Perhaps it's time to think about enhancements to the NANOG list...?

Thu Mar 25 01:13:13 UTC 2021

On Tue, 23 Mar 2021, Valdis Klētnieks wrote:

> The problem comes when the younger generation *does* need access to the same
> knowledge - and the older generation is unreachable and/or actually gone.

Exactly.

Let's keep in mind that it is not fanciful that networks may need to be 
built from the ground up again.  A major environmental disaster, a nuclear 
war (even a very limited one) or another Carrington Event could require 
years of reconstruction.

Thw world narrowly missed another Carrington Event in 2012.  I recall 
reading that the US Government Accountability Office estimates full 
recovery from such an event would take 4-10 years.

In a crisis like this network restoration would be a priority as it would 
facilitate communication right when it is most needed.  Networks save 
lives.

I would suggest though that anyone with a passion for networking would 
take the time to understand as much of it was possible.  I'm sure there 
are plenty of young network engineers that have pored over RFCs and other 
documentation as well as experimenting as much as they can.

Rob