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From: postel@bel.isi.edu.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: GOSIP
Message-ID: <8702270413.AA00250@bel.isi.edu>
Date: Thu, 26-Feb-87 23:13:34 EST
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Posted: Thu Feb 26 23:13:34 1987
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Hello:

There was a message to this list a month ago about the GOSIP report, the
Government Open Systems Interconnection Procurement Specification.

It turns out that this is a matter that deserves our serious attention.

In general it is a well intention effort to come up with a plan to get
the US Government to acquire computer communication protocols that will
interoperate so that computers that need to exchange information can do
so.

Unfortunately, there are some aspects of the plan where good intentions
run ahead (on thin ice) of practical reality.  It is important that the
authors of the plan hear comments on it soon, in the next two weeks!
The authors i know of are in the CC field of this message.

The report has been coordinated with a large set of government staff
represeneting a large number of government agencies (many that have
nothing to do with computing research and development, but that do use
computers).  Please do not assume that this plan is someting that NBS
and DOD cooked up to do in IP/TCP.  In fact, the DOD people involved
are perhaps the most knowledgeable and reasonable.  A major problem is
that for most of the other representatives, what they know about protocols
(if anything) is what they read in Computerworld or Datamation.

So please find out more about the GOSIP report, and send comments to the
authors.  The activity is coordinated by the NBS so offline comments should
be sent to:

	GOSIP
	Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology
	National Bureau of Standards
	Gaithersburg, Maryland  20899

--jon.