[governance] what is it that threatens the Internet community or 'who is afraid of the IGF'

[Milton L Mueller]

Avri wrote:
>actually they have been bickering about it again.  check out the
>threads:
>
>IPv6 addresses really are scarce after all http://www1.ietf.org/mail->archive/web/ietf/current/msg47212.html
>
>and
>
>IPv6 RIR  Policy [was Re: IPv6 addresses really are scarce after all] >http://www1.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/ietf/current/msg47527.html

Thanks Avri. Good information, and also a really amusing demonstration of McTim's tendency to feign superior knowledge of technical-economic policy issues when, all too obviously, he is the one that needs to do a bit more reading.** The invitation to "join [the IETF/RIR lists] or read their archives" is not sincere. It's just his way of implying that others don't know anything about these issues, and that all dialogue should be confined to venues controlled by the RIRs. 

As I've written elsewhere (http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do?contentType=Article&contentId=1567443), I don't think anyone fully understands all of the issues that are about to hit us regarding IPv4 and v6 economics. That includes me, as well as the folks at the RIRs. That is why the dialogue needs to be opened up beyond the hard-core technical people to include economists and policy people as well as users.

As Bob Braden suggested, IETF lists are probably not the right place to discuss economic and political issues pertaining to the allocation of technical resources. It seems to me that the IGF is the right place. 

** If you'd take a look at the IGP blog's "Headlines in Internet Governance" you'll find no less than 3 of the latest 10 are about ARIN and IP addressing. http://blog.internetgovernance.org/ And if you did some searching of the research literature on allocation policies for virtual resources such as radio spectrum, digital identifiers, 800 numbers, telephone number portability, I suspect you'd see my name pop up a few times. I've been publishing on those issues since 1987. 


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