At 11:27 -0800 3/9/97, Michael Dillon wrote:
On Sun, 9 Mar 1997, Brett L. Hawn wrote:
You purport to be leaders of the internet, then its about time you acted like it and start to solve the problems instead of trying to make the problems go away by being ignorant of reality.
There are no leaders of the Internet.
Yes, there are no leaders, just rulers (IANA, InterNIC, etc.). It's about time the rulers started leading, or they will be ignored (seeming divine right notwithstanding).
The problems are *YOUR* problems and it is *YOUR* responsibility to solve them as much as anyone else's.
Wow, that sounds a lot like fingerpointing. It's not my problem, it's yours. My network isn't losing packets, the NAPs are. My peering requirements are reasonable, yours aren't. My HOL blocking isn't the problem, your refusal to daisy chain a second non-working device is the problem. I'm sure that's not what you meant, Michael, but the wording is rather ironic given the outcome of packet loss/performance discussions at NANOG (yuk yuk).
As always, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
The prevailing attitude here seems to be "If it's not my solution, you are part of the problem." The tendency of network operators in this arena to jump up and down screaming "WAH WAH WAH WAH" with their fingers in their ears when problems are pointed out is rather disturbing. It seems that the "players" want to present an appearance of cooperation to prevent regulation, yet I see no effective cooperation. (Yes, CAIDA people, I know you are trying. However, I don't see the big six at http://compute.merit.edu/ipn.html.) I'm beginning to think a little regulation will go a long way in correcting this attitude. Why shouldn't network metrics be standardized, published, and audited by an independent agency? Car manufacturers have to publish results of their mandatory saftey tests. I'm sure it is embarrasing as hell when GM makes an alternator that shreds itself, or a window that breaks too easily. But, the public interest is served. Does this analogy hold for the Internet? Well, when the network crashes (or provider A blackholes provider B, or provider C dumps an OC3 of traffic onto a DS3) it doesn't kill me, but it sure as hell costs me money... which is nearly as bad. Then again, if running a network was easy, it would be about as exciting as running the cash register at your local Taco Bell. Jim Browne jbrowne@jbrowne.com "Also shocking is just how bad Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher are in their first major roles." - CNN Film Critic Paul Tatara