[180] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Re: is fixing a broken TCP acceptable use?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Russell)
Fri Nov 16 21:33:28 1990
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 90 19:24:54 -0500
From: russell@cmcl2.NYU.EDU (Bill Russell)
To: com-priv@psi.com, emv@ox.com
This message is fuel for the burning questions of this list. If you are
squimish or don't want to read real names taken from real life - stop now.
If your company is mentioned - don't be upset - I'm just using information
that I have read in two current computer industry newspapers. No articles
from these papers are included in this message. I'm going to assume that
if you are on this mailing list - you already read these papers.
This message is to illustrate what some of the problems are - and to ask some
questions. I don't realy expect to get many "answers" back. I do however
expect to get flamed - at the least.
A message from OX.COM is interesting in itself. I've followed this list
since it's inception, and have even made a comment to two. I've also
raise some questions at various meetings about the ol' Internet and the new
and upcomming new Internet.
We seem to have reached an impasse - about what's acceptable - and what is
not - but not on how to define it. Well, from my reading of an industry
paper and not even a network paper - but a Unix paper - the NSFNet folks and the
BARRNet folks have come up with a "definition".
Step one - every one stop reading this message - now - go and get a copy of the
November 12th issue of "Unix Today!" - we got it a few days ago. Now turn to
page 3 and read the story entitled "HP/Apollo's Use Of Internet OK'd".
Step two - don't put down that paper - turn to page 48 of the same paper -
look at the pink box describing a new product - and lo and behold - you will
see an E-mail item: support@ice.com. Why is this address included? It is not
mentioned in the text of the article describing a new product.
ICE.COM is not a host - but an MX record. It is handled by a machine in the
OX.COM domain. In fact, the only NIC registered host in the OX.COM domain.
The network that the machine is attached to is named OXFORD-TP. A traceroute
from various machines here at NYU has the bits flowing to that host going
over various networks.
Working our way back from the ox.com address, we get to the Merit Network,
from there we travel onto the lovely NSFNet backbone, and depending on which
of my NYU-NET external connections I use, I either end up exiting the NSFNet
at Princeton and jumping onto JvNCNet, or I end up jumping off at Cornell and
flowing down PSINet, or, for my DOE machines that use ESNet, the bits jump off
at FIX-East and come into the Big Apple via ESNet.
Now - some questions! I guess that HP/Apollo want to play it straight. Or
they are the trial balloon. Who do I speak to at each and every network
that my bits might pass over? Do I have to keep an up-to-date copy of the
domain-contacts.txt and network-contacts.txt files from the NIC? Do we need
a central repository of "acceptable use" documents? What "information" is
forbidden to flow? Who can speak? How can I speak?
Here is some other info to ponder over a cup or glass of whatever you all
like to drink on a Friday night.
The following email addresses appeared in the Nov 12th issue of "Unix Today!".
Page Company Address How
---- ------- ------- ---
15 NCD info@ncd.com uunet.uu.net
20 Tektronix color_printers@tek.com relay.cs.net
62 Auspex Sales@Auspex.com uunet.uu.net
uunet!Auspex!Sales UUCP
78 MICROLITE uunet!mlite!info UUCP
78,81 DBM Associates attmail!dbm UUCP
85 Scientific Placements NPA5411@DCJCON.DAS.NET uunet.uu.net
bc SCO ,..!uunet!sco!info UUCP
info@sco.com ucscc.UCSC.EDU
This is just one issue of "Unix Today!". I would venture a guess that only
a small percentage of the readership have ever heard of "acceptable use".
The current issue of "Communications Week", the November 12th issue, contains
NOT ONE email address - either in editorial or advertising lines.
--------
Bill, the Network Curmudgeon, Russell +1 212 998-3054
Network Manager, New York University Internet: russell@nyu.edu
251 Mercer Street Bitnet: RUSSELL@NYUACF
NY NY 10012 UUCP: ...!cmcl2!russell
--
Attempting to manage a chaos, is like having Godzilla for a pet.
