Hi Göran--

	I think a better analogy is with IRC, not DNS. We could set up a relay
network of servers that share information about where to find things. In
particular:

> "Hey! Where did you find that? Oh, I didn't know about *that*
> server.... Hmmm, it isn't up now, do you have a copy you can email
> me?"

	We could avoid that: having found any server in the network, a user
would find out which other servers provide access to the desired
artifact. Artifacts can be mirrored on multiple servers, so one server
being down doesn't necessarily pose a problem. The analogous IRC
situation is looking for another user; each server can provide
information about how any user in the network is connected.

> "Hi! I just posted my little Application on my own map *here*. Bye!"

	The server that person used could join the server network, providing
visibility as described above. If the community cares about protecting
against servers going down, then someone will mirror the application on
one or more other servers.

> "Hmmm, does anyone have a list of all known maps at this point in
> time? Sure, here is my list, but I heard that Ned has a bigger list
> with more stuff on it."

	That would be a manual recapitulation of what the server network
already did automatically.

> "How many packages are there for Squeak? Well, we don't really know.
> Ok, but can someone tell me where to look to find ZZZ? Sure, you can
> look here, and here, and here, and perhaps over there..."

	Again, the server network can tell you where things are.

> I mean - come on! Am I the ONLY ONE afraid of these scenarios?

	I'm not afraid of them because they seem quite avoidable.

> Am I the ONLY one who remembers how it was before SM?

	Now you're setting up a false set of choices. :)  There are more of
them than just "before SM" (and other things) and SM.


	have a good trip!

-C

--
Craig Latta
improvisational musical informaticist
craig at netjam.org
www.netjam.org
[|] Proceed for Truth!