On 28 Jun 2021, at 14:13, Saku Ytti wrote:
… It is also inefficient de-facto monopoly with massive mission
creep. …
Saku,
You sneered. Here is my response in your terms:
The RIPE NCC is a pretty bottom-up de-facto monopoly. Its mission creep
is steered by RIPE. In fact this very working group is the major venue
for steering the mission creep. Anyone can participate here and we will
never know they are a dog.
Let’s follow the money: the mission creep is funded by the
*membership* of the RIPE NCC *association*. Sure, the vast majority of
the membership probably are paying members because of the de-facto
monopoly. Yet they have full control of the mission creep because they
control the association. They elect the board. The board hires and fires
the CEO and controls the budget. The membership even votes on how they
are charged.
This is a pretty good way to organise a de-facto monopoly and manage its
mission creep. If you think it is massive and worth more than a sneer,
see above for ways to engage.
Daniel
Full disclosure: I am one of the founders of RIPE and one of the
designers of the RIPE NCC association. I have been working for the RIPE
NCC for almost 30 years; the first 7 years as the director (CEO) and
since then as Chief Scientist. Before that I was one of the people wo
proposed a plan to avoid the de-facto monopolies in this area to the US
National Science Foundation; they did not buy the plan and they were
probably right.
