It sounds like you're suggesting that a lot of system admin/developer types that were left in a room without adult supervision and, oops, the Internet! The tru

It sounds like you're suggesting that a lot of system admin/developer types that were left in a room without adult supervision and, oops, the Internet! The truth was that there was no lack of experienced architect/developer types at the time working on networking standards. The OSI model, for example, traces its roots back to 1977! The struggle was that the "adults in the room" were typically were older and held senior positions in large corporations and government agencies. The standards that they created were typically developed through a consensus protocol and by committee where the single biggest aim was to make sure that no company would gain or lose a competitive advantage based on the standard. These standards were always pitched as being just over the horizon and, if anything, did a lot of early damage by delaying rollout of simpler protocols. I personally won't ever get back the hours that I spent studying protocols that were never relevant and never would be.