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

[Tshepo Masuku]

Dear Mark,

I disagree with the basis of your support.

The fact that Hendrik, Noah, Seun, and Nishal are familiar names with long experience may make their views worth considering. It does not make those views authoritative, and it does not reduce the validity of objections raised by participants whose names you do not recognise.

Participation is not representation. Familiarity is not mandate. Longevity in a policy process is not ownership of that process.

A mailing list exists so arguments can be examined on their substance. It should not become a reputational hierarchy in which recognised insiders are presumed technically correct and newer or less visible participants are treated as suspect. That would convert an open process into a closed procedural class while preserving the language of community participation.

The same problem appears in the appeal to the other four RIRs. Their adoption is relevant experience, but it does not create authority over AFRINIC. Institutional repetition does not become technical proof merely because the institutions are established and the participants are well known.

You also state that experienced operators would not support a proposal if it greatly complicated their lives. That is not the relevant test. A policy may be convenient for established operators while still expanding registry control, imposing costs on others, or turning a preferred operational convention into a mandatory rule. Those who are most familiar with a system are not always those who bear every consequence of its expansion.

Community stewardship should not mean that a small group of recognised participants may convert its operational preference into compulsory policy for everyone else. The community may discuss, advise, and contribute expertise. It does not become a legislature merely because familiar people agree with one another.

The proper question remains whether the proposal protects a clearly defined technical invariant, whether its benefits are demonstrated, whether its residual risks are understood, and whether mandatory registry enforcement is the minimum proportionate response.

Those questions are not answered by asking who has been in the room longest.

I therefore remain opposed to AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02.

Regards,
Tshepo
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