[ih] DNS History

[Eric Gade]

Hello all,

I have begun my masters thesis work on the history of DNS and I have several
questions that perhaps some of you can address.

First, in terms of the RFC system, where are the comments themselves?  Were
they hard-copies that no longer exist, or mailing lists that have been
tucked away somewhere?  Is there any correspondence left (for DNS related
RFCs) or has it all been lost?

Second, does anyone have or know where to find details about the
debates/conversations that took place leading up to RFC 1591 and what
appears to be a "compromise" between generic and ccTLDs?

Third, it is not entirely clear to me exactly why DNS was engineered in
place of X.500.  It is my understanding at this early point in my research
that OSI standards seemed inevitable at one point, and sources have told me
that DNS was designed to get something out the door quickly (presumably
something that *wasn't* X.500).  Was X.500 simply based on an old paradigm
(white pages / old telecom) and seen as a bulky and slow alternative?  When,
and with whom, was the actual decision made to ditch X.500 altogether?  This
part of the story goes a long way to explaining why everyone in the world
doesn't have a unique identifier.

I have also been informed that people may not want to speak to me because of
the more recent controversy surrounding Domain Name issues and the formation
of ICANN, etc.  I want to put out a disclaimer that my research will not be
centered on the White Paper and those later developments.  For the most
part, I am interested in the 80s and early-to-mid 90s.

Thanks!

-- 
Eric Gade
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