DNS: A Replacement for Finger

The proposal uses DNS TXT records as a lightweight way to publish personal status information, echoing finger’s simple, text-based lookups. Bender argues DNS is distributed, routinely maintained, and accessible through ordinary tools such as dig, making it useful for occasional status updates without a dedicated service. GalaxyNova likes the prospect of checking what someone is doing without loading a JavaScript-heavy site, while another commenter sees potential for collaborative personal publishing. Others are less convinced: one says the real challenge is finding a purpose for finger, not another channel for personal information, and another notes that DNS updates may remain stale at recursive resolvers until a record’s TTL expires. Low TTLs could help, Bender replies, though DNS management access can also make frequent updates inconvenient.

Commenters divide over DNS’s suitability and the broader value of reviving finger. One warns that using DNS for personal content could invite censorship or stricter controls on infrastructure intended for technical data. Others point to large TXT records’ potential for DNS amplification attacks, while commenters debate whether spoofing is mainly a protocol flaw or a failure by ISPs to filter traffic properly. Privacy concerns also surface: a commenter recalls that finger exposed personal details and was involved in a worm, though they see similar vulnerabilities persisting in modern software. Practical access is another sticking point: several users report the site fails in their browsers, and commenters disagree over whether a terminal-based interface is accessible enough for phones.