Re: A better name than ISM

[Marshall Eubanks <tme@21rst-century.com>]

Toerless Eckert wrote:
> 
> > The key difference is that in SSM receivers join a source/channel,
> > whereas in ISM they join a group (or group of sources).  The ideal
> > name would probably be Group-Specific Multicast, but that acronym is
> > taken.  Source-Group Multicast would work too, but (informally at
> > least) that acronym is also taken.  How about Group-Addressed
> > Multicast (GAM), Internet Group Multicast (IGM) or just Group
> > Multicast (GM)?
> 
> I think the original term used in rfc1112 is "Host Group Multicast",
> which would abbrviate to HGM.
> 
> Cheers
>         Toerless

For what it's worth, none of the new choices mentioned on the
list seem significantly better than ISM to me. If there was 
going to be a change (again),
I would suggest GSM (any possible three letter choice is undoubtedly "taken"
by some project somewhere...).

There is something to be said for "net-masking" for humans - having two
related acronyms be similar, but disjoint at the beginning or the end
(SSM vs ISM or SSM vs GSM, say), helps
the reader to remember both better. If, like GSM, the phrases behind the acronyms
are also parallel, so much the better.


                                   Regards
                                   Marshall Eubanks

 
   Multicast Technologies, Inc.
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