[ncdnhc-discuss] Membership Status of Silicon ValleyPublicAccess Link

[Mark C . Langston]

On Wed, Oct 31, 2001 at 10:29:39AM -0800, Dave Crocker wrote:
> At 10:12 AM 10/31/2001 -0800, Mark C . Langston wrote:
> >In a business that is Internet-based, that distinction is hair-splitting,
> >at best.  Technical decisions form the basis of business strategy and
> >tactics for any IT-oriented company.
> 
> Mark, thanks for adding some levity to this thread.

No problem.  Thanks for sending me two copies of your response.

> 
> If, by some bizarre chance, you are actually serious, please go back and 
> review basic logic...
> 

Why?  As the CTO of a company that's been in business for more than 12
years, I'm well-acquainted with the impact of "technical advice" on
business strategy.

> Note your correct restatement of my involvement with Neustar:
> 
>          tech -> business
> 

How, exactly, are you able to provide technical guidance with no
information whatsoever on their business decisions?

> That is a one-way process.  It means that tech is not privy to business 
> details.

Nonsense, and you know it.  You cannot provide meaningful input without
knowledge of the business details.  Yes, you can answer simple questions
put to you.  But unless you understand the motivation for the quesions
(which are almost always grounded in business decisions), you cannot
in good conscience provide worthwhile information.

An example:  
  Company: "How do you permit relaying on mail servers?"
  Technical Advisor: (!!!) "Why do you want to do such a thing?  There
            are risks involved, and I cannot give you a proper answer
            without knowing the reasons behind your question."
  Company: "(business details relating to question)"
  Technical Advisor: "Based on that information, your best approach will
            be to do X, Y, and Z.  But you will still face certain
            problems related to this, and these can be minimized by
            doing A, B, and C."  (A,B,C,Z,Y,Z are typically equal
            parts business and technical guidance).

So, either you're privy to the business details, or you're providing
very poor advice.



-- 
Mark C. Langston
mark at bitshift.org
Systems & Network Admin
http://www.bitshift.org