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From: jwp@sdchema.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.bugs.uucp
Subject: Re: UUCP sitenames / Sys V fix
Message-ID: <227@sdchema.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Sep-84 02:34:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdchema.227
Posted: Wed Sep  5 02:34:26 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Sep-84 13:00:39 EDT
References: <25@harvard.ARPA>
Reply-To: jwp@sdchema.UUCP (John Pierce)
Organization: Chemistry Dept, UC San Diego
Lines: 27

In article <25@harvard.ARPA> brownell@harvard.ARPA (Dave Brownell) writes:

>... if anyone running the Sys V UUCP really worries, it's easy to make it
> send out long names...

Unfortunately, Dave, this fails against the same sort of reasoning that is
going to impose short identifiers on us.  Specifically, we all have to be
reduced to the least common denominator...  To be explicit, Bell, or AT&T, or
whatever name it's going under these days, has decided to force crappy
thinking on the world, and  all of us will have to conform to it, even though
we have code that can handle this.  Or source code so we could do what they
should have done in the first place.  You see, they've made a lot of money
peddling binary-only licenses...

Interestingly, at least some of the people who are going to shove this down
our throats (by refusing to "register" sites with non-conforming names) were
at UCB way back when...  Then it was "You mean *you don't have a VAX*????  You
mean you've only got an *11/40*???  With *RK05s*?????  Well, that's too bad,
buddy...  We've got all this fine software, but if that's all you've got...
Well... that's tough, man..."  Now, of course, it's "Oh...  You wanna run the
UNIX standard on a Kaypro II?  Hey, babe, don't worry!!  We'll just lower the
standard so you can say you conform to it."  Sic semper venditori.

				Caveat Danaos...

				John Pierce, Chemistry, UC San Diego
				sdcsvax!sdchema!jwp