Colleagues, On the subject of the NTIA's NOI for the IANA function, which is available at the following link: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/frnotices/2011/fr_ianafunctionsnoi_02252011.pdf. The ALAC draft text is available here: Question 1 on the necessity of a single contract for the "IANA function": https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/ALAC+Comment+on+NTIA+NOI+Questio... Question 2 on performance metrics in the contract(s) for the "IANA function": https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/ALAC+Comments+on+NTIA+NOI+Questi... Question 3 on root zone change requests, a specific function currently carried out within the IANA functions: https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/ALAC+Comments+on+NTIA+NOI+Questi... Question 4 on the necessity and sufficiency of existing performance and reporting requirements for the IANA function: https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/ALAC+Comments+on+NTIA+NOI+Questi... Question 5 on improvements or performance enhancements to the IANA function: https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/ALAC+Comments+on+NTIA+NOI+Questi... Question 6 on security considerations and performance requirements for the IANA function: https://community.icann.org/display/atlarge/ALAC+Comments+on+NTIA+NOI+Questi... Some phrases picked more or less at random from the draft ALAC response to Question 1: "The ICANN, as a single entity, has so far lead the IANA functions with all the seriousness possible and has respected the contract with the US Government to the letter." and "ICANN has so far delivered well. Why try to fix something that is not broken?" I ceased attempting to inform the authors of the ALAC draft comments on the 22nd/23rd. It is reasonable to characterize my comments as dissimilar to the comments of the majority of the contributors to the ALAC draft comment, and having no informative effect. Having consulted to the IANA in 2007 on the transformation of the IANA's ticketing and queue management reporting system to the IAB, the anticeedents of the project that began a year later with the replacement of some of the perl-based tools with python-based tools, I have been reluctant to assert a qualitative difference in subject matter knowledge to the authors of the responses linked above based upon personal knowledge. I've tried persuasion rather than authority, to no effect. Today Olaf Kolkman, IAB Chair wrote the IETF-Announce list a request that substantive comments be sent to iab@iab.org. I will use that avenue, rather than remain in conflict with the other authors if the ALAC draft comment. Eric