[ih] Internet-history Digest, Vol 69, Issue 11

[Bob Purvy]

> I would have used "unreliable", "unpredictable" and "flimsy"
as adjectives for X.400.

Amen. 3Com had a contract with a French company to do it for us, which
earned me a trip to Paris. It never worked right and we finally abandoned
it.

a poster child for "the perfect is the enemy of the good."

On Sat, Aug 16, 2025 at 11:48 PM Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond via
Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

>
>
> On 17/08/2025 04:13, vinton cerf via Internet-history wrote:
> >     *X.400* for its message handling services. This protocol provides a
> >     robust "store-and-forward" system for transmitting messages and is
> known
> >     for its advanced addressing and security capabilities.
>
> For the anedcote, my recollection of X.400 was that it was far from
> "robust". I would have used "unreliable", "unpredictable" and "flimsy"
> as adjectives for X.400. In theory, it sounded great, but in practice,
> its setting up and use was so complex that one small discrepancy and it
> it wouldn't work properly. IMHO a classic example of wanting to do too
> much.
>
> O.
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