Shane Kerr wrote: [...]
changed: YYYYMMDD <freeform>
When an object is updated, the value of the "changed:" attribute would be checked, and if the first 8 characters were not the date, then the date would be inserted.
This attribute would preserve the useful features of the "changed:" attribute:
- automatic timestamping for users who want it - place to put an identifier for the person making the change
It would solve the problem of having a meaningless e-mail in the attribute.
A further improvement would be to make the attribute optional, since it has no strict meaning.
It does not address the problem that people assume that the "changed:" attribute actually properly identifies when an object was changed. If this is desired, then the attribute should be made mandatory, and the timestamp always added by the server. In the past, there has been opposition to this idea.
The presenatation of this proposal (http://www.ripe.net/ripe/meetings/archive/ripe-40/presentations/timestamping...) was made at RIPE 40, but as Shane mentioned was rejected. Andrei Robachevsky RIPE NCC