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

[Mphoentle Mokheseng]

Dear Hendrik,

Thank you for clarifying the claim.

I understand that the proposal does not guarantee a continuous or globally authoritative identity. It guarantees only that a new AS-SET name is unique and authenticated within the AFRINIC database at the moment of creation.

That clarification does not remove the objection. It defines the limited benefit more precisely.

Creation-time authentication confirms who was authorised to create an object under a particular name. It does not validate the object’s contents, guarantee that those contents remain correct, establish continuing control, or make the object authoritative across every database and operational context in which the name may later be used.

Those are not invented claims attributed to supporters. They are relevant limits of the actual guarantee being offered.

The policy therefore closes one narrow naming and attribution gap, while leaving the more consequential questions of data quality, continued accuracy, cross-database use, and operational trust unresolved. The community is entitled to ask whether that narrow benefit justifies a mandatory naming rule and the additional registry enforcement attached to it.

It is also not enough to answer each concern by repeating that the proposal is “only about naming.” If it is only about naming, then its necessity must be demonstrated at that same narrow level. The proposal should show concrete AFRINIC-specific harm caused by the creation of new flat AS-SET names, explain why existing validation or tooling cannot address it, and demonstrate that mandatory hierarchy is the least coercive remedy.

So the objection is not to a claim nobody made.

The objection is that the proposal offers a limited creation-time assurance, but seeks to convert that limited assurance into a mandatory policy obligation. Authentication of creation is not the same as correctness, operational safety, or enduring authority.

That distinction remains central, and for that reason I continue to object to the proposal as written.

Regards,

Mphoentle
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