Summary

  • RIPE NCC already publishes a full List of Policies with document links and descriptions; Remco van Mook’s abstract does not explain what its proposed manual index would add.
  • The text migration would come later, verbatim and one chapter per proposal, beginning with the consolidated transfer policy.

A new RIPE policy manual could begin with an index. There is already one: RIPE NCC’s public “List of Policies” page says it shows the full list, then links to individual policy documents with short descriptions and tags. Remco van Mook’s RIPE 93 abstract proposes an index that initially points to current documents, but does not explain how it would differ from that existing page.

The existing page includes separate records such as ripe-826 for IPv4 allocation and assignment and ripe-807 for resource transfers. Those documents remain separate; a new index might add a resource hierarchy, chapter map or direct crosswalk, but the abstract supplies no sample. A side-by-side view of the current list and proposed index would show whether phase one solves a discovery problem or gives the policy shelves another label.

Van Mook argues that RIPE address policy lacks one consistent body of text and that RIPE NCC absorbs the ambiguity. His abstract also says the population sustaining consensus has fallen to one-third over a decade. It supplies no starting count or current count; a dated participation series is the missing fact that would size that claim. The abstract links recurring definitional gaps to full proposal cycles, multi-month mailing-list threads and NCC feedback rounds.

The migration plan is deliberately incremental: move text verbatim, by resource, one chapter per proposal. That limits the scope of each change and avoids quietly rewriting policy during a filing exercise. It also means the manual’s usefulness would arrive in stages. Until a chapter moves, readers still have to consult its existing source document; the abstract gives no chapter inventory or timetable for the sequence.

The move also inherits the process used to change RIPE policy. RIPE-500 divides it into four phases: proposal creation, discussion, review and conclusion. Discussion lasts at least four weeks; review may last up to four; the final Last Call lasts four weeks. If a proposal advances after discussion, its draft document should be ready within four weeks. RIPE lets individual schedules vary, but requires the dates to be documented. A chapter moved word for word still gets its own process clock.

At the research cutoff, RIPE 93 listed the talk for 29 October at 14:00 EET and had no transcript, recording or Meetecho chat. The available material establishes a proposal, not agreement, adoption or a completed migration. Before building another catalogue, RIPE’s policy authors can publish a sample that shows what the new index adds to the existing list. Then a dated chapter plan and source-to-manual crosswalk would show how much work remains.

Sources: RIPE 93 talk abstract · RIPE NCC list of policies · RIPE Resource Transfer Policies, ripe-807 · RIPE-500