[ih] Re: internet-history Digest, Vol 2, Issue 4

[Ted Faber]

On Fri, Sep 24, 2004 at 01:56:28AM +0100, Lloyd Wood wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Sep 2004, Bob Braden wrote:
> 
> > I would like to make a comment about this discussion of ARPAnet history.
> > We pioneers who were there at the time have at best hazy memories of
> > what happened when.  The only reliable record from those days is
> > the RFC series.  If it was written down, it is still preserved.
> > What was not written down was largely lost.
> 
> ...which is rather convenient for those involved, in being able to
> claim that what was written down was the result of Really Careful
> Thought and Much Discussion of Alternatives, alas and most oddly not
> visible anywhere.

Sadly that's often true, but the best of these sorts of documents do
document the paths not taken and reasons why the authors chose one over
another. 

> I'm rather worried that academics will be taking all the credit,
> simply because academics are self-documenting Dr Johnsons. Always
> scribble, scribble, scribble, eh?

And I'm always being told I don't write enough...

Seriously, there are a variety of places for researchers and engineers
from all over to get their ideas published these days.  From white
papers to traditional conferences and workshops to google-archived web
pages, it's easier than ever to get an idea on the public record.
Furthermore, because of patent concerns, non-academics have financial
incentives to publicize their ideas and innovations to stake out turf.

Academics are certainly encouraged to take credit, but non-academics are
in a better position than ever to stake a claim on new ideas, especially
in the networking field.

-- 
Ted Faber
http://www.isi.edu/~faber           PGP: http://www.isi.edu/~faber/pubkeys.asc
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