Subject: Internet Architecture Board statement on the registration of special use names in the ARPA domain

From: IAB Chair <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2017 12:05:46 -0700

The IAB has noted some controversy in respect of possible registrations 
of names using the mechanisms defined in RFC 6761.

The IAB observes that there is a distinction to be made between creating 
an entry in the Special-Use Domain Names registry where that entry 
prevents the name from being registered in the DNS and creating an entry 
in the Special-Use Domain Names registry where that name is intended to 
be resolved using the DNS protocol.

Through the IAB, the IETF is in a position to specify names beneath the 
top-level domain ARPA, which is designated as the Address and Routing 
Parameter Area domain. This is not a general purpose registry, but it is 
set aside for technical infrastructure established by IETF standards. 
All names registered in the Special-Use Domain Names registry that are 
intended for use via the DNS protocol are found beneath the ARPA top-
level domain.  Other names in the Special-Use Domain Names registry are 
intended for exclusion from DNS resolution. An entry in the Special-Use 
Domain Names Registry that does not require DNS resolution does not 
require the registrant to control the relevant name in the DNS.

In the view of the IAB, when placing any name in the Special-Use Domain 
Names registry with the intention that it be used with the DNS protocol, 
such an entry must be within a domain under the control of the body 
making the registration. For the IETF, an appropriate domain for such 
names would be ARPA, as long as those names meet the conditions in RFC 
3172.

For the IAB,

Ted Hardie
IAB Chair