From: Valdis(_dot_)Kletnieks(_at_)vt(_dot_)edu
To: niket(_at_)mindspring(_dot_)com
Cc: ietf-imaa(_at_)imc(_dot_)org, ietf-822(_at_)imc(_dot_)org,
ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org
...
Are we doing *anybody* favors ...
Contrary to super heated claims about unfairness and disenfranchisement,
the purposes of this approaching train wreck do not include doing any
users any favors. At best it is about proving the maturity of the
IETF by inventing a scheme that will make x.400 addresses seem clear
and obvious.
The first and most important thing about train wrecks is that you
don't want to be standing close to where they happen. After waiving
your lantern at the people in the engine cabs, it's best run as fast
as you can.
The second thing is that after the fire, smoke, and noise settles,
you will see armies of people and equipment working on enormous piles
of debris.
The third thing is that although the debris piles and surrounding
encampments will look permanent, they will disappear almost overnight
and leave almost no sign. In 5 years, everyone except the most laggard
acolytes of trade rag gurus will have forgotten it. By then there
will be a new runaway internationalization mail address train about
to derail.
It's not as if we've not been here before. It's past time to start
running to get out of the way of this train. Who knows? Maybe this
time time the internationalized mail address train won't wreck itself
at the bottom of the pass.
In other words, do all three of these mailing lists need this traffic?
Vernon Schryver vjs(_at_)rhyolite(_dot_)com