I have probably missed something, perhaps unwritten policy, and for that I am sorry. I will not repeat my mistake.
Please DO CONTINUE to discuss this on the list. Ignore all those messages of complaint. The only complaints that matter are those of the Mailing List Administrators whose names are listed here: http://www.nanog.org/listadmins.html The people who were complaining to you are not serious about network operations. They just want to keep it as a private club where only people who know the secret handshake can apply. However, in the 21st century, stable and reliable network operations are vital to the global economy. This means that we MUST openly discuss issues that arise in order to jointly solve the problems and to educate all parties involved, vendors, researchers and operators. It's OK to step on some toes and offend a few people. This is a rough and tumble business where you need to have a thick skin to survive. Perhaps the problem is that the COMPLAINANTS do not have a thick enough skin. --Michael Dillon