RIPE Chair Team Reports - Looking Forward to RIPE 88

Just one week to go until RIPE 88 kicks off in Kraków. Here are some highlights and topics you can expect to be discussed at the meeting.

RIPE 88 highlights

The programme for the upcoming RIPE 88 meeting is coming together. In addition to two tutorials, two Birds of a Feather sessions, and our traditional Diversity & Inclusion session, there are plenty of interesting talks scheduled for the plenary. All Working Groups will meet during the week. You can find some highlights below, but there is a lot more going on. Check out the WG agendas linked from the Meeting Plan. And, maybe most importantly, there is plenty of time for hallway chats and conversations during lunch breaks and social events. Please also note all the useful information about the venue, the social events, sightseeing in Kraków and a lot more. You can still register for the meeting.

Do also remember that you can join other members of the community and take part in RIPE 88 from several local hubs situated in different cities across our service region.

Recent community activities

As always, there is a buzz before the RIPE Meeting. Among other things, a number of Best Current Practice (BCP) documents are being prepared, the RIPE Programme Committee reviewed its charter and we continue to work on the relationship between the RIPE community and the RIPE NCC.

DNS resolver recommendations

The RIPE DNS Resolver Best Common Practice Task Force finished its work and published a set of recommendations and best current practices for operators of DNS resolvers (ripe-823). A summary will be presented at the DNS WG at RIPE 88.

Credit policy for open source projects

Valerie Aurora and Maria Matějka worked on a Contributions and Credit Policy for Open Source Projects. This document will be further discussed at RIPE 88 and might be published as a BCP later.

Common policy for the use of Internet Routing Registries

A Common Policy for the Use of IRR Databases by IXP Route Servers has been discussed during the Connect WG sessions at RIPE 86 and RIPE 87. The plan is to publish it as a BCP document after RIPE 88.

Anti-Abuse WG Charter

The Anti-Abuse WG is currently discussing the future of the WG including a possible name change. See the new draft charter the WG chairs sent out.

Programme Committee Charter

The RIPE Programme Committee (PC) worked on an updated version of its charter. You can find the new draft document on the RIPE website. This document is now open for review until 10 June 2024.

RIPE WG Chairs training

Together with the RIPE NCC, we developed a second set of training modules for RIPE Working Group Chairs and those who consider volunteering for such a role in the future. The complete course now contains the following modules:

The RIPE Community and its Structure
The Role of the RIPE WG Chair
How is Work done in RIPE Working Groups?
How do you keep a WG working?
How are RIPE policies made?
Building consensus
Making Sure Everyone Is Respected And Included
How do I Become a Working Group Chair?

You can access all modules in the RIPE NCC Academy.

Relationship between RIPE and the RIPE NCC

The relationship between the open RIPE community and the RIPE NCC is a remarkable construct that we need to cherish and continue to explain, promote and further develop. There is mutual support between the RIPE NCC and the RIPE community: the RIPE NCC provides essential secretariat and technical services for the community and in return the community provides the underlying policies and other guidance the RIPE NCC needs.

There are various ways the community can provide guidance to the RIPE NCC:

Policies agreed by the community through the Policy Development Process
Numbered Work Items (NWIs) that some working groups use
Other action points and recommendations
Feedback to RIPE NCC quarterly plans and other consultations

In addition to all the other roles the RIPE community fulfils such as information sharing, capacity building and producing operational BCP documents, providing guidance to the RIPE NCC is an important responsibility that we have to take seriously.

Even though this relationship is well documented in earlier RIPE documents, it is crucial for us to continually acknowledge this responsibility as the RIPE community evolves. It may be time to make this more explicit, for instance in our WG charters. This will also be a topic at RIPE 88, during WG sessions, in conversations among the WG chairs, during the community plenary and at a BoF titled Building a Stable Future for the RIPE NCC.

Industry events

SEE 12: Both Niall and myself participated in the SEE 12 Meeting in Athens in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of EARN. It was a pleasure to engage with the community in this part of our region.

Online student event: On 7 May we organised an online event on the topic "What keeps the Internet Working" with a great set of speakers and a list of vey interesting topics such as Digital Sovereignty and Open Source, The Network of Networks, and Internet Measurements. While the event was primarily targeted to students, it was open to anyone interested in RIPE. You can find more information, including the slides and recording on the RIPE 88 website.
Root Serve Webinar: On 8 May Niall attended the ICANN Training Series: The DNS Root Server System Today.