smd@ebone.net (Sean Doran) writes:

> In the computer there is a process which translates network addresses
> algorithmically from "inside" ones to "outside" ones, rewriting only
> the IP addresses and nothing else.  "Network Address Translation" = "NAT".

Well...  Not just addresses.  Since the reason for NAT is that there
are too few "real" addresses in the first place, it also of necessity
changes port numbers to create the many-to-few relationship.

> My contention is that NAT-unfriendly protocols are broken,
> and should be fixed to use DNS names rather than IP addresses
> in the data stream.

This sounds utterly reasonable to me.  I've had my share of troubles
because of such misdesign, for instance in trying to get Kerberos to
work right on machines with several IP interfaces.

-tih
-- 
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to
pause and reflect.     --Samuel Langhorne Clemens (alias Mark Twain)