I've just tried new.net's plugin. Don't.

Ben Browning benb at theriver.com
Thu Mar 15 07:54:48 UTC 2001


At 08:33 PM 3/14/2001, Simon Higgs wrote:
>So what practical steps does New.net need to take to reduce the load on 
>the help desks? Going out of business, getting rid of the dumb plug-in, 
>and using a proper root server network have already been suggested. What 
>else would help minimize the load on the network help desks?

Looks like you already have three practical solutions right there.

>I'll be taking real world solutions that can be offered here to the 
>New.Net CEO myself.
>
>Don't bother to complain if you're not prepared to be part of the solution.

I won't bother to solve someone else's problems unless I believe in their 
cause (I don't) or am under their employ (I'm not).

The root of the matter (do pardon the pun) is this:

New.net is trying to change the way the Internet works, without consulting 
any of the people or organizations that make it work. They have attempted 
to do this not at the root-server level, where by all accounts it should be 
done, but at the end-user level, with an OS specific patch(which, I 
imagine, flummoxes your resolver timeouts and overall decreases DNS 
usability). In their attempt to reinvent the wheel, they have ignored 
published standards, paid no attention to history, scoffed at proper 
channels, pissed on the correct authorities, attempted to strongarm 
thousands of businesses into playing their way, made silly promises with no 
hope for realization, and basically left common sense raped and crying in 
the corner. Their technical specs are fuzzy, with no end in sight for the 
new TLD's they introduce (go to the homepage- oh look! you can vote for a 
new TLD! dear god, what a disaster that could turn into... 
running-shoes.nike is just a few million bucks away). On top of all this, 
they have the gall to sell a currently-valueless product to unsuspecting 
consumers (a process some like to call 'fraud') and nowhere bother to 
mention that their plugin (or any of their windows-specific hacks on 
http://www.new.net/help_network.tp) will give them root authority for your 
nameservice needs. Nor do they mention that email sent to your spiffy 
domain won't work, aside from a tiny 'white lie' on the FAQ page that would 
make a tobacco lawyer blush. On top of all this virtual piracy and 
electronic hijacking, they have the temerity to tell interested end-users 
that if it doesn't work they should "Contact your ISP and ask them to `turn 
on' access. The steps for an ISP to provide access are rather simple", 
never implying that there may be a valid reason for us to all[1] say "No way".

The Readers Digest Analogy:

Just because I think that 10.0.0.0/8 is perfectly good unclaimed space 
doesn't mean that announcing routes to it is a bright idea.


~Ben, as always, speaking his mind and not (necessarily) that of his employer

[1] Based on reason and logic, what we *should* all say. Last I checked, 
twenty companies independently deciding not to do something universally 
stupid is not grounds for an anti-trust case
---
    Ben Browning <benb at theriver.com>
       The River Internet Access Co.
              Network Operations
1-877-88-RIVER  http://www.theriver.com





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