Alan,
How many average users you'll find able to use ssh?
AD> This is not an argument. Those users are using MUAs. The authors
AD> of those MUAs can do the work, and add a checkbox that the idiot users
AD> can use.
For the IETF, it is the _only_ argument. Folks forget that we exist
to produce specifications that get used. Not "implemented" but
actually used.
For an example of the "it got implemented" criterion that ignored the
"it gets used" criterion, please refer to the history of OSI.
AD> And yes, we already know that solving the spam problem may require
AD> software upgrades. Saying that there will be cost and time to deploy
AD> updated software isn't a useful argument, either. If there is
AD> sufficient incentive to upgrade, people will do so.
That is my point. The nature and amount of incentive needed depends
on the cost and the benefit (along with a few other factors, of
course.) Any scheme that proposed massive change needs to pay quite a
bit of attention to the both of these. That requires detailed
thinking, not a simple handwave.
AD> And we already know that people who won't upgrade won't be doing
AD> anything to help solve the spam problem. We can ignore any arguments
AD> about their needs, as they've already made their choice to accept the
AD> current situation.
That line of thinking is quite popular in the technical community, and
often even in the management community. It accounts for a massive
number of companies' failures. As well as standards' failures.
d/
--
Dave Crocker <dcrocker-at-brandenburg-dot-com>
Brandenburg InternetWorking <www.brandenburg.com>
Sunnyvale, CA USA <tel:+1.408.246.8253>
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