[ietf-dkim] Re: I-D ACTION:draft-ietf-dkim-overview-04.txt

[Dave Crocker]

>> I would not wait with an Overview document until SSP is ready for
>> prime time. I would encourage deployment of DKIM-base now so that
>> we can gain useful experience.
>>   
> I sure hope that -overview is not looked upon as a necessary ingredient
> for developing/deploying -base. Because I don't think it is.


In order to decide to deploy -base, one must understand not only its details, 
but the context in which it is supposed to operate.

The -base document does not provide a general systems-framework for 
understanding the role of -base, because that was not a goal for -base. 
-overview provides that framework.

More generally, the deployment of security-related protocols has a long 
history of being problematic.  Understanding why and how DKIM is a credible 
mechanism, in the face of that problematic history, also is not something 
-base was intended to provide, since it is a specification rather than a 
tutorial.  On the other hand, -base does help with that understanding.

And so on...

Deployment is not a technical issue, so much as a management decision issue.

-Base is not intended to help decision makers or designers of the framework 
into which DKIM will fit.  The -Overview document is intended to help with this.

For anyone who is serious about wanting to get DKIM used, I would think that 
they would want it used sooner, rather than later.  Anything that will 
facilitate the 'sooner' ought to be a straightforward choice.

In particular, I do not understand the idea of delaying something that can be 
of significant use for early-stage -base adoption, and waiting for some 
unknown moment in the problematic future, when SSP might eventually converge 
and get approved.

d/
-- 

   Dave Crocker
   Brandenburg InternetWorking
   bbiw.net