Sorry, but not only is your giant bolus of a rant not operational, it’s not 
even North American. Please respect the boundaries of our group and keep your 
venting in Europe where it belongs. This isn’t a flame, it’s just a polite 
request that you knock it off. 

 -mel beckman

> On Feb 15, 2019, at 7:37 AM, Markus <unive...@truemetal.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi list!
> 
> The following is off-topic/venting. It's about RIPE and my company in 
> Germany. If you don't care about this even remotely, don't read on and don't 
> flame me. I'm just so pissed and I have no other connection to the ISP (and 
> related) community than the NANOG mailing list and I know there are some 
> other European ISPs on this list. Here goes:
> 
> 
> My company has been a RIPE LIR for 17 years now. This week was the first time 
> ever that I became, was and still am really, really pissed at RIPE.
> 
> There's some madness going on in RIPEs legal department. It appears they 
> recently hired some retard who now wants to prove he/she is a smartass. Harsh 
> words, but I have no other explanation for what's going on right  now!
> 
> Here's the story:
> 
> Sunday, 10th February, 17:08 CET: I sent away the online application for an 
> additional LIR account. Automatic E-Mail confirmation received.
> 
> Monday, 11th February, 15:07 CET: I didn't receive a human reply yet, and 
> since the business day was nearing its end, I mailed them about the status, 
> and asked whether I could come by their Amsterdam office the next day to sign 
> the required documents - in order to speed up the whole process.
> 
> Monday, 11th February, 15:57 CET: Reply from RIPE. Let me just copy and 
> paste: "I regret to inform you that we do not offer the possibility to sign 
> your contracts in our office and regrettably there is no option to speed up 
> the application procedure." - Ok, no biggie. But then:
> 
> 
> Quote start.
> 
> "We can see that this is an additional LIR account for Lightup Network 
> Solutions GmbH & Co. KG.
> 
> We are currently reviewing applications with a legal entity type 'GmbH & Co. 
> KG' together with our legal department and they have stated the following: 
> "GmbH & Co. KG" is a sub-form of a "KG" (partnership).
> 
> It normally consists of a general partner and one or more limited partners, 
> which can be legal or natural persons.
> 
> According to "Due Diligence for the Quality of the RIPE NCC Registration 
> Data" the signing party of an agreement can either be a legal or a natural 
> person. A "KG" is not considered a legal person and cant be the signing party 
> in our agreements.
> 
> The agreement can be signed though by one of the legal or natural persons 
> that are partners (general or limited). We therefore cannot register Lightup 
> Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG.
> 
> As you already have an LIR account with us, we will have to update your 
> existing account, de.lightupnet, before we can register this second account 
> for Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG.
> 
> I created a new ticket for your company update and my colleagues will contact 
> you shortly for the update."
> 
> Quote end.
> 
> 
> That didn't sound so good. I've had a company with the legal form GmbH & Co. 
> KG (it's a German company) for about 15 years now and my initial gut feeling 
> was "That's just plain bullsh*t!".
> 
> 
> Tuesday, 12th February, 12:30: I receive another E-Mail. New ticket, as they 
> promised.
> 
> 
> Quote start.
> 
> "It has come to our attention, that the legal name of your LIR account has 
> been registered incorrectly.
> 
> It was advised by our Legal Department that the legal form of your company as 
> "GmbH & Co. KG" is a form of a general partnership that does not have a legal 
> personality.
> 
> If there is a document proving opposite, please send it to us. According to 
> our procedure, we can only sign an agreement with a legal person that has a 
> legal personality or a natural person.
> 
> Therefore, we will have to correct your legal name to <Markus Stalder trading 
> as "Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG">, instead of <Lightup Network 
> Solutions GmbH & Co. KG>."
> 
> Quote end.
> 
> 
> They also asked that I upload a photo/scan of my passport, which I did. I 
> just thought: Ok, let them have their way. If they want to change my LIRs 
> description, who really cares. All I want is to create a 2nd LIR and speed 
> this whole thing up. But, since they want to be SO LEGALLY CORRECT, I replied 
> and mentioned the following. Let me copy and paste.
> 
> 
> Quote start.
> 
> "I just uploaded my passport.
