Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!tank!oddjob!matt
From: matt@oddjob.uchicago.edu (Matt Crawford)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.sendmail
Subject: Re: Re^2: Short-circuiting a route
Message-ID: <4238@tank.uchicago.edu>
Date: 3 Jul 89 18:31:58 GMT
References: <562@daitc.daitc.mil> <KARL.89Jun28094504@giza.cis.ohio-state.edu> <89Jun28.104844edt.10373@neat.ai.toronto.edu> <KARL.89Jun28121000@giza.cis.ohio-state.edu> <3569@ncar.ucar.edu> <4147@tank.uchicago.edu> <3572@ncar.ucar.edu>
Sender: news@tank.uchicago.edu
Reply-To: matt@oddjob.uchicago.edu (Matt Crawford)
Organization: Up against the wall of SCIENCE
Lines: 29
In-reply-to: woods@ncar.ucar.edu (Greg Woods)

) Matt Crawford sez:
) >I think that if fidonet or anyone else wants to have mail from the
) >internet enter their realm at a point chosen by them, then they should
) >provide a person (or some automated tool) to keep up the MX records at
) >the required level of detail.

And Greg Woods sez:
)    I agree that they "should" do this, but in the net world, where people
) are often maintaining the software unofficially in their "spare" time, lots
) of people do things that just get the job done without necessarily being the
) "best" way to do it.  ...
)    We all depend on other sites to provide service for us without any benefit
) to themselves; ... my philosophy is always to ask for the lowest level
) of service that is absolutely necessary to get the job done. To do as Matt
) suggests above would require either asking for access to the orst.edu machine
) or having someone there willing to do frequent updates for them. 

You're interpreting this situation as if it were some project of your
own and you are asking ORST for a favor.  It's the other way around -
Fidonet asked ORST for one favor and you for another, but is not
providing the effort they should to make it all work.  As a consequence,
you, I, and others wind up having to provide them MORE than "the lowest
level of service that is absolutely necessary to get the job done."

If the Fidonet people can keep their UUCP maps up to date, then they can
keep MX records up to date at an equal level of detail.  And they should,
if they want to work with the internet community.
________________________________________________________
Matt Crawford	     		matt@oddjob.uchicago.edu