Keith Moore <moore@cs.utk.edu> writes:
> > > certainly the users I deal with are not getting what they want.
> > > others seem to be reporting similar experiences.
> >
> > Then why don't they switch providers.
>
> variety of reasons: often the provider is not the problem, it's the local
> network admins, and the users aren't free to go elsewhere. some of the time
> when the provider is the problem, there are no alternatives. until recently
> the only way I could get even one static IP address for my home was through a
> special deal with a friend of mine who had a small ISP, and the best bandwidth
> I could get was 128kbps. none of the other local providers would sell me one.
Doesn't the fact that there's not enough demand for this product
to make it available suggest anything to you?
> > Revealed preference suggests that they *are* getting what they want, no
> > matter how much complaining.
>
> so if you can't come up with a rational explanation for something, just
> pretend that the market is wise and cite it as an unimpeachable authority.
I do have a rational explanation: the customers don't actually care
at all about your fundamentalist commitment to end-to-end connectivity.
So, on the one hand, we have the actual behavior of millions of people.
On the other hand we have Keith Moore's opinion about what they ought
to prefer. I don't have any trouble figuring out which one I believe.
-Ekr
--
[Eric Rescorla ekr@rtfm.com]
http://www.rtfm.com/