William C. Green writes:
William C. Green
Computation Center
University of Texas
Austin
Texas
US
Phillip M. Hallam-Baker
@
World Wide Web Consortium
Cambridge
Boston
Mass
Except that this isn't my address. My physical location is the ONE
PIECE of information I CANNOT AFFORD to be revealed. So what is the
advantage, the X.400 method gives expansion space the wrong side of the
@ symbol.
I for one don't want to leave an address for the Unabomber or like
minded people.
This is not simple paranoia, a paranoia is an irrational belief
contrary to rational expectations. It would be paranoia for me
personaly to reveal my home phone number or address since it is
demonstably not safe.
Physical location works as a labeling system for physical objects.
I don't want people to connect to Phill the physical object, I want them
to connect to a collection of thought, of ideas.
While you are building this grand utopia, don't forget that there
are problems with real-space. Most people are able to forget those
problems because they have no impact upon them.
I have lived and worked in five countries in four years. Why should
physical location have any relevance to me? What is so special about
the three spacial dimensions? Why not pick the fourth one and at least
have a convenient handle for sorting?
How do we fit global organisations into such a scheme? Where do we fit an
AI composed of a lose collection of autonamous mobile code units, surely
nobody would deny such a system a name within its native habitat?
How do we label IBM in a manner that has any relevance to physical space?
The argument is fairly pointless because if people wanted X.400 mail
names they would use them. The only people who use X.400 also tend to
own convenient chunks of IANA space. Forgive me for pointing it out
but its president(_at_)whitehouse(_dot_)gov(_dot_)(_dot_)(_dot_) And the one
for direct
correspondence is shorter still.
The number of X.400 users today is probably similar to the number of FORTRAN
users. I bet that the ratio of FORTRAN users to X.400 users will increase
over the comming years. Thats _users_ not simply people who get assigned an
address but actualy use only their Internet address.
Gosh, the things that cause excitement in cyberspace :-)
Phill.