🚀 go-pugleaf

George> == George Michaelson <ggm@brolga.cc.uq.oz.au> 

 George> I would prefer to see an explicit 'distributed information'
 George> protocol to replace finger being used for:

 George> 	email address lookup
 George> 	directory service call
 George> 	generalised information checks

 George> leaving finger alone to be used for what it was designed for. I
 George> can then confidently know calls onto finger are just that:
 George> people testing machine usage/uptime status, and decide to be
 George> paranoid or not as the case dictates.

whois (port 43) should be used for the first two.  The latter (I presume
you mean stuff like weather, restaurant menus, etc) should probably find
another port too, but I don't have any suggestions.

You're right, though, finger is *way* overloaded these days.
--
Christopher Davis * ckd@eff.org * System Administrator, EFF * +1 617 864 0665
   ``The First Amendment is often inconvenient.  But that is besides the
  point.  Inconvenience does not absolve the government of its obligation
         to tolerate speech.'' --Justice Anthony Kennedy, in 91-155