evidence that current AS-SET naming conventions are creating
a material operational problem that justifies expanding the policy surface.
Administrative preference is not operational necessity. Consistency is
desirable, but consistency alone is not sufficient justification for
imposing additional structure on everyone.

Every new rule carries a cost. It increases complexity, creates new
expectations, and expands the scope of future interpretation. Those costs
accumulate even when each individual proposal appears modest. Over time,
coordination quietly transforms into governance, and governance gradually
begins solving problems that never required central solutions in the first
place.

The default principle should be restraint. If the Internet continues to
function without a proposed rule, then the proposal must demonstrate not
merely that it is cleaner or more elegant, but that it solves a concrete
operational deficiency that cannot reasonably be addressed through existing
practice.

This proposal does not reach that threshold.

For these reasons, I object to AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02.

Kind regards,

Dr. Nyasha Ndemo-Masimbarasi
(DPhil, MSc., BSc. Hon. Development Science and Policy)
Chairperson - Department of Development Programming and Management
Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University
1901 Barrassie Rd, Off Shamva Rd, Bindura
Zimbabwe
Landline: +263867 700 6136
Cell: +263 773226552
Email: nyashandemo at gmail.com
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