[ntp:questions] Re: Public servers?

David Woolley david at djwhome.demon.co.uk
Sun Aug 3 12:36:52 UTC 2003


In article <mailman.10.1059686736.1777.questions at ntp.org>,
Brad Knowles <brad.knowles at skynet.be> wrote:

>	s/router/time service equipment that they are explicitly told to use/

Whilst my ISP does volunteer this information (although I would be sure
that their help desk would know this if asked), with most consumer ISP
you will need to get past the scripted help desk (re-install Windows) and
the help desk supervisor (maybe knows how to configure IE to work with
multiple ISPs) and reach someone who has real technical knowledge, before
you will even discover that the service is available.

In this sort of environment you have to consider that the vast majority
of users don't want to think (hence the popularity of "plug and play" as
a marketing slogan).  Of those who do think, the majority, especially if
they are using a service for business purposes, will want the best for
themselves with no regard to the consequences to the network as a whole.

It's in this context that any solution must work, not one in which everyone
is knowledgeable and public spirited.



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