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Dear colleagues,</div>
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This discussion has moved away from the proposal and toward questioning who is allowed to object.</div>
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Whether someone operates an ASN, uses drafting assistance, is new to the list, or is unfamiliar to long-standing participants does not determine whether their argument is valid. The PDP should examine the substance of an objection, not attempt to infer authorship
from writing style or rank participants according to reputation.</div>
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Submitting text to another language model does not establish who wrote it, who contributed to it, or whether the person posting it agrees with it. A probability produced by Claude is not evidence of astroturfing. It is an automated opinion about prose.</div>
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Hendrik’s own quoted analysis concedes the important point: the distinction between authenticating the creator of an AS-SET and validating its contents is a real objection that still requires an answer. That issue does not disappear because the wording appears
polished.</div>
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The request to identify which ASNs objectors “represent” also misunderstands participation. I am not claiming to represent every African operator, nor should any individual participant make that claim without authority. I am participating in my own capacity.
An ASN is not a voting credential, and operating one does not give its holder a larger mandate over the policy process.</div>
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Frank’s road-rule analogy is also misplaced. Governments impose traffic laws through public authority and accept legal accountability for doing so. AFRINIC is a private registry operating a technical database. The existence of a working group does not turn
that registry into a legislature or every preferred operational practice into the equivalent of public law.</div>
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The question before us remains simple: does this proposal solve the specific harm claimed, and is mandatory registry enforcement the minimum necessary mechanism?</div>
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Hierarchical naming may reduce future name collisions. That is a useful property. It does not validate the accuracy of AS-SET membership, prevent incorrect customer-cone data, or make generated filters trustworthy by itself. Those limitations should be assessed
honestly rather than buried beneath accusations about who wrote which paragraph.</div>
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If the co-chairs believe several objections raise the same substantive issue, they may group them as one issue. That is reasonable. But they should then determine whether the issue has been answered on its merits. They should not discount it because the participants
are unfamiliar, share a view, use similar language, or may have used writing tools.</div>
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Participation provides evidence, criticism, and warning. Familiarity does not create mandate. Reputation does not replace proof. A mailing list should not become a private club in which established names decide which speakers count.</div>
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I remain opposed to the proposal and ask that the discussion return to the proposal’s technical scope, demonstrated benefit, limitations, and proportionality.</div>
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Regards,</div>
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Thulisile</div>
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<b>From:</b> rpd-request@afrinic.net <rpd-request@afrinic.net><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Sunday, July 19, 2026 18:56<br>
<b>To:</b> rpd@afrinic.net <rpd@afrinic.net><br>
<b>Subject:</b> RPD Digest, Vol 222, Issue 65 </div>
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<div style="font-size: 11pt;">Send RPD mailing list submissions to<br>
rpd@afrinic.net<br>
<br>
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit<br>
<a href="https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd" id="OWA19c88ae4-18bc-d812-37a3-28973d613266" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">
https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd</a><br>
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to<br>
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You can reach the person managing the list at<br>
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When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific<br>
than "Re: Contents of RPD digest..."<br>
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Today's Topics:<br>
<br>
1. Re: [Last Call] Draft Policy Proposal - Hierarchical Names<br>
for New AS-SETs (AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02) (Hendrik Visage)<br>
2. Re: TOR - Re: Appeal Committee (Ben Roberts - AfriNIC)<br>
3. AFRINIC-37 PPM Minutes(draft) (Policy Liaison Team)<br>
4. [Last Call] Draft Policy Proposal ? Hierarchical Names for<br>
New AS-SETs (AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02) (Fundiswa Nadia Maseko)<br>
<br>
<br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
<br>
Message: 1<br>
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:37:24 +0200<br>
From: Hendrik Visage <hvisage@hevis.co.za><br>
To: Hytham El-Nakhal <hytham@tra.gov.eg><br>
Cc: rpd@afrinic.net<br>
Subject: Re: [rpd] [Last Call] Draft Policy Proposal - Hierarchical<br>
Names for New AS-SETs (AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02)<br>
Message-ID: <CF9EBF3E-F685-4543-9284-CF2C2DD71B33@hevis.co.za><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"<br>
<br>
Good day Hytham<br>
<br>
I hereby also want to thank the PDWG for their work on this proposal,<br>
and express my support for it. I might be a ?new? entrant/operator,<br>
but very early in the process of setting up my BGP peering sessions,<br>
realized the importance of hierarcical AS-SETS.<br>
<br>
---<br>
Hendrik Visage<br>
Director/Owner<br>
HeViS.Co Systems t/a Envisage Cloud Solutions<br>
hvisage@hevis.co.za<br>
GSM/SMS/Signal: +27-84-612-5345<br>
