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Subject: Re: [OT] dealing with broken SMTP software (was: smtpd_banner without ESMTP)
From: Thomas Roessler (roesslerguug.de)
Date: Tue Mar 14 2000 - 07:56:50 CST

On 2000-03-14 07:19:12 -0500, Jim Seymour wrote:

> Side note: In my limited (but not nearly as limited as
> most U.S. citizens) experience, the Netherlands is an
> exception, rather than the rule, insofar as alternate
> languages are concerned. So perhaps not a good
> example. Furthermore: Wietse's background is also an
> exception, rather than the rule, for the world-wide
> population as a whole.

While you are probably right here, the world-wide
population as a whole is certainly neither supposed to
implement internet standards, nor is it supposed to
administer implementations of these standards.

Generally, those who do should make sure they understand
the language which is currently used by large parts of the
world-wide technical community for communication. Like it
or not, that language is - currently - English, and it's
not likely to change in the close future.

However, I don't know any country of interest here where
you can't learn that language when you want to.

<rant>

On the other hand, I'm well aware that there are lots of
so-called consultants or technicians around in certain
(even Western European) countries who don't have any
access to first-hand information on technical
infrastructure, and actually don't really care about this.

I wouldn't blame this on actual difficulties with learning
English, but rather on a lack of willingness to either
learn that language, or make sure that others provide the
necessary translations of first-hand technical
information, documentation, and standards.

Likewise, the same kind of "technicians" may speak English
fluently, but doesn't care to read the documentation.

That is, what we encounter with broken systems is the kind
of attitude which is happy when the system happens to work
today, and certainly doesn't bother when others' domains
are used in error messages, character set headers are
distorted (ok, this is just micro-software), or the mail
spool overflows tomorrow. Who cares - customers are
generally still happy when their computers and networks
pretend to work at all, and e-mail arrives within two or
three days after it was sent.

So, please don't blame the general use of English when
customers are paying good money for bad consulting and
systems which happen to work every other day. They get
what makes them happy, and they pay for it. The problem is
just that it makes the rest of the net unhappy.

</rant> 

-- 
http://www.guug.de/~roessler/