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AFRINIC · RIR Watchdog

AS-SETs Hierarchical Names

Start here for the proposal-by-proposal record: what changed, why it mattered, who argued for what, how positions evolved, what was decided, and where the evidence still has gaps.

Source facts

Policy ID
AFPUB-2026-ASN-001-DRAFT02
RIR
AFRINIC
Official status
Ratified
Normalized status
Accepted
Introduced
Jun 8, 2026
Last source update
Oct 12, 2026
Coverage
Partial

Who actually shaped the debate?

1Total participants
UnknownDiscussion contributors
1Formal actors
UnknownDiscussion messages
UnknownEffective participants
UnknownTop-five discussion share
UnknownPeople covering 50%
UnknownPeople covering 80%

Policy evolution

1.0
Last call · Last call(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)
Jun 8, 2026
Source facts ↗

Hierarchical-name syntax · The newer proposal explicitly requires the first element to be an ASN prefixed by AS and gives examples. The earlier text requires the second element to be an AS-SET name; the newer proposal instead says further elements may be ASNs or AS-SET names and separately defines the AS- prefix for AS-SET names. This is a wording change with a possible validation consequence. The staff assessment still describes a required AS-SET second element and proposes wording to that effect, so the documents do not establish that this ambiguity was finally resolved.

Exceptions for restoring existing names · Both texts protect existing non-hierarchical AS-SETs from forced renaming when edited. The newer proposal adds mandatory case-by-case exceptions, illustrated by restoring an accidentally deleted flat name. That introduces a discretionary operational path alongside the creation-time naming requirement. The staff assessment questions whether restoration could create a loophole and suggests documenting exceptions; those staff comments are not evidence that the proposal adopted the suggested wording or that exceptions were granted.

Treatment of other set types · The earlier proposal expressly excludes other set types such as route sets. That standalone exclusion does not appear in the newer proposal's operative list, but the new staff assessment expressly interprets other set types as excluded and includes an exclusion in suggested replacement wording. This is a difference between the retained proposal texts, not sufficient evidence that the intended policy scope expanded to route sets.

Staff assessment and implementation planning · The earlier page says the staff assessment will be available soon. The newer page supplies an assessment covering authorization, WHOIS and MyAFRINIC changes, preservation of existing objects and exception risks. Its implementation plan ties prioritization to the expected completion of MyAFRINIC v2. These are assessment and planning statements, not proof that the policy was ratified, deployed or completed by the projected date.

Conflicting dates and revision labels in the source pages · The older archive page gives a 2020 submission date but its revision history says the first draft was posted on 15 May 2026. The newer page identifies DRAFT02, dates submission to June 2026 and records Version 2 on 8 June, while its details still say Version 1.0. The comparison therefore follows the explicit DRAFT01/DRAFT02 relationship and revision-history statements, while retaining the conflicting metadata. It does not establish a six-year policy-development interval, and the newer page's Last call and Under Discussion labels do not establish final adoption.

1.0
Last call · Last call(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)
Jun 8, 2026
Source facts ↗

Staff impact assessment: RDAP · The staff assessment changes from its initial draft to version 1.1. Its RDAP row changes from reflecting WHOIS changes for AS-SET queries to no impact. The proposal retains version 1.0 and its AS-SET naming requirement; this is an assessment correction rather than a change to that requirement. Added tab labels and spacing carry no separate policy change.

1.0
Unknown · Consensus (Awaiting Ratification by Board)(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)
Jun 8, 2026
Source facts ↗

Procedural status; unchanged AS-SET requirement · The later page changes last call to consensus awaiting Board ratification. The proposal text and staff assessment wording are otherwise unchanged in this pair. This does not show Board ratification or implementation and does not create a new substantive proposal version.

1.0
Accepted · RatifiedRatified by the AFRINIC Board on 25 September 2026(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)
Jun 8, 2026
Source facts ↗

Policy ratification status · The page-level status changes from consensus awaiting Board ratification to ratified, with 25 September 2026 recorded as the AFRINIC Board ratification date. The remainder of the captured document is unchanged. An embedded 'Under Discussion' label remains in that unchanged text; this comparison does not resolve that inconsistency.

Debate timeline

  1. Official version

    1

    Unknown · Archived

    Source facts ↗
  2. Official version

    DRAFT01

    Unknown · Archived

    Source facts ↗
  3. Introduced

    Introduced

    Source facts ↗
  4. Official version

    1.0

    Last call · Last call(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)

    Source facts ↗
  5. Official version

    1.0

    Last call · Last call(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)

    Source facts ↗
  6. Official version

    1.0

    Unknown · Consensus (Awaiting Ratification by Board)(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)

    Source facts ↗
  7. Official version

    1.0

    Accepted · RatifiedRatified by the AFRINIC Board on 25 September 2026(Presented at AF37 24 June 2026)

    Source facts ↗

Entities

Freshness: Stale
  1. Discussion messages0
    First activityUnknown
    Last activityUnknown
    First explicit stanceUnknown
    Latest explicit stanceUnknown
    Stance changes0
    Viewpoint consistencyNo explicit position stated
    Other policies0

Sources and coverage

Official policy sources

Public discussion archives

  • afrinic-rpd
    Earliest captured
    Aug 4, 2004
    Latest captured
    Aug 25, 2026
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    13,116
    Known gaps
    0
  • www.afrinic.net
  • afrinic-africann
    Earliest captured
    Aug 3, 2026
    Latest captured
    Oct 2, 2026
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    2,562
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-afripv6-discuss
    Earliest captured
    Aug 17, 2015
    Latest captured
    Sep 18, 2026
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
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    2,538
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-announce
    Earliest captured
    Aug 18, 2015
    Latest captured
    Sep 18, 2026
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    2,497
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-community-discuss
    Earliest captured
    Sep 11, 2015
    Latest captured
    Dec 29, 2019
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    3,127
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-dbwg
    Earliest captured
    Aug 4, 2026
    Latest captured
    Oct 6, 2026
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    908
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-dnssec-ops
    Earliest captured
    Aug 18, 2015
    Latest captured
    Dec 1, 2016
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    307
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-icp2-review
    Earliest captured
    Apr 10, 2025
    Latest captured
    Nov 10, 2025
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    0
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-measurement-wg
    Earliest captured
    Feb 1, 2018
    Latest captured
    Nov 22, 2024
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    138
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-mira
    Earliest captured
    Nov 17, 2020
    Latest captured
    Nov 22, 2024
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    0
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-ois-wg
    Earliest captured
    Sep 9, 2021
    Latest captured
    Nov 22, 2024
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    0
    Known gaps
    0
  • afrinic-rpki-discuss
    Earliest captured
    Jan 15, 2016
    Latest captured
    Apr 23, 2026
    Last refresh
    Oct 12, 2026
    Coverage
    Source coverage is incomplete.
    Loading
    154
    Known gaps
    0

Coverage

Partial
Earliest captured: Aug 4, 2004
Latest captured: Oct 12, 2026

Freshness

Freshness: Stale · Last refresh:

Known gaps

  • www.afrinic.net: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • www.afrinic.net: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-rpd: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • www.afrinic.net: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-africann: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-afripv6-discuss: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-announce: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-community-discuss: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-dbwg: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-dnssec-ops: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-measurement-wg: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.
  • afrinic-rpki-discuss: Source coverage is incomplete. · The source boundary has not yet been reached.