Well, it is an interesting idea, but speaking for myself, I don't think I fit
the categories you present.
(1) I believe that RFC 821 and RFC 822 will be around for a very, very, very
long time.
(2) I believe that enhancements at both levels are warranted. Just because I'm
against most of the SMTP enhancements proposed thus far doesn't mean there
aren't enhancements to be made to SMTP. I haven't bothered to present what
I think SMTP needs since it is unrelated to the issues we're debating at
present.
(3) I believe that if we come up with sound enhancements, they will be widely
deployed and used.
(4) I believe that just because we come up with enhancements, and they may see
wide use, that many MTAs and UAs will be extremely slow to upgrade. Some
will never upgrade, for all practical purposes. This necessitates backwards
compatibility in order to insure operational integrity.
(5) I also believe that X.400 will see increasing use, but it will be a long
time before it overtakes 821 and 822 use. Given the fact that the most
explosive e-mail growth today is in PC e-mail, and these systems are for
the most part 822-derived, it may be that X.400 will _never_ overtake
822, certainly not within the useful life of what we're working on here.
My opinions only. I offer them simply to show how they fit, or don't fit, your
analysis.
Ned