some unspecified (non) protocols: rsync, openvpn, bitcoin

Unspecified "protocols", which are not really protocols, tend to require both ends to have the same implementation, often at a similar version.  Real protocols require both ends to speak the same specified protocol.  In real life there are often grey areas, but things like TCP, HTTP, and sort of SSH fit into this category.  

It can be surprising how widely-used unspecified non-protocols are.  Three examples for today: rsync, openvpn, and bitcoin.  By their nature, then, all ripe for replacement with something specified.

Re VPN protocols, the ipv6 stuff is specified but rubbish, and the WireGuard thing recently added to the linux kernel appears to be unspecified, tho it's probably less coupled to the whims of openssl than openvpn is.  

And I managed to get a 500 internal server error out of google's main search page in the process:


"This should never happen".

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