John R. Dennison wrote: > Ok, seriously, this has gone far enough. AutoPhaser? Client ability to > override server FeaturePackets? > > With the recent deprecation of RSA an admins ability of blocking clients > is limited without server changes; changes which a rogue client > developer can trivially bypass in any event. > > This type of crap with Bill has been going on for far too many years > now; this needs to be dealt with once and for all. Feature packets > exist so admins can limit client abilities on their servers and present > an even playing field. What makes Bill think he is above the law (per > sae) and has the ability of doing whatever it is he wants? > Curious: Is this the sort of "law" that can be enforced in a court system? :-) Open source software using an open protocol on the Internet. I think this is why the RSA key based system of "trust" was established in the first place. If the system of trust was disbarred - not really sure why anybody could be held guilty of anything other than moral misconduct, which at best means you can write "Bill is a bad boy" on www.netrek.org and draw further attention to him and his client. :-) Can't have it both ways - either authorize clients, or don't. Right and wrong don't apply in either case except in the perspective of the person making the judgement. With authorized clients - I didn't "like" that I couldn't write my own client or modify somebody else's client and get it blessed without substantial effort on my part (beyond just proving that the features added are not considered game altering - which was all subjective anyways, which lead to introduction of feature packets in the first place). With no authorization required - I don't "like" that people can add software to their client that will make them have a leg up on me. Somebody else might have a different value system. For example, doesn't it seem ridiculous that the captain of a space ship would have to plot torpedo intercept courses themselves in real time? Wouldn't we have weapons officers to provide this function? Wouldn't my space ship have an automatic defense protocol, such that if I am sleeping in my quarters, and a space ship appears on my bow, red alert would automatically raise the shields before I stumbled to the turbo shaft while putting on my shirt to make it to the bridge as quickly as possible, slapping my com badge shouting "bridge - what is happening to my ship?" People take things too seriously. :-) Hopefully this brought some amusement to somebody. Cheers, mark -- Mark Mielke <mark at mielke.cc>