[list.ietf-nntp] IHAVE/SENDME

henry@zoo.toronto.edu (04/24/91)

>1. Control messages need not target _groups_ of machines nor leak. It
>all depends upon the judicious use (combination) of the Newsgroups:
>and Distribution: headers (and private distributions between neighbors).

Unfortunately, it depends on all the other sysadmins at the intended
destinations doing things right.  This is rarely a safe assumption,
especially since local groups and distributions typically are leaky
(because events within a region or organization are often of interest
to people just outside it).

I'm inclined to favor caution on the ideas for remote management.  While
certainly interesting, it is a relatively unexplored area which doubtless
has a few dragons lurking in wait here and there.  It strikes me as more
appropriate to experimental work than to an RFC for an operational protocol.

                                         Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
                                          henry@zoo.toronto.edu   utzoo!henry