Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!ists!yunexus!davecb
From: davecb@yunexus.UUCP (David Collier-Brown)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc
Subject: Re: Internet and Bitnet Directories?
Message-ID: <5266@yunexus.UUCP>
Date: 20 Nov 89 14:29:47 GMT
References: <1360@sagepub.UUCP> <1810004@hpiag0.IAG.HP.COM> <1989Nov17.014854.23205@terminator.cc.umich.edu>
Organization: York U. Computing Services
Lines: 43


>Mark Laubach writes:
| I'm not sure of the feasibility of putting all the BITNET nodes into
| the uucp map database, its about 2990 last time I looked.  So it seems
| that the .bitnet kludge is the way to go for the moment.  What we are
| looking at is getting all the bitnet hosts registered into the domain
| nameservice as soon as possible as the better solution.

  I'd venture to suggest that the .bitnet (and .uucp) kludge might be turned
into a **way** of getting the hosts registered into the domain nameservice
world: 
	1) have the bitnet registry use someone's bitnet->dns format
	   translator to generate a set of nameserver files for the
	   pseudo-domain .bitnet [I saw one once...]
	2) [very optionally] provide a nameserver for .bitnet 
	3) punt the internet-compatible information back to the sites,
	   so that they can run local nameservers with the real
	   data (for those sites who interoperate with the internet)
	4) collect the forms used to sucessfully register a site [I'm sure
	   there is at least one] or subdomain in the internet, and generate
	   a template.  
	5) generate a pre-potted registration form for each site from
	   the template, and fire it back to them.

  Everybody wants to avoid work.  Everybody wants someone else to do it.
A registry has the information to do things once, rather than requiring
each site to do/redo it.
  If site who have done difficult tasks provide their software to
registries, the registry has at least the chance to do the common
part once for all the sites, and leave them with only the site-specific
tasks.

  If the sites welcome the registry making their life easier, then good.
If not, eventually they'll fall out of communication with the rest of the
world, and the new management will play catchup for a while...

--dave (I'm lazy, but I'd fill out *part* of a registration form) c-b
  
-- 
David Collier-Brown,  | davecb@yunexus, ...!yunexus!davecb or
72 Abitibi Ave.,      | {toronto area...}lethe!dave 
Willowdale, Ontario,  | Joyce C-B:
CANADA. 416-223-8968  |    He's so smart he's dumb.