[rpd] RPD Digest, Vol 223, Issue 41

Mon Aug 31 14:14:00 UTC 2026

I think Jordi raises an important point about the distinction between an
established practice and an enforceable governance principle.

The fact that organisations have historically avoided scheduling conflicts
without an express rule does not necessarily mean that the principle should
remain unwritten. Governance documents are, among other things, intended to
provide clarity and predictability where circumstances or leadership may
change.

That said, I agree that any proposed amendment should be carefully framed
so that it does not create an unnecessarily rigid obligation for AFRINIC. A
provision could instead establish a clear expectation that PPM dates
should, where reasonably practicable, be coordinated with relevant Internet
governance organisations and sister RIRs, while allowing for exceptional
circumstances.

More broadly, I think the discussion should remain focused on whether the
proposed wording strengthens transparency, community participation and the
bottom-up policy development process, rather than whether similar wording
currently appears in another organisation's governing documents.

On Mon, Aug 31, 2026 at 2:01 PM <rpd-request at afrinic.net> wrote:

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> Today's Topics:
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>    1. Re: bylaws consultation aspects that impact the PDP/community
>       (jordi.palet at consulintel.es)
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>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:35:03 +0200
> From: "jordi.palet at consulintel.es" <jordi.palet at consulintel.es>
> To: rpd <rpd at afrinic.net>
> Subject: Re: [rpd] bylaws consultation aspects that impact the
>         PDP/community
> Message-ID: <F5974F22-5E51-47C7-9328-322DFE65AB6F at consulintel.es>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> The difference is that those organizations didn?t broke the rule. They
> respected it without needing to have it in written.
>
> You can guess that if any of those organizations break it, I will propose
> exactly the same change.
>
> Regards,
> Jordi
>
> @jordipalet
>
> > El 30 ago 2026, a las 22:57, Seun Ojedeji <seun.ojedeji at gmail.com>
> escribi?:
> >
> > Hello Jordi,
> >
> > We need to be realistic with our wording. Tell me which Sister
> organisation has the wording of yours in their governing document including
> IETF. I quote your words below:
> >
> > "...clearly state that PPMs must not clash in the same dates with those
> from ?sister? organizations.."
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > ----
> > Sent from my mobile
> > kindly excuse typos
> >
> > On Sat, 29 Aug 2026, 4:54?am jordi.palet--- via RPD, <rpd at afrinic.net
> <mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>> wrote:
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> For a third time, I?ve just contributed to the bylaw consultation, and
> I think some issues need to be also discussed in the RPD as they clearly
> impact the community, not just the members.
> >>
> >> I strongly suggest the community also provide inputs, if they have not
> already done it (https://vox.afrinic.net/868233).
> >>
> >> I?ve copied actual proposal for those articles that impact the PDP, and
> then my suggestions as [Jordi].
> >>
> >> 4.2   Review of fees:
> >> (a)   The fees mentioned in Article 4.1 above shall be subject to
> review from time to time by the Board.
> >> (b)   Before finalising any changes in fees, the Board shall consult
> the Members and allow at least 60 days for comments
> >> (c)   After the Board finalises any changes in fees, the new fees shall
> take effect only from the commencement of the next financial year, provided
> that Members, as appropriate, and the community have been given not less
> than sixty (60) days' prior notice of the new fees.
> >>
> >> [Jordi] There should be something like a 4.2 (d) that clearly state
> that fees must be proportional to the number of addresses. It happened
> before (I believe is not the case now, but in may happen again in the
> future) that you pay more "per prefix" (or per address) if you have a /31
> than a /32, then again you pay less if you have a /29 (just examples). This
> means that we are encouraging members to get a longer prefix (smaller
> block) instead of what they really need to assign a /48 to end-sites, so
> they end-up assigning /64, which is broken in IPv6.
> >>
> >>
> >> 11.2   The Board shall call a Public Policy Meeting at least once a
> year as per requirements defined in the Policy Development Process. Public
> Policy Meeting may be attended by:
> >> (a)   members (Registered, Resources and Associate);
> >> (b)   anyone interested in Number Resources Management policy.
> >>
> >> 11.3   For the purpose of subsection 11.2 a Public Policy Meeting means
> a meeting open to the community wherein proposals for policies for a proper
> and responsible usage and Management of Internet number resources are
> discussed and agreed within the framework of the Policy Development Process
> (PDP) defined by the Regional Internet Community and ratified by the Board.
> >>
> >> [Jordi] New article between 11.2 and 11.3 or so, to clearly state that
> PPMs must not clash in the same dates with those from ?sister?
> organizations such as the other RIRs, IETF, ICANN, etc.
> >>
> >> 11.4   Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 11.3 above, the Board
> may adopt such policies regarding the management of internet number
> resources where it considers that the same is necessary and urgent, having
> regard to the proper and responsible usage of these resources. [Amended at
> the 2020 AGMM] 11.4   Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 11.3 above,
> the Board may adopt such policies regarding the management of internet
> number resources where it considers that the same is necessary and urgent,
> having regard to the proper and responsible usage of these resources.
> >> 11.5   Endorsement of the policy adopted by the Board:
> >> (a)   Any policy adopted by the Board under the provisions of Article
> 11.4 shall be submitted to the community for endorsement at the next public
> policy meeting.
> >> (b)   In the event that such a policy submitted by the Board is not
> endorsed, the said policy shall not be enforced or implemented following
> its non-endorsement; however, any action taken in terms of the policy prior
> to such non-endorsement shall remain valid.
> >>
> >> [Jordi] 11.4 should not exist. In my opinion, it is against ICP-2 and
> the successor document. The board can already use the "varying the process?
> for urgent policy matters, call for an urgent on-line PPM, etc. Also, I
> don?t think other RIRs have this article neither something similar that
> goes against the bottom-up-process.
> >> As a consequence 11.5 also falls down.
> >> If 11.4 is kept, we must change reword 11.5 (b). There is no sense that
> a possible BAD action by the board, can't be reversed by the community.
> What happens if the board decides to alter allocation policies or whatever,
> benefit some friends and then it can't be recovered? Note that this is not
> accusation, is only an example of what can go wrong.
> >>
> >> 15.3   Without prejudice to the generality of Articles 15.1 and 15.2
> above, the Directors shall be entitled to:
> >> (a)   determine the guidelines for the allocation of address space to
> members in line with the member driven Policy Development Process;
> >> (b)   consider broad Internet policy issues in order to ensure that the
> policies and strategies of the Company fully respond to the changing
> Internet environment;
> >>
> >> [Jordi] I think (a) must be removed or reworded. How come the directors
> determine something that is done by the PDP?
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >> Jordi
> >>
> >> @jordipalet
> >>
> >>
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