# Re: another way of thinking about ftp URLs

Rob Raisch, The Internet Company (raisch@internet.com)
Sat, 5 Mar 1994 09:38:11 -0800 (PST)

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    Date: Sat, 5 Mar 1994 09:38:11 -0800 (PST)

    From: "Rob Raisch, The Internet Company" <raisch@internet.com>

    Subject: Re: another way of thinking about ftp URLs

    To: "Mark P. McCahill" <mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu>

    In-Reply-To: <9403051521.AA23619@boombox.micro.umn.edu>

    Message-Id: <Pine.3.85.9403050910.A29901-0100000@hmmm>

Mark, you've hit the nail on the head. We need to step away from the
idea that URLs will be written by consumers. Soon (?) they will be
generated by the maintainer of a resource or automatically generated and
will take their rightful place behind the URN.

I do not believe that a truely ubiquitious ftp URL is possible, unless
it includes explicit directions for retrieval. This works directly
against the (false) impression that URLs need to be human readable and
transcribable.

We really need to return to first principles.

METHOD://LOCATION/INSTRUCITONS_FOR_RETRIEVAL

If we do not, all retrieval engines will need to understand the
differences between the various ways in which systems store information.

And this would break the one untransgressable law: Thou shalt scale.

-- </rr> Rob Raisch, The Internet Company

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