A new Request for Comments is now available in online RFC libraries. BCP 17: RFC 2219: Title: Use of DNS Aliases for Network Services Author: M. Hamilton, R. Wright Status: Best Current Practice Date: October 1997 Mailbox: m.t.hamilton@lut.ac.uk, wright@lbl.gov Pages: 8 Characters: 17858 Updates/Obsoletes: None URL: ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc/rfc2219.txt It has become a common practice to use symbolic names (usually CNAMEs) in the Domain Name Service (DNS - [RFC-1034, RFC-1035]) to refer to network services such as anonymous FTP [RFC-959] servers, Gopher [RFC-1436] servers, and most notably World-Wide Web HTTP [RFC-1945] servers. Although this approach has been almost universally adopted, there is no standards document or similar specification for these commonly used names. This document seeks to rectify this situation by gathering together the extant \'folklore' on naming conventions, and proposes a mechanism for accommodating new protocols. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. This announcement is sent to the IETF list and the RFC-DIST list. Requests to be added to or deleted from the IETF distribution list should be sent to IETF-REQUEST@IETF.ORG. Requests to be added to or deleted from the RFC-DIST distribution list should be sent to RFC-DIST-REQUEST@ISI.EDU. Details on obtaining RFCs via FTP or EMAIL may be obtained by sending an EMAIL message to rfc-info@ISI.EDU with the message body help: ways_to_get_rfcs. For example: To: rfc-info@ISI.EDU Subject: getting rfcs help: ways_to_get_rfcs Requests for special distribution should be addressed to either the author of the RFC in question, or to admin@DS.INTERNIC.NET. Unless specifically noted otherwise on the RFC itself, all RFCs are for unlimited distribution. Submissions for Requests for Comments should be sent to RFC-EDITOR@ISI.EDU. Please consult RFC 1543, Instructions to RFC Authors, for further information. Joyce K. Reynolds and Alegre Ramos USC/Information Sciences Institute