Flow Rate Fairness: Dismantling a Religion

This paper argues that basing resource allocation fairness on flow rates is a broken ideology that is blocking progress. The issue is not some minor skirmish---resource allocation issues are central to all lists of outstanding problems with the Internet architecture.

The paper challenges those who continue with this ideology to first rebut Kelly's seminal 1997 paper that undermined it. Otherwise, continuing to use an ideology that has been dismantled by reasoned argument leaves the communications research community divided into religious sects, making a mockery of the scientific process towards consensus.