connectivity issues

[ddm at pizzashack.org (Derek Martin)]

On Sun, Aug 12, 2001 at 01:56:23AM +0000, Chris Janicki wrote:

> Let's stick to one analogy- the phone.  For a basic service charge you 
> are allowed to accept unlimited calls, and during those calls data is 
> exchanged bidirectionally, but you didn't initiate the call.  Calls you 
> initiate cost extra.  (Please don't start some spiral of logic concerning 
> local calling areas or I'll toss my cookies.)

Why?  I can make unlimited calls in my local calling area for free.
The Internet has no concept of long-distance dialing.  All incoming
and outgoing connections are free, and have been on every residential
Internet service I've ever had, dial-up or otherwise.  It's just
exactly the same. 


> Non-commercial web service is similar, although the direction is simply 
> reversed...

I can run a server on any port I choose to, and it costs me nothing.
I can pretty much saturate the (upstream, roughly 350kbps) available
bandwidth on my cable connection for about 18 hours a day, and no one
will complain.  I know this, because I did it for a year and a half.

I can run such a service on any port -- that is, except for port
80/TCP, which is now blocked entirely by my ISP.  Why should that be
any different from the other 131,069 TCP and UDP ports?  

[O.k. not exactly -- they block 137 and 139 too.  I can complain on
general principal, but I don't use Windows networking so it doesn't
affect me one iota.]

> for a basic service charge you get to initiate communications 
> (send mail, browse web sites, etc.).  The communication is still 
> bidirectional, but you initiated it.  To accept new connections (host a 
> web server, etc.) is a premium service, like initiating phone calls is a 
> premium service.

Except that I/we don't agree that initiating calls is a premium
service.  Initiating certain kinds of calls, under certain
circumstances, is a premium service.  

> The logic seems pretty simple to me.

Well, everyone sees things differently...

Food for thought:  almost all analogies are inherently flawed, because
they compare two (or more) things which are not identical.  Those
characteristics of the things which are not the same prevent the
analogy from being a perfect one.  But that doesn't mean that
analogies have no value...


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Derek Martin          |   Unix/Linux geek
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