[DotGNU]RE: Lessig (was Re: As if the DMCA wasn't bad enough)

[Crist, Ma]

Adam,
I guessed you missed some of the other posts:

From: Adam Theo [mailto:address@hidden

unfortunately, the DotGNU people really have to invent the wheel, since
XNS doesn't quite exist.

-It does exist (I'm using some features of it today).

no detailed enough specs, no open source software code (they have code, but are 
keeping it proprietary),

-they are planning to release the source soon.  Now, if they announce that 
they've decided not to, I'll agree that another solution is required.

central governance system (XNSORG is as deeply tied to XNS as MSFT is to .NET
and Passport),

-and that's bad because?  Linux, Java, Apache, DNS, Jabber 
(http://foundation.jabber.org/council.html), etc. all seem to function OK with 
central governance.

and overall some really bad ideas.

-such as?

from everything i've read of them, they don't have a bgat's chance in helll of 
pulling their
system off the ground since their system relies on overhauling the
entire Web, DNS, and communications systems. i think the only tech they
leave alone is TCP/IP...

-huh?  where do you get that from?  From what I can tell, it looks like their 
tech is completely stand-alone and designed to work seamlessly with other 
technologies/standards through XML data exchanges.  I think you're confusing 
"using" DNS (and other tech) as foundations upon which XNS is built, with 
"overhauling" the foundation tech.

i know this because i spent a month closely investigating and
researching them. i've started a distributed authentication system for
the Jabber platform [http://www.jabber.org], and looked into all the
techs i could find. i concluded XNS had nothing to offer.

-You're perpetuating the problem by creating yet another authentication system 
for a discreet technology (Jabber).  We (users) need something more generic 
(the way DNS is generic for host naming).  If XNS turns out to be a dry hole, 
I'll still be more supportive of organizations like JXTA (http://jxta.org) 
which are tyring to create generic, global solutions vs. discreet solutions.

Cheers,
Mike Crist