The document at the end of any URL could optionally supply a pointer to a
notification server.
When someone creates a link to the document, he could mail the server a
notification request in a form similar to:
!NOTIFICATION REQUEST: URL-UPDATE <URL> <address>
^ ^ ^
Request Current Who to Notify
Type URL when it changes
It is assumed that whoever maintains the document can update the notification
server. When a document moves, the notification server mails all the addresses
who want URL-UPDATE notifications a message like:
!NOTIFICATION: URL-UPDATE <URL> <URL>
^ ^
Previous URL New URL
Upon receiving notification, the receiver updates all of his documents to
reflect the change.
The advantage of such a system is that nobody has to waste time and bandwidth
testing all of their links, most of which would be just fine. Also, nobody is
_required_ to implement anything, and nobody gets sent anything they don't ask
for.
As the number of notification servers and receivers increases, Web documents
would become silently, transparently, more reliable.
</Matt>
Matt Timmermans | Phone: +1 613 727-5696
Microstar Software Ltd. | Fax: +1 613 727-9491
34 Colonnade Rd. North | BBS: +1 613 727-5272
Nepean Ontario CANADA K2E-7J6 | E-mail: mtimmerm@msl.isis.org