The Adventures of Team ARIN
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Introduction
Welcome to the world of Team ARIN! We hope you find these publications educational and entertaining. Team ARIN is a fictionalized view of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), its processes, and the whole concept of Internet governance. Though our heroes are fictional, the issues they face are very real.
Team ARIN is a group of superheroes that represent four of the principles by which the Internet is operated and governed: Accessibility, Responsibility, Information, and Neutrality. ARIN and its community strive to work under these principles. Technical information describing how Regional Internet Registries allocate Internet number resources like IPv4 and IPv6 addresses is freely available on websites across the Internet. We hope that by presenting this information in a fun and informal way, we will give you a new perspective on both important technical facts and the principles under which ARIN operates. Our approach to our duty as a Regional Internet Registry is defined in our mission statement:
"Applying the principles of stewardship, ARIN, a nonprofit corporation, allocates Internet Protocol resources; develops consensus-based policies; and facilitates the advancement of the Internet through information and educational outreach."
Some liberties are taken in order to present this information in comic book style, but the aspects of the story that illustrate how ARIN and its community work are taken directly from technical documents, like ARIN's Internet Resource Policy Evaluation Process, and based on the ideals and roles described in multiple RFCs.
Team ARIN is not a typical group of superheroes -- they do not battle a literal enemy directly. Instead they use their powers to educate the public and facilitate community participation in the existing open, transparent, bottom-up policy process. Team ARIN presents the true mission of the “real” team ARIN, as we facilitate the open and transparent policy process, technical discussions, and act as an informational resource for the community.
We hope you will read and enjoy the adventures of Team ARIN!
Synposis: Issue 3 begins with Team ARIN flying back from a conference when they are alerted to a new problem and an old enemy. Agent FUD has returned and this time he's seeking to undermine the Internet community's migration to IPv6. Read the issue to find out how Team ARIN saves the day and how you can help!
Synposis: In issue 2, Team ARIN embarks on a mission to raise awareness about the issue of depletion of the available pool of IPv4 addresses and encounters a new enemy -- Agent FUD. Working for the "Bad Idea Force," FUD is busy trying to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt about IPv4 address depletion. Using newly acquired technology, Team ARIN combines forces to help combat this new enemy of the open and transparent principles the Internet is based on, and in doing so creates something more than even they expected!
Synposis: In issue 1, learn how Team ARIN was founded with the assistance of Jon Postel. See how active participation by the entire Internet community is key to Team ARIN's success as it endeavors to facilitate the open and transparent, bottom-up policy development processes.