Paul A Vixie writes:
If we meter things so that free content is too expensive to provide, and things like Alta Vista (and Gatekeeper.dec.com for that matter) disappear, will the net still be attractive to newbies? Will ISP customer bases still grow?
I've sort of lost track here, but who said anything about metering anyway? There are lots of ways to do usage-based pricing that have been with us for a long time.
Most people in the internet business (tier 1 or anyplace else) have got their whole business plan designed around growth.
Yep, me too.
Here in 1996, growth is still more important than fairness (TCP vs. UDP). We can increase fairness using smart queuing and other technology tricks
If that can be and is done, it's fine with me, but will it be done in time? My growth is already being hindered by people being unable to get through the net's core to sites they want to reach. They leave the net, disillusioned. It's hard to imagine what things will be like when the looming UDP-based-multi-media explosion is added to this. -- Dick St.Peters, Gatekeeper, Pearly Gateway, Ballston Spa, NY stpeters@NetHeaven.com Owner, NetHeaven 518-885-1295/800-910-6671 Albany/Saratoga/Glens Falls/North Creek/Lake Placid/Blue Mountain Lake First Internet service based in the 518 area code