> Whilst this may be the best that one can do with current protocols, it
> seems to approach the problem from the angle.
>
> Rather than trying to force the client to use the server that you think
> would be best for it, it would seem better to provide data to allow the
> client to choose.
...
>
> David Robinson.
>
I'm going to float this idea because I thought of it, not necessarily
because I have thought it through . . . wouldn't this be the kind of
thing it would be nice if DNS could do for you? There's already a
round-robin feature in it which some people use for load balancing.
Letting people pick a mirror site without having to make an HTTP
connection at all seems like a related feature.
--Shel Kaphan