Gus Caplan

19 Jul 2024 • Reply to Alun Davies on Driving the ASN Truck Without a Licence by Radu Anghel

“I'm sorry to see that the tone of the article has infuriated some of our readers. Speaking for RIPE Labs, our only goal is to give people in the community a space where they can express views on community-relevant topics. That's important to us - but we do understand that there will sometimes be disagreement and debate over the views expressed. We would of course be equally happy to publish an article making a positive case for the use of personal ASNs.”

Hi Alun, I appreciate that RIPE Labs is so actively invested in community discourse. I would like to address, however, the notion of debate you have expressed. While I don't see any reason to question that Radu is acting in good faith, he has repeatedly refused to substantiate any of his claims, including the claims in this article. He has also, to my knowledge, never proposed any concrete policy. I would hold that, lacking either of these, there is nothing to debate here. As a RIPE NCC member registered as a sole trader, it is frustrating to continually see this content, and it be suggested that the onus is on *me* to refute unsubstantiated claims, rather than on authors to substantiate them in the first place, or on RIPE Labs to ensure a consistent editorial direction to this effect.