Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!umcp-cs!israel From: israel@umcp-cs.UUCP (Bruce Israel) Newsgroups: net.mail Subject: Re: Domains: Multiple names OK? (Really, are domains good) Message-ID: <3501@umcp-cs.UUCP> Date: Fri, 19-Sep-86 19:58:41 EDT Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.3501 Posted: Fri Sep 19 19:58:41 1986 Date-Received: Sat, 20-Sep-86 02:02:21 EDT References: <566@mecc.UUCP> <2502@cbosgd.UUCP> <3920@ut-ngp.UUCP> <3044@columbia.UUCP> <3437@umcp-cs.UUCP> <1246@umd5> Reply-To: israel@umcp-cs.UUCP (Bruce Israel) Organization: Computer Sci. Dept, U of Maryland, College Park, MD Lines: 81 In article <1246@umd5> zben@umd5.umd.edu (Ben Cranston) writes: > >As I am rapidly becoming blue in the face repeating, this is a prescription >for a (perceived) breakdown in the future, when the second Seismo comes along >and the user perceives that "something that used to work dont any more". Well, that is already true, since my users have been saying "'person@seismo' used to work, and don't any more". As I will say below, domains are necessary and beneficial. >This can be done because the Computer Science Department's users are limited >in number and closely communicate. What works for 100 users does not always >work for 10,000 (consider the N log N time to sort their names, for example). This is a ridiculous argument (the sorting time portion, I mean). You don't need to sort 10,000 names nightly; you find the difference, (names deleted, names added), and then modify your already sorted list by the differences. > >In particular, the Department owns its own machines, and can make the rule: >"if there exists a jim@foo and a jim@bar they are the same person!" stick. >With every department on campus owning its own computers, *I* cannot make >such rules. Thus this scheme cannot in the general case be make to work. Agreed. Its obvious that such a scheme requires consistent user names across all machines. My point is not that everyone should do this, and I was not suggesting that you do it for the university either. To re-explain my point (since you didn't seem to get it); I was addressing the person whose message I was replying to, whose argument was proof by intimidation and insult ("You can do what you want with more complexity, so you are a crybaby for wanting to do things in a simpler fashion"). I feel that complexity should only be gone to as necessary, and was holding up what I developed at UM as an example of how to make things easier for users without loss of generality or power, NOT as the way everyone should do it. I also was not arguing against domains; I feel that domains are a necessary complexity that in the long run will offer many advantages over a flat naming scheme. >It's a good thing you don't have to support any REAL users... { /* begin flame mode */ Give me a fucking break! We've got around 700 users on our local network. I don't know where you get this fucking superiority shit from! If you are so good in terms of having REAL users, maybe you should come upstairs to our lab and instruct us on how YOU deal with REAL users. What do you do, hit them over the head with a club when they ask questions? Based on the above shit, it's no wonder you don't look at simplifying things for naive users; if you treat them that way, they are probably afraid to ask questions so you don't realize you have any naive users! } /* end flame mode */ Sir, I don't know what axe you have to grind with the department lab, and I'm not really interested either, but let me explain something to you; we have the same general purpose that I assume you do, that being, to run our systems so as to support our user community in the best fashion we know how. Contrary to your obvious belief, our people and your people are not on opposite sides, and I'm sorry if you feel that we are. >Ben Cranston Bruce Israel P.S. flame wars are not necessary or appreciated in net.mail, so if you have any replies to the above flame portion, you can either send them to /dev/null or to me, as you feel is appropriate based on content. -- Bruce Israel University of Maryland, Computer Science Dept. {rlgvax,seismo}!umcp-cs!israel (Usenet) israel@Maryland (Arpanet)