[rpd] RPD Digest, Vol 222, Issue 124

[Nia Petronella]

Dear Jordi,

Your argument removes any meaningful limit from the PDP. If “the community”
may convert any operational setting into policy simply because it prefers
to, then policy scope is determined by procedural appetite rather than
technical necessity. That is precisely the concern.

The fact that staff has previously said “policy not needed” does not
nullify the objection. It confirms that operational implementation and
policy are different instruments, and that the choice between them must be
justified. The PDP’s ability to adopt a policy cannot itself be the reason
that policy is appropriate. Otherwise, the process manufactures its own
mandate.

Nor does “bottom-up” mean that mailing-list participants have unlimited
authority over every operational matter. Participants can provide
expertise, evidence, support, and objection. They are stakeholders, not the
legal principals of every operator affected by the result.

Policy and operational procedure are also not institutionally equivalent.
Policy creates a durable compliance rule, establishes precedent, and is
harder to revise or reverse. An operational implementation can still be
transparent, consulted on, measured, audited, and corrected without
enlarging the permanent policy layer.

Your hypothetical strengthens the objection. If staff implements the change
operationally and the technical objective is achieved, a later policy must
still explain what additional problem it solves. “The community prefers
policy” is a preference, not a technical requirement.

Finally, the test cannot be limited to whether the proposal harms AFRINIC.
AFRINIC is the service operator, not the object the system exists to
protect. The relevant question is whether the policy is necessary for
uniqueness, registry accuracy, security, interoperability, or operational
continuity, and whether it is the least coercive mechanism available.

The objection has therefore not been nullified. It remains unanswered.

Regards,
Nonhlanhla
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