> > This aint rocket science, and keeping track of namesystems is > > about as complicated as keeping track of port numbers. > > I thought the port numbers that needed to be globally unique were allocated > by a central authority. @begin(joke) That's just what the bureaucrats in control *want* you to think. There are other central authorities for port numbers. You can pick whatever authority's list of port numbers you want to use. All you have to do is replace your /etc/services file. MY port number authority uses port 80 for DNS. That way ANY WEB SERVER can be used as a DNS server allowing autocratic zone administrators to be COMPLETELY BYPASSED!!!! (modulo slight protocol incompatibilities which will be fixed as soon as they upgrade all web browsers to support downloading web pages using RFC 1035 - which of course they will do because to do otherwise would be to pretend that other port number authorities do not exist!!!). Also, in MY port numbering system HTTP runs over port 25 in order to BLOCK COOKIES!!! LDAP runs over port 65537 because nobody should be using LDAP anyway. And IP runs over port 25 thus allowing direct routing of IP packets to ANYONE WHO HAS AN EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!! Any fool can use his own port number list --- and many already have!!!! @end(joke)