> 
> However, following your logic, you need to change all of the following German 
> legal forms in your database to "Individual-name trading as ...":
> 
> - OHG
> - KG
> - GmbH & Co. OHG
> - GmbH & Co. KG
> 
> I understand that you would have to do that with a GbR, as a GbR cannot get 
> registered in the commercial register of companies and you need to specify 
> the names of the individuals. But I think with the above 4 legal forms you 
> are making as mistake here.
> 
> Although it is correct that a GmbH & Co. KG does not have a legal personality 
> that differs from its general partners (Persoenlich haftende 
> Gesellschafterin) or limited partners (Kommanditist), a GmbH & Co. KG is 
> still a legal entity as its able to sue in front of court, or get sued in 
> front of court. A GmbH & Co. KG can also purchase rights and enter into 
> liabilities, can purchase property and other in rem rights related to 
> estates. (Source: 
> <https://www.frankfurt-main.ihk.de/existenzgruendung/rechtsfragen/idem/kg/>)
> 
> That being said, since Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG was founded, I 
> have never ever signed a contract where the contractual partner was "Markus 
> Stalder trading as Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG" but the 
> contractual partner was always Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG. That 
> includes application forms towards government entities as well as contracts 
> with larger corporations.
> 
> Actually, my gut feeling based on my own experience with my GmbH & Co. KG in 
> the last decades tells me that you are making a mistake here.
> 
> And, if you want to be really accurate: You must be aware that the 
> Kommanditist (limited partner) is not allowed to represent the company. That 
> is something only the Komplementaerin (general partner) can do. The general 
> partner of Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG is AirAccess GmbH.
> 
> I'm attaching both company extracts for your convenience.
> 
> So, correct would be:
> 
> AirAccess GmbH trading as Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG"
> 
> Quote end.
> 
> 
> Wednesday, 13th February, 18:02: Reply from RIPE:
> 
> 
> Quote start:
> 
> "Many thanks for the clarification and the provided documents.
> 
> Please be informed that our Due Diligence for the Quality of the RIPE NCC 
> Registration Data <https://www.ripe.net/publications/docs/ripe-700> has been 
> implemented in 2018. As the application process for our members was not so 
> strict before, it was possible to register an LIR account under the 
> partnership name. Currently, we are working on correcting these details in 
> the Database.
> 
> At this moment we are reviewing German applications with a legal entity type 
> 'GmbH & Co. KG' together with our legal department. Thus the information you 
> provided is very helpful.
> 
> On the review the documents you submitted, we indeed can see that "AirAccess 
> GmbH" is a general partner with a special right to represent the company. The 
> names of both LIR accounts (de.lightupnet, de.lightupnet1) will be corrected 
> tomorrow. It will be confirmed to you once the account are updated."
> 
> Quote end.
> 
> 
> ... another day passes ...
> 
> 
> Thursday, 14th February, 16:11: Now for the E-Mail from RIPE that blew my 
> mind, in a negative sense.
> 
> 
> Quote start:
> 
> "Many thanks for your patience.
> 
> We have reviewed your case internally and agreed that there is no need to 
> sign a new agreement for LIR account <de.lightupnet>, as it was signed by the 
> director of the company.
> 
> It has also come to our attention that, the company AirAccess GmbH (reg. No 
> HRB 56386) already has LIR account <de.airaccess>.
> 
> Therefore LIR <de.airaccess> should be linked as an additional account to 
> <de.lightupnet>, and <de.lightupnet1>.
> 
> Please be informed that the following will be applied to all additional LIR 
> accounts:
> 
> - The /22 IPv4 allocation you will receive is subject to the RIPE NCC
> Transfer Policy and can therefore only be transferred 24 months after the
> allocation date.
> - Members with multiple LIR accounts are entitled to just one vote at RIPE
> NCC General Meetings. The oldest LIR account will receive the vote.
> - If you wish to transfer internet resources between your LIR  accounts,
> you need to pay the full annual service fee for all LIR accounts.
> -  If you wish to close LIR account, you need to pay the full annual
> service fee for all LIR accounts.
> 
> At this moment could you please inform us what name you prefer for LIR 
> accounts <de.lightupnet>, <de.lightupnet1>: "AirAccess GmbH" or "AirAccess 
> GmbH trading us Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG"?
> 
> Once it is clarified, we will proceed with updating the legal details of your 
> accounts and process the application for <de.lightupnet1>."
> 
> Quote end.
