Zero host part _is_ forbidden. RFC1122, section 3.2.1.3:
IP addresses are not permitted to have the value 0 or -1 for
any of the <Host-number>, <Network-number>, or <Subnet-
number> fields (except in the special cases listed above).
This implies that each of these fields will be at least two
bits long.
This implies that a gateway address, being a regular IP address used
by a router, may not have the value 0 for "Host-number" (the part
after the network mask). Nothing to argue at all.
Olaf
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