Human Error Cripples the Internet (1997)

Registries main purpose of existence is to be a single source of truth for the zone(s) they are responsible for...

That hasn't changed, though Network Solutions is now just a registrar, not a registry after Verisign sold it off. Verisign, however, held on to and still operates the registry for most of the TLDs NSI did, and a few new ones, as well as 2 out of 13 root servers (up from 1 out of 9)

When I was an undergrad you still had to write a letter to Jon Postel explaining why you thought you deserved a given domain name and what you planned to do with it.

On the one hand yes.

On the other isn't that just how humans are?

Before I was a programmer I trained as an industrial electrician - I don't really understand how truly complex the power grid is or the transport network or the global financial system or hundreds of other networks, my partner works in logistics (shipping i.e. boats on the water) - the complexity there is insane as well, on a surface level those networks are sorta understandable but the detail is fractal, the closer you look the more detail there is, there has to be a fundamental limit but no one human could master one of them in a life time never mind more than one.

So do I expect the person in the street to understand that the internet is composed of bailing wire, gaffer tape and RFC's dating back to the late 60's, not really, it would be unfair to expect them to understand it when I don't understand other networks (or even the internet if I'm truly honest - not all of it or even most of it, it is vast).

It doesn't mean I'm not interested though.

There has been a marked decline in the amount of complexity/detail you get in a mainstream publication about many topics, they've moved to a thoughts/feelings/opinion style of reporting over drier "just the facts" style, I don't know why but I imagine engagement online is better and that's bled into print but not a journalist.

I do know that I find print journalism (generally) far less useful because I like detail.

I think there's been a large difference in the tech-literacy of people since 1997. If you ask an average person what a "byte" is or what an "IP address" is, they'll have no idea. Sure, its not something that everyone would know about back then, but I think it's more likely the layperson would be able to understand that article

They’re the folks who have stuck to their guns and kept domain fees +2x

Any specific details stand out?

(Of the event, or the nightmares, at your discretion.)