Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: THE INTERNET CRUCIBLE - Volume 1, Issue 1 (UUCP as line item)
Message-ID: <1989Sep6.182741.23239@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <8909010312.AA03885@fernwood.MPK.CA.US>
Date: Wed, 6 Sep 89 18:27:41 GMT

In article <8909010312.AA03885@fernwood.MPK.CA.US> geoff@FERNWOOD.MPK.CA.US (the terminal of Geoff Goodfellow) writes:
>While few would argue the superiority of X.25 and dial-up CSNET and UUCP,
>these technologies have proved themselves both to spur innovation and to be
>accountable.  The subscribers to such services appreciate the cost of the
>services they use, and often such costs form a well-known "line item" in
>the subscriber's annual budget.

This is undoubtedly true for X.25 and dialup CSNET, but for UUCP the exact
reverse is often the case:  a network connection exists precisely because,
unlike the alternatives, a UUCP connection does *not* require a line item
in the budget.  All it requires is suitable software (present in most
versions of Unix already), dialup modems on both ends (usually present
anyway), and a bit of setup work.  If no obscure problems intervene, such
a connection can be up and running in fifteen minutes, with *no* paperwork.
If traffic remains modest -- where the exact semantics of "modest" depend
on modem type and the cost (if any) of the calls -- often no formal
justification of the connection is ever required.  When communication is
a means to an end rather than a research topic, this can be a major asset.
-- 
V7 /bin/mail source: 554 lines.|     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
1989 X.400 specs: 2200+ pages. | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu