>> o INVALID is poorly characterised from a DNS perspective in >> [RFC2606]; that is, the specification that INVALID does not exist >> as a Top Level Domain (TLD) is imprecise given the various uses >> of the term TLD in policy forums; > >Hm. Then why doesn't this document supersede 2606's imprecise >specification with a better one? Agreed. The current bits on the wire for .INVALID, i.e., none, match any plausible improved specification, after all. >> o the contents of the root zone are derived by interaction with many >> inter-related policy-making bodies, whereas the administrative >> and technical processes relating to the ARPA zone are much more >> clearly defined in an IETF context; > >That can be put that more clearly: "The IETF doesn't have sufficient >authority over the root zone to publish 2606 and ensure its continued >accuracy." My answer to that is that if so, then most of 2606 is >broken, and it's necessary to much fix more than just the paragraph >that defines .invalid. Here's some proposed language which I believe accurately describes the current situation: o RFC 2680 documents a binding agreement between the IETF and ICANN with regard to the operation of the IANA. In particular, Section 4.3 requires ICANN's management of the root zone to comply with the IETF's "assignments of domain names for technical uses", such as those described in RFC 2606. Some people believe that ICANN or its successor may unilaterally break this agreement, although there is no evidence to support or refute this hypothesis. >> o the use of ARPA for purposes of operational infrastructure (and, >> by inference, the explicit non-use of a particular name in ARPA) >> is consistent with the purpose of that zone, as described in >> [RFC3172]. o Some people believe that ICANN is less likely to mess with .ARPA than with .INVALID, although there is no evidence to support or refute this hypothesis. Also, based on recent mail here: o DNS caches and proxies have in a few cases been observed to replace nonexistent names with synthesized records, typically the A record of a web server, in violation of standards and best practices. Some people believe that noexistent names in .ARPA are less likely to be replaced than names in .INVALID, although there is no evidence to support or refute this hypothesis. R's, John _______________________________________________ Ietf mailing list Ietf@xxxxxxxx https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/ietf