In reply to your message of Tue, 02 Apr 1996 16:46:01 PST:
Even though I know how all this came about and how groups like NANOG
operate (what group!) I still don't believe it when people say that NANOG
doesn't set policy and NANOG is not affiliated with anybody. The fact is
that NANOG appears to set policy and NANOG appears to be affiliated with
somebody and that appearance is what counts until NANOG pipes up and
states what their official policy and official affiliations are.
Machiavelli said it best: "For the great majority of mankind is concerned
with appearances, as though they were realities, and prefers to deal with the
things that seem, rather than those that are".
The *fact* is that NANOG is not affiliated and does not set any policy.
Settlements are contrary to NANOG policy. It is also contrary to NANOG
policy to engage in long drawn out debates about things which have
already been decided, like "settlements are wrong". The policy is
unwritten and to a certain extent, non-verbal, but it is policy nevertheless.
As a director of mine once said: "A policy is a written document that is binding
in some fashion among one or more parties. If it's not in writing, it's a
philosophy, not a policy." NANOG participants practice, to a greater or
lesser extent, certain philosophies, and actualize certain mindsets, in
their interactions and exchanges of information. This is not policy nor the
setting of policy, even if NANOG members do set and implement policy in other
venues.
BTW, the trick is to address it like this joe%farawayplace.com@majorhub.com
And just to reciprocate on the distribution of clues, take the policy buck
to InterNIC, the FCC, or the other regulatory body of your choice, not to NANOG.
Also, from your other message:
You may not like the eyes of the world to be looking at you, but the fact
is that those eyes are going to be looking at you more and more as the
Internet grows in importance and people get curious at how it really works.
Then the world will continue to be frustrated by a group of people whose
interaction in this forum deals with technical realities rather than
politically correct appearances.
'Nuff said.
<donning the asbestos suit...>
Rgrds,
Paul
***definitely speaking solely for myself this time!***
Paul "Corwin" Frommeyer
Work Internet Engineer, CCIE Play
ISP Systems Engineer Network Sorcerer At Large
Cisco Systems, Inc. Paul's Fone Company
pfrommey@cisco.com corwin@palas.com
*** Speaking solely for myself unless otherwise noted ***