Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!ucsdhub!ucsd!ucbvax!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!microsoft!w-tedt
From: w-tedt@microsoft.UUCP (Ted Timar)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.uucp
Subject: Rerouting: a comprehensive list of ideas
Summary: Some (hopefully useful suggestions for the net)
Message-ID: <137@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 4 Oct 88 21:45:03 GMT
Reply-To: w-tedt@microsoft.UUCP (Ted Timar)
Followup-To: comp.mail.uucp
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 44

After reading this topic for the past few years(?), I have come to a
few conclusions.  What follows would be very difficult to implement
because of the plethora of mailers in the world that already fail to
follow these rules, but, with a lot of effort, might be used to simplify
mail routing, and reduce the level of conflict.

The following needs the following assumption:
   The maps are correct. They may not be complete.

The major problem with the assumption is that even if everyone did report
   all changes (which they don't), propagation delays would still
   invalidate the maps.

1) All published links should connect pairs of REGISTERED (in the maps) sites.
   Links to sites which are not in the maps should not be published. This
   could be implemented using a combination of work from uucp sites and the
   'uucp mapping project'.

2) If (1) were true, sites which insisted on rerouting could:
	Scan the path, from left to right, along published links, as far
	as possible. The last site found in this way is the furthest
	site that could be rerouted to. We could be sure that we know,
	uniquely, which site it is.
   This allows unpublished links (which would not be tampered with).

3) Also for rerouting, it should be legal to reroute as far as any fully
   qualified domain name. We can be sure that we know, uniquely, which
   site it is.

4) ".uucp" should be made into an OFFICIAL (registered) domain name, meaning
	"AS LISTED IN THE UUCP MAPS".
   Only registered sites should use the .uucp domain.

5) if (4) were true, (3) would apply to .uucp.

-- 
These are my ideas, and my opinions. They are in no way representative
of the opinions of my employers.

Comments are welcome. Please don't post flames. If you must flame, send
them by mail. If necessary, if will summarize responses.

Ted Timar
uunet!microsoft.uucp!w-tedt