RFC 1925: The Twelve Networking Truths

http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1925

by kaeso • 14 years ago

59 11 14 years ago

tools.ietf.org

dexen• 14 years ago

I love how ``It is always possible to add another level of indirection'' is described as corollary to moving problems around instead of solving them :D

b_erb• 14 years ago

http://www.rfc-editor.org/errata_search.php?rfc=1925&eid...

Mark Nottingham's update on the speed of light.

tawm• 14 years ago

"It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove." – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

sargun• 14 years ago

Number 2 should have the subpoint "You must travel along the curvature of the Earth" - that is, until we get IP over neutrino.

Honestly, even for a joke-RFC, this is pretty spot on.

seigel• 14 years ago

Love it. Ahh, those lighter more fun days. Try getting an RFC like that in there now.

DanBC• 14 years ago

I particularly like the tribute to Postel:

(http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2468)

rmccue• 14 years ago

It was an April Fools' Day RFC, which they do at least one of every year:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools%27_Day_RFC

edw519• 14 years ago

(0) For every fundamental truth, there exists a counterexample:

(1) It Has To Work.

Counterexample: U.S. healthcare.

(2a) No matter how hard you try, you can't make a baby in much less than 9 months.

Counterexample: adoption.

(3) With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine. However, this is not necessarily a good idea. It is hard to be sure where they are going to land, and it could be dangerous sitting under them as they fly overhead.

Counterexample: Who cares? </resumes eating his BLT>

(4) Some things in life can never be fully appreciated nor understood unless experienced firsthand.

Counterexample: Microsoft Windows.

(5) It is always possible to aglutenate multiple separate problems into a single complex interdependent solution. In most cases this is a bad idea.

Counterexample: U.S. Constitution.

6. It is easier to move a problem around (for example, by moving the problem to a different part of the overall network architecture) than it is to solve it.

Counterexample: Joe Biden's speeches.

(7a) (corollary). Good, Fast, Cheap: Pick any two (you can't have all three).

Counterexample: Five Guys.

(8) It is more complicated than you think.

Counterexample: "All you lawyers do is complicate situations that aren't complicated." - Erin Brokovich

9. For all resources, whatever it is, you need more.

Counterexample: calories.

(10) One size never fits all.

Counterexample: Pencil and paper.

(11) Every old idea will be proposed again with a different name and a different presentation, regardless of whether it works.

Counterexample: suicide.

(12) In protocol design, perfection has been reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

Counterexample: Hacker News.

ars• 14 years ago

Your counterexamples for the most part make make no sense. I feel like I should give a line by line rebuttal, but that's probably giving your joke more attention that it deserves.

mariuolo• 14 years ago

Twelve truths and a misspelling (aglutenate).

dfc• 14 years ago

April Fools Day is bad enough why are we reliving it on HN again and again?

RFC 1925: The Twelve Networking Truths

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