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

Thu Mar 15 22:34:53 UTC 2001

HOWDY! HOWDY!

I AM SELLING I.P. ADDRESSES!  
ARIN HAS HELD THEM FOR "PRIVATE" USE TOO LONG!  WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE?
NOBODY IS USING THEM ON THE INTERNET! 

BARGAIN PRICES!  CASH ONLY!!!!

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 
172.16.0.0 - 172.32.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255

RESERVE YOURS NOW!  GOING FAST!

-----Original Message-----
From: David Schwartz [mailto:davids at webmaster.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2001 5:12 PM
To: Stephen J. Wilcox
Cc: Jeff Workman; Chris Davis; nanog at merit.edu
Subject: RE: I've just tried new.net's plugin. Don't.

> On Thu, 15 Mar 2001, David Schwartz wrote:
>
> > 	Did you know that you can choose which nameservers you use?
> > And you can
> > continue to use the same nameservers no matter what provider you use.
>
> Why do nanog threads always repeat themselves fifty times before they die?

	Because people don't read what other people write.

> Not wishing to repeat myself either but..
>
> Why is choice so important to you?

	Who said it was? I'm just saying that it's unreasonable for you to
complain
about me having a choice.

> OK, I just created Wilcox's law of customer support..
>
> this states that for every choice you give users the number of potential
> problems increases proportianally.

	Then don't give your users the choice. See, no problem.

> You give them different operating systems, different browsers, different
> providers now you give them different DNS roots..
>
> You just doubled the number of ways in which a (dumb) home user can break
> their systems and get all confused over why when they just installed the
> new Opal Internet software all the web pages they are used to using are
> different...

	Then don't give your customers that choice. Nobody is forcing you
to.

> simple to me, you and everyone on this list, but to a (dumb) home user
> thats 15 minutes to explain the problem, 15 minutes to discuss the details
> of the DNS system and 15 minutes to once again explain how this affects
> them because they dont understand a word you are saying and cant
> understand why typing in www.yahoo.com now resolves to a porn site!
>
> Following me so far? Sure, you are free to choose, very good have the
> "land of the free" feeling of excitement. But I'm suggesting its a really
> bad thing to make this decision for people who are not going to understand
> this and cause all of us nice people problems.

	If giving your customers a choice causes you a headache, then don't
give
them a choice. If you are selling them unfiltered Internet access, then give
them that. If you give them flat-rate support, then give them that. If you
don't support some services, then don't.

	DS