Summary
- Allocation records, routing origin, DNS, abuse contact and actual use should identify the same accountable chain.
- Addresses should be reclaimed, transferred or renumbered through documented checks rather than left as inherited inventory.
IPv4 encodes a 32-bit address and remains central even as IPv6 deployment grows. An address does not prove identity, and registry title alone does not show who currently operates it. The next useful evidence is a reconciliation from IPAM and route announcements through RDAP contact and service logs, with discrepancies assigned for correction. Treating addresses as governed resources reduces hijack, misdirected complaints and waste. The number works only when people can explain who is using it and why.
