[anti-abuse-wg] anti-abuse-wg Digest, Vol 17, Issue 11
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Shane Kerr
shane at time-travellers.org
Mon Jan 21 10:39:15 CET 2013
Karl-Josef, On Sunday, 2013-01-20 12:55:09 +0100, Karl-Josef Ziegler <kjz at gmx.net> wrote: > > Thinking about it, just in the last day or two I've realized that > > RIPE, ARIN, IANA, ICANN, and all such authorities are in many ways > > quite analogous to our Federal Reserve here in the United States. In > > both cases, the entities have much authority and are widely > > perceived as having charters that somehow commit them to pursuit of > > the public good. But in both cases, the reality is rather > > different... these entities are in fact merely commercial > > associations of business interests that are pledged, if not by law > > then by contract, to never reveal even a smidgeon of their > > commercial member's dirty laundry to any "outsider", and their > > iron-clad commitment to this goal always takes precedence over any > > other consideration. > > I agree. The main goal of these organisations for me seems to be not > protecting public goods but protecting the commercial interests of > their members. So they aren't nonprofit organizations? My take on it is that there are basically two kinds of nonprofit organizations: 1. Organizations that vaccinate orphans, dig wells to provide clean water, investigate corruption, and so on. These are non-profit because they are fundamentally engaged in activities that cost money instead of earning it. 2. Organizations that provide a needed "neutral ground" for businesses to operate, such as standards making bodies or consortia managing when and where cables can be laid down. These are non-profit because the profit motive would create a conflict of interest with the businesses they were created to serve. There are other organizations that don't fit this, like credit unions (non-profit banks), but I think it covers the majority. In general the first type of non-profit is poor and the second type is well-off. The thing about the RIPE NCC and the other RIRs is that the world has for some reason assumed that they fit into category #1 ("they exist for the good of the Internet!"). I would argue that the RIPE NCC and the other RIRs are very firmly in category #2 ("we are an industry association"). It is a pity that none of the RIRs have never done anything to change this idea, but I can understand why not. Would you rather be an organization that shuffles paperwork or one that is there to make the world a better place? :) Anyway, I'll reply to the notion of opening up abuse investigations in a mail to Sander's specific proposal. Cheers, -- Shane
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