> 
> 
> Spontaneous thought: HOLY F*CK, ARE THEY SERIOUS ?! ?! ?!  They want to 
> change the name of my company - Lightup Network Solutions GmbH & Co. KG - to 
> a completely different company: AirAccess GmbH !!! Totally unrelated to each 
> other, different business, different everything. The only thing these two 
> companies have in common is that they're both mine. RIPE MUST BE NUTS!  Here 
> my reply:
> 
> 
> Quote start.
> 
> "Hi <name of RIPE NCC support person>,
> 
> thanks for your mail.
> 
> Ok, now you are really taking it over the top.
> 
> 1) You want to link AirAccess GmbH as an additional account to de.lightupnet. 
> And you want to do this for a company which is a legal entity by itself.
> 
> I do not allow you to do this. AirAccess GmbH is a legal entity by itself and 
> I do not want that you change anything about its current LIR status, name or 
> anything else.
> 
> 2) You are offering that I can choose the name for de.lightupnet and 
> de.lightupnet1 to be "AirAccess GmbH", a company which is an entity by itself 
> and is merely the Komplementaerin (general partner) for Lightup Network 
> Solutions GmbH & GmbH Co. KG.
> 
> I'm shocked by that idea. That is just completely wrong.
> 
> Of course I do NOT want de.lightupnet and de.lightupnet1 to be named 
> "AirAccess GmbH" because it would be an factual error. And I don't want RIPE 
> to make wrong statements about our company/companies towards the public.
> 
> It would be like offering to present nl.ripe as KPN. Or Nike as Adidas.
> 
> As it appears right now your legal department is doing a mistake when it 
> comes to understanding how GmbH + Co. KGs work.
> 
> Could you also please let me know the E-Mail address or telephone number 
> where I can file a complaint about this whole procedure?
> 
> Thank you."
> 
> Quote end.
> 
> 
> This is where it stands right now.
> 
> It's Friday, 15th February.
> 
> The work week is over.
> 
> I'm sitting here, waiting for RIPE since Monday to send me the LIR agreement 
> for the 2nd LIR, so that I can sign it, pay it, and be done with it.
> 
> 
> My rhetorical questions are:
> 
> 1) Are they fucking serious ... I can't remember the last time I was this 
> angry at anyone.
> 
> 2) It's RIPE. A large, established organisation that's been around forever. 
> WHY THE F*CK does it take them always 1 day to process something, to reply to 
> something? They have TONS of employees, they have TONS of LIRs that pay them 
> TONS of money, why is everything moving so slowly with them ?! ?! ?! It's 
> 2019, not 1995 FOR F*CKS SAKE !!! Get your act together and adapt to the 
> times, modernize yourself and BE FASTER. UARRRGHHHL.
> 
> 3) Why in heavens name do they EXACTLY have to start with this whole 
> f*cked-up process when I ACTUALLY need something from them (a 2nd LIR 
> account)? Why in this very moment? Yeah, because my company popped up on 
> their screen because I applied for a 2nd LIR account, makes sense. But, could 
> they not simply process the damn LIR application at the same time to speed 
> this whole thing up, and later change this sh*t. No, of course, it would be 
> not efficient for them to do that, but it's NOT MY FAULT they didn't ask to 
> update this data/fix this company sh*t earlier. But now THEY MAKE IT MY 
> PROBLEM. Because I'm losing precious time. F*CK!
> 
> 4) If you look at the LIR list for Germany here - 
> <https://www.ripe.net/membership/indices/DE.html> - and search for "GmbH & 
> Co. KG" in the document, you will see many companies that are still 
> "unchanged": Company name GmbH & Co. KG, but you will also see some that were 
> already "updated" according to RIPE logic: "Firstname Lastname trading as 
> "Company GmbH & Co. KG" - the "funny" thing is that this is just wrong as I 
> explained earlier. They have to re-do all these changes. By looking at this 
> list it appears I'm the first where they offer to change it to 
> "Another-company-name GmbH trading as Company GmbH & Co. KG" JUST BECAUSE I 
> told them that with GmbH & Co. KGs the Kommanditist (legal partner) is not 
> allowed to represent the company. So, being the first, and looking at that 
> list for comparison tells me they have no idea what they are doing!
> 
> 
> Have a good day everyone and down with unnecessary, over-the-top
> bureaucracy! It's 2019 FOR F*CKS SAKE!!!
> 
> 
> Regards
> Markus

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