Yes, security _is_ important; admins should be able to enable/disable any services without being chided for being paranoid. But when computers are connected to the Internet, admins must accept the fact that their computers now have a degree of public exposure and that some of the public might be interested in what's out there. The reasons for interest are also not always because someone wants to break into a system.
I think that even if it were impossible to break into any system, people would still become angry when somebody did a portscan, ping, or whatever. Look at the standard reaction to someone doing a VERSION on somebody on IRC; anger, hate, and suspicion.
One important difference between the physical world of commerce and the internet world of e-commerce is that in the physical world many businesses in different cities, states, and countries share the same business name or have names that are very similar. Most business owners do not do this to deceive customers, but instead choose names that sound appealing for their particular product or service -- and since many people find the same things appealing, there is repetition. In the physical world (except for large or multinational companies), this is not a problem because customers usually want to do business with nearby companies and are not even aware of competing businesses in far away locations, so there is no overlap. Since the internet changes the world from many different areas into just one location, this problem of "you stole my name" has developed. I think that the "first come, first served" approach for domain names is the best solution for this problem provided that the domain name is actually being used (and not just held for possible re-sale), and that it is not being used to deceive customers into thinking that the site really IS another company.
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Yes, security _is_ important; admins should be able to enable/disable any services without being chided for being paranoid. But when computers are connected to the Internet, admins must accept the fact that their computers now have a degree of public exposure and that some of the public might be interested in what's out there. The reasons for interest are also not always because someone wants to break into a system.
I think that even if it were impossible to break into any system, people would still become angry when somebody did a portscan, ping, or whatever. Look at the standard reaction to someone doing a VERSION on somebody on IRC; anger, hate, and suspicion.
One important difference between the physical world of commerce and the internet world of e-commerce is that in the physical world many businesses in different cities, states, and countries share the same business name or have names that are very similar. Most business owners do not do this to deceive customers, but instead choose names that sound appealing for their particular product or service -- and since many people find the same things appealing, there is repetition. In the physical world (except for large or multinational companies), this is not a problem because customers usually want to do business with nearby companies and are not even aware of competing businesses in far away locations, so there is no overlap. Since the internet changes the world from many different areas into just one location, this problem of "you stole my name" has developed. I think that the "first come, first served" approach for domain names is the best solution for this problem provided that the domain name is actually being used (and not just held for possible re-sale), and that it is not being used to deceive customers into thinking that the site really IS another company.