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

[Nonjabulo Sphilile]

Dear Jaco,

Thank you for engaging with the concern. Your reply brings up a different
problem that the Impact Assessment does not address.

The policy has a future implementation date, while every flat AS-SET
created before that date will remain valid and editable. This creates a
race-to-grandfather risk. A database user could register desirable or
confusing flat names during the transition, leave them empty or harmless,
and populate or alter them after enforcement begins.

The registry would then reject new flat names, but those pre-positioned
objects would remain active indefinitely. In other words, the proposal does
not necessarily stop new harmful cases going forward. It stops only one
method of creating them after the cut-off date. New risk could still be
introduced through later changes to grandfathered objects.

The source-qualified membership restriction you suggest is not part of this
proposal. A possible future policy cannot be counted as protection
delivered by the current text.

At minimum, the proposal would need an immediate reservation or cut-off
mechanism, an audit of flat objects created during the implementation
period, and clear rules governing material changes to grandfathered
objects. The operational impact of those measures has not been assessed.

Grandfathered does not mean frozen. Until the active legacy surface and the
transition-period incentive are addressed, I do not believe the claim that
the policy prevents new problem cases has been established.

I therefore remain opposed to the proposal as written.

Regards,
Nonjabulo
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