RIPE Docs and the Evolution of Our Community

This presentation explores the history of policy development in the RIPE community through the lens of the RIPE Document Store and mailing list archives. By examining over 800 published documents and corresponding discussions since the 1990s, we can trace the evolution of our community from its fast-paced establishment phase, through periods of intense refinement, to today’s more stable yet still responsive state.
One family of RIPE Docs in particular illustrates these shifts: from foundational documents defining what we do, to iterative updates during the IPv4 policy era, to the more specialised and branching policies that accompanied the growth of our services. Similarly, mailing list activity mirrors these phases, with notable peaks around major policy debates.
The analysis highlights how “calm” does not equate to decline but rather to maturity, with recent policies such as the Voluntary Transfer Lock demonstrating the community’s continued ability to act when needed. By combining document trends and mailing list data, this talk offers a data-driven perspective on the development of RIPE policies and community governance.