ARIN Consultation and Suggestion Process

Version 5 - 18 January 2018

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Questions concerning the ACSP itself should be sent to info@arin.net.

Objective

There are occasions when the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) needs to consult with either the members of ARIN or with the community at large regarding ARIN services and practices. There is also need for a mechanism through which the members and the community are able to suggest changes or additions to ARIN services and practices.

The ARIN Consultation and Suggestion Process (ACSP) will:

• Enable communications in an organized, deliberate, and transparent manner.
• Provide a feedback mechanism whereby the sense of the community or members regarding a specific issue can be gauged.

Scope

The process described here is not meant to remove or impinge upon the ability of the ARIN Board or President to carry out their legal, fiduciary, or operational responsibilities. Unusual or exigent circumstances or legal or policy issues may require truncated or different procedures and require abandonment of the practices defined in this process. This is strictly an ARIN administrative process and creates no rights or expectations for any ARIN Member or third party.

The ARIN Consultation and Suggestion Process

The ACSP consists of two parts, a consultation process and a suggestion process. The consultation process will be used by the ARIN Board of Trustees or the President to consult ARIN members or the broader community in the ARIN region. The source of the consultation issue will be initiated by the Board, the President, or the suggestion process. Whereas the suggestion process provides the members of ARIN or the broader community in the ARIN region a formal means to suggest changes or additions or suspension of ARIN services or practices.

Part A. Consultation Process

1. ARIN will, when appropriate, announce a proposal on which consultation is sought at www.arin.net, and through the arin-announce mailing list. At a minimum the announcement will contain:
2. A description of the proposal.
3. Short rationale explaining how it is intended to benefit the community/customers
4. The deadline to provide comments for consideration
5. The Board or President will use the comments as appropriate in making the final decision regarding the proposal.
6. In special circumstances, the President or Board may determine that a vote by the membership is useful or appropriate. In that circumstance the ARIN voting software may be used to conduct a referendum election.

Part B. Suggestion Process

1. Suggestion Submission

Any person in the ARIN community is welcome to make a suggestion regarding an existing or potential ARIN service or practice. Such a suggestion will be sent to ARIN following the instructions found on the Suggestion Submission page. At a minimum, the suggestion should contain:

• A description of the proposal
• Short rationale explaining who it is intended to benefit and how
• Contact information of the person making the suggestion

ARIN staff will immediately confirm to the sender the receipt of each suggestion.

Within 10 business days ARIN staff will evaluate the suggestion and take one of three actions described below, posting the response in the Suggestions Archive:

1. Inform the sender that the suggestion is out of scope, not possible due to legal constraints, or not possible due to prohibitive cost. The suggestion will be closed.
2. Inform the sender that the suggestion lies within the scope of the ARIN Board of Trustees or the ARIN Advisory Council, and will be forwarded to the respective Chair for their consideration. The suggestion will be closed.
3. Inform the sender that the suggestion has obvious merit and can be implemented. An estimate of the time frame for completion will be attached to the suggestion, and the suggestion will remain open until implemented. In cases where a time frame for completion cannot be provided, the suggestion will remain open until implemented.
4. Inform the sender that the suggestion may have merit and that it will be posted to the arin-consult mailing list for a period of two weeks to gain community feedback. The suggestion will remain open and will follow the path described below.

2. Open Suggestion Review and Prioritization

In some circumstances, the President or Board may direct that a poll of the ARIN members and/or community be conducted to aid in determining the merit or priority of specific suggestions. In such cases, the ARIN voting system or a third-party survey tool may be used to conduct polling.

Suggestions will be prioritized for action by ARIN staff taking into consideration the following factors: Board guidance, ARIN’s annual operating plan, available resources, and feedback received from the community.

Effective 1 August 2006
Amended 23 July 23 2007
Amended 15 February 2012
Amended 29 July 2014
Amended 18 January 2018