# Fewer NAs than DNS Hosts

Fisher Mark (FisherM@is3.indy.tce.com)
Tue, 20 Jun 95 11:25:00 PDT

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    From: Fisher Mark <FisherM@is3.indy.tce.com>

    To: "'URI'" <uri@bunyip.com>

    Subject: Fewer NAs than DNS Hosts

    Date: Tue, 20 Jun 95 11:25:00 PDT

    Message-Id: <2FE7143A@MSMAIL.INDY.TCE.COM>

Although the assumption that there will be many fewer NAs than DNS hosts is
unprovable without the assistance of a time machine :), it would appear
unlikely to me.

One vision of the future would have all named, Internet-accessible data
possessing a URN. Once the Web becomes a read-write medium, in this vision,
not only would many (if not most) people produce works requiring the use of
a URN, it could well be possible that many (if not most) people would set up
their own NA (or multiple NAs) for their own works. I see this in contrast
to the current world of hardcopy publishing, as the current Web directions
would seem to point to a world where many people "publish" directly; i.e.
placing a document on the Web as something closer to shareware, except that
Web mechanisms could assist in enforcing payment.

Part of the whole "re-engineering thang" is the elimination of
middle-people, whether distributors, managers, or a select cadre of NA
providers. This (IMHO) is part of a whole trend towards flattening the
hierarchies that served humanity during the periods of mass populations with
low literacy rates. I don't see a lot of people saying, once Web publishing
becomes easier ("draft-ietf-html-fileupload-02.txt": are you listening,
Netscape?), "Gee, I think I'll send all my documents to Fisher, Andropov,
Kwanzaa, and Chin Publishing Ltd. Corp. to be placed on the Web!". I see
more publishers, NAs, etc., etc. in the future, not just a few.

The engineering of such distributed systems is a hard problem, but is being
tackled right now (witness DCE among other systems).

We are going to have to handle the increasing decentralization of life.
======================================================================
Mark Fisher Thomson Consumer Electronics
fisherm@indy.tce.com Indianapolis, IN

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