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From: Stef@NRTC.NORTHROP.COM (Einar Stefferud)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.iso.x400.gateway
Subject: Re: an apology to Steve, and more discussion ...
Message-ID: <2754.616899033@nma.com>
Date: 20 Jul 89 00:50:33 GMT
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Hi Mark, et al ...

Your points are well taken.  A number of us have been thinking about all
this for a long time now, and we have come all the way around to
realizing that the big six (COM, EDU, GOV, NET, ORG, MIL) are really
operating at the PRMD level.  In fact, the entier Internet Mail Servie
is operating as a PRMD in that it is not offering services to all who
offer to pay.  It is a Private network and it is a Management Domain.  

So, we are looking toward ways to organize the Internet Top Level
Domains for X.400 purposes.  This is not a imple task, in that each of
the Big Six must be considered separately.  WE cna imagine the EDU
community organizing and choosing a name that corresponds to EDU for
their PRMD name.  We do not see the Commercial Comunity choosing to
operate PRMD=COM, since many of them will wnat their own PRMD anyway.

We expect that PRIME will want to do this, along with DEC, IBM, XEROX,
et al...  In any case, the internet wizards cannot choose for them!

WE can see a home for GOV and MIL.  NET is small and we expect that they
can figure out what to do for their X.400 PRMD name.  

But, the fact is that the decisions cannot be imposed by the internet
for purposes ofd simplifying the mappings because the Internet does not
have the required authority to impose any such decision.  

Yes, it woudl be nice if we could simply dictate this sort of thing, but
then we would probably not like the choices made by the appointed
dictator.  I think it is safe to expect that we would not be named to
this exhalted position.  

So, I and others have become convinced that the next step must be for
the various Internet Communities to decide how their registered members
wish to register themselves in the X.400 namespace, if and when an X.400
namespace authority materializes.  

My best reading on this score at this time is that Judge Greene awarded
responsibility and authority for all naumering and anming plans in the
US to BELCORE.  I have made an enquiry to BELCORE but do not yet have
any response.  

However, if we can get everyone to agree on selecting a dictator, you re
welcome to select one.  I will elect to pass however, since I do not
subscribe to the "1984" view of how to do these things.  Recent events
in China help to reinforce my views.  Cheers...\Stef