---- Original Message -----
From: "John Kristoff" <jtk(_at_)cymru(_dot_)com>
To: <ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org>
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2015 4:14 PM
On Tue, 19 May 2015 15:33:16 +0100
tom petch <daedulus(_at_)btconnect(_dot_)com> wrote:
It's a shame. The value of the reminder was not the password, but a
confirmation that I was still subscribed to the lists that I thought that
I
was subscribed to, and had not been unsubscribed due to some dark art of
the
mailing list processes - which has happened to me on more than one
occasion.
I once worked alongside a team that found themselves supporting a
particularly unreliable system. For a reason that I've now forgotten,
this team decided to create a test to verify the system was still
responsive and send out an alert via a paging system if it was still
operational. This was run every hour, twenty-four hours a day.
I thought this was a ridiculous situation and when I conveyed what was
going on to a witty friend, this friend equated it to how one might
use the emergency system (911 in the U.S.). "So... I should call 911
every hour and say to them, 'I'm OK, just letting you know. If you
don't hear back from me in an hour please send help!'".
I can't help but think the use of a mailing list password reminder is in
a way similar to my exaggerated example. As another colleague once
told me, don't look at it as a "backup" problem, look at it as a
"restore" problem and your whole perspective, and likely your solution
changes to better address the challenge you're faced with. There
may be another, perhaps better way to solve this particular
problem. :-)
You might want to look at the use of application protocols that the IETF has
developed, particularly those in the operational area, such as SNMP or
Netconf, where you will find terms such as 'keepalive' or 'heartbeat' or
synonyms thereof. Strangely, the concept of saying
'I am OK just letting you know' and having the other end of the session
respond likewise seems to be have found widespread use within the IETF.
Of course, when using IPX over a physical LAN, such considerations are
mostly unnecessary but for the unreliable Internet, such protocols seem
pervasive.
Tom Petch
John