ietf-openproxy
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Re: WG Review: Open Pluggable Edge Services (opes)

2001-06-19 18:47:03

Has everyone who has a reallyreallyreally strong opinion on this 
matter actually read the charter? Right there near the top, it says:

Intermediary services provided in this way are not transparent: 
Either the content requestor or provider will be aware that a 
tranformation has been performed.

OK, so the spelling is not so great, but it sure is clear. What some 
people seem to be up in arms about is that the IETF would even think 
of helping someone change the content in HTTP. Data mungers are doing 
that already, and it is bad, and it is untraceable. So what should 
the IETF do?

the IETF SHOULD NOT pretend that the practice does not exist.
  (*that* would be burying our heads in the sand)
the IETF SHOULD NOT encourage the practice by making it appear legitimate,
  even by making the endpoints aware of it.
the IETF SHOULD (probably) NOT try to interfere with other groups that 
 might want to standardize this; to do so is to risk getting trapped
 in a herd of lemmings who are bent on jumping off a cliff.

IF, on the other hand, there is a need for pluggable end services
which are *explicitly requested* by one or more end points, the IETF 
SHOULD consider doing work in this area, but it SHOULD also clearly 
distinguish such work from work that interferes with end-to-end 
transparency. 

ELSE, IETF should do nothing.  Sometimes refusing to pretend that your
action can accomplish anything useful really is the best choice.

Data is already being changed, some of in ways that we should really 
be unhappy about, and there is no way for the folks changing it to 
tell either end. OPES gives them that capability. 

no it won't.  OPES is an application-level mechanism and the folks
who are corrupting data now are doing so at lower layers.  OPES won't 
change what they are doing.

Post-OPES, data 
will still get changed silently without using OPES, but at least 
there can be pressure put on the changers to use OPES so that someone 
sees what is happening. Without OPES, they never will.

I don't think so.  
Nor do I think this is a worthwhile use of IETF's energies.

Keith

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