[aprssig] APRS-IS and metadata

[Nick VA3NNW]

Mr Lynn W Deffenbaugh wrote:
> Yes, anyone can put whatever they want in the comment section of THEIR 
> OWN packets.  IGates and digipeaters MUST NOT modify the packet except 
> as provided in the path section for their particular operations.  The 
> source, destination, and payload of packets must not be modified as 
> the packet traverses the RF and APRS-IS networks.

"A Modest Proposal"...   ;-)

Assuming adding this "metadata" would be damned difficult to add to ALL 
APRS-IS servers, especially in a back-compatible forward-compatible way 
with all existing igates and APRS-IS nodes and producers and consumers...

And assuming igates are NOT allowed to modify SRC/DEST/PAYLOAD (totally 
understood, breaks de-duping and looping controls)

... but assuming they CAN meddle with the "path" at least a bit...

Could we (ab)use something similar to the "q construct", add some "extra 
hops in the path honest", to say "I hopped via LoRA, and I hopped via 
frequency X and hopped via a spreading-factor of Y" and so on? Not only 
"I hopped via this igate and onto the internets"?

Is there a limit to the "max path hops" once you get onto APRS-IS 
BTW? On (AX25) RF the path very finite in length and even format of each 
hop, but on APRS-IS I'm less certain - I feel like the answer is YES 
there's a limit, but I can't recall how many might be "spare" in practice?

Nick VA3NNW wearing his horns

-- 
"Nosey" Nick Waterman, VA3NNW/G7RZQ, K2 #5209, IRLP #2410 on VE3RBM
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