[PLUG] What a mess... No reverse record for this PCC site...

[Paul Heinlein]

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Michael C. Robinson wrote:

> The purpose of DNS is to identify hosts and networks without having
> to know ip addresses.

I want to agree with you here -- in many cases, DNS just doesn't do
what you'd expect any more -- but "purpose of" arguments nettle me.

Who's to say that folks can't find new ways to use an existing tool? I
may not appreciate the end result of some forms of creativity, but
that doesn't mean that all software should do only what its original
coders wanted, and nothing else.

All sorts of cool things are the result of someone using or modifying
an existing tool in a unique way:

* The "purpose of" HTTP and HTML was one-way Internet publication --
  so Slashdot and every other web-based bulletin board that uses them
  for two- or multi-way communication has violated their purpose.

* The "purpose of" Unix was to provide an operating system for
  multi-user login and processing servers. So Linus adapting it to run
  on personal computers, PDAs, and embedded devices has violated its
  purpose.

Like I said, I share your frustration with the way DNS is often
administered -- but I don't think that shoving software into a box and
saying "you can do this, but nothing else" is the answer.

--Paul Heinlein <heinlein at madboa.com>