InstantMessenger: <a href="https://t.me/hvisage" id="OWA78645a79-d7b4-863e-18f3-001ba41d6399" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">
https://t.me/hvisage</a><br>
<br>
On 17 Jul 2026, at 0:09, Hytham El-Nakhal wrote:<br>
<br>
> Dear PDWG,<br>
><br>
><br>
> The Policy Development Working Group (PDWG) Chairs have initiated a<br>
> Last Call for this proposal, following rough consensus at the<br>
> AFRINIC-37 Public Policy Meeting held in hybrid format in Nairobi,<br>
> Kenya on 24 June 2026.<br>
><br>
> * Proposal Name: Hierarchical Names for New AS-SETs<br>
><br>
> * Proposal ID: AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02<br>
><br>
> * Proposal URL:<br>
> <a href="https://www.afrinic.net/afpub-2026-asn-001-draft02.html" id="OWAdfadd04a-1a7e-d52b-aa8f-36c476183b23" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">
https://www.afrinic.net/afpub-2026-asn-001-draft02.html</a><br>
><br>
> Last Call closes on: July 31, 2026, at 23:59 UTC.<br>
><br>
><br>
> Please note the staff observation regarding implementation<br>
> constraints: due to the current prioritization of the MyAFRINIC v2<br>
> deployment, physical database implementation of this policy will be<br>
> scheduled once the MyAFRINIC v2 deployment is concluded.<br>
><br>
><br>
> As always, we kindly request that all participants adhere to the<br>
> AFRINIC Code of Conduct<<a href="https://www.afrinic.net/code" id="OWAc92d8e2a-b6e7-6536-0a82-1ad38b16ac2f" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">https://www.afrinic.net/code</a>> to maintain a<br>
> respectful and professional environment on the mailing list.<br>
><br>
><br>
> Kind regards,<br>
><br>
><br>
> Haitham el Nakhal<br>
><br>
> AFRINIC PDWG Co-Chair<br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> _______________________________________________<br>
> RPD mailing list<br>
> RPD@afrinic.net<br>
> <a href="https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd" id="OWAdc37f7dd-8810-d794-c4ec-4af066e18e4a" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">
https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd</a><br>
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Message: 2<br>
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:02:17 +0100<br>
From: Ben Roberts - AfriNIC <ben.roberts@afrinic.net><br>
To: Dr Nyirenda Paulos <paulos@sdnp.org.mw><br>
Cc: rpd <rpd@afrinic.net><br>
Subject: Re: [rpd] TOR - Re: Appeal Committee<br>
Message-ID: <494B5C33-3546-4626-AA0C-866691665CC7@afrinic.net><br>
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Message: 3<br>
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 20:42:47 +0400<br>
From: Policy Liaison Team <policy-liaison@afrinic.net><br>
To: "rpd@afrinic.net" <rpd@afrinic.net><br>
Subject: [rpd] AFRINIC-37 PPM Minutes(draft)<br>
Message-ID: <45f082df-a923-44a5-abe9-581078a83bda@afrinic.net><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"<br>
<br>
*<br>
<br>
Dear PDWG,<br>
<br>
As requested by the PDWG Chair, the PPM minutes are available here<br>
-https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RS9bYBb9-8uQxLb4u8LpvEUw1jZSfei5mLj01l2LS1s/edit?usp=sharing<br>
<<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RS9bYBb9-8uQxLb4u8LpvEUw1jZSfei5mLj01l2LS1s/edit?usp=sharing" id="OWA608948f8-aa0a-5896-267d-e4593dc5c137" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RS9bYBb9-8uQxLb4u8LpvEUw1jZSfei5mLj01l2LS1s/edit?usp=sharing</a>>.<br>
<br>
<br>
We will share the link once they are published on the website.<br>
<br>
.<br>
<br>
You may share your comments and feedback on the RPD mailing list<br>
<a href="https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd" id="OWA67b457f3-61db-ec50-11a6-d0ee939d4097" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd</a><br>
<<a href="https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd" id="OWA7b53b401-9785-e056-1918-a8af98f3a8df" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/rpd</a>>or pdwg at afrinic.net .<br>
<br>
Deadline :? 23h59 UTC 23rd July? 2026<br>
<br>
The final minutes shall thereafter be published.<br>
<br>
Regards<br>
<br>
AFRINIC Policy Liaison Team<br>
<br>
*<br>
<br>
--<br>
AFRINIC Policy Liaison.<br>
t: +230 403 51 00 | f: +230 466 6758 | tt: @afrinic | w:www.afrinic.net<br>
facebook.com/afrinic | flickr.com/afrinic | youtube.com/afrinicmedia<br>
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Message: 4<br>
Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2026 18:55:44 +0200<br>
From: Fundiswa Nadia Maseko <fundiswanadia2@gmail.com><br>
To: rpd@afrinic.net<br>
Cc: rpd-owner@afrinic.net<br>
Subject: [rpd] [Last Call] Draft Policy Proposal ? Hierarchical Names<br>
for New AS-SETs (AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02)<br>
Message-ID:<br>
<CABV0QcTPPgvmjzwt9_+gW=s1ZX9S+zGQis7dcYsxYnxpLTUJSw@mail.gmail.com><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"<br>
<br>
*Dear PDWG,*<br>
<br>
I have been following this discussion with interest, and I would like to<br>
express my concern about the direction it has taken.<br>
<br>
The Policy Development Process should evaluate technical arguments on their<br>
merits. Whether a participant drafted a message unaided, received editorial<br>
assistance, or used modern writing tools does not determine whether the<br>
reasoning is sound. Speculating about authorship instead of addressing the<br>
substance risks distracting the Working Group from the policy questions<br>
before it.<br>
<br>
I am also concerned by suggestions that contributions should be disregarded<br>
simply because of assumptions about how they were written. If there are<br>
factual or technical errors, they should be identified and discussed. That<br>
is how consensus is strengthened.<br>
<br>
The questions raised by several participants remain legitimate subjects for<br>
technical debate: whether the proposal has demonstrated operational<br>
necessity, whether the proposed intervention is proportionate, and whether<br>
less restrictive alternatives have been adequately considered.<br>
<br>
I therefore encourage all participants to continue engaging with the<br>
substance of the proposal while maintaining the respectful and professional<br>
standards expected within the PDWG.<br>
<br>
Kind regards,<br>
<br>
Fundiswa Nadia Maseko<br>
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End of RPD Digest, Vol 222, Issue 65<br>
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