On Tue, 19 Nov 1996, Kim Hubbard wrote:
Let's say, hypothetically speaking, that every ISP decides to do this. What's to stop some ISPs from listing a bunch of companies that are not their customers and are not really receiving address space from them for the purpose of getting more address space.
Absolutely nothing, and therein lies the crux of the problem. To be honest, I can understand the motivations behind InterNIC's policies. However, comprehension of said policies does not mean that I agree on all counts. It truly shouldn't (IMHO) be as difficult as it sometimes is to get address space, but perhaps it's simply pushing the limitations of the current system. The problem I see most often in smaller organizations as they grow larger is the lack of consistency in internal policies, and the like. i.e, FooNet Inc. has 12 or so Class C's from MCI, and as they pick up extra providers perhaps the dance goes on until they have a hodgepodge of networks. Now the ISP enters the next level, and someone decides they need a larger CIDR block. They go to the NIC, and are told to submit a justification. The problem seems to be that many ISP's simply have not kept up with SWIP or RWhois, and are completely unprepared for a stricter accounting of their address space, even when/if they are efficiently using it. The frustration enters when the ISP begins to see the possibility of losing customers, as they try to sort out their justification. It's quite easy to see how people might feel compelled to scream at Kim, call their lawyer, make themselves sick and generally have fits over the problem. On the other hand, the NIC staff are simply not superhuman beings capable of personally babysitting a thousand customers as they try to sort out their addressing problems and policies. Hence the restrictive policies, which are really a defense mechanism to prevent unscrupulous people from taking advantage of the system and further screwing it up. So, my question is: What can we do to make it better? Not "What can Kim Hubbard do to fix it", and not "What can those stupid ISP's do to fix it", but what can both do collaboratively to work out a consistent method of doing things, and making sure that it's well known to both new existing providers of network solutions.