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I guess what I don't like about NATs is the mandatory enforcement in consumer networks because ISPs still only hand out one IP.

There's something wrong with the internet when two devices that want to talk to each other need to trick the NAT with a hole-punching server before they can communicate.

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> There's something wrong with the internet...

When you need an 3rd-party provider to "get in" the internet. FTFY.

How would it ever work any other way?

Someone needs to run the trunk lines, and you will always need to talk to these people to get yourself connected.

This is fixed in IPv6 although you still have to punch the hole due to the firewall.

But you can open a large range of ports to multiple devices. For a game console you can allow UDP 1024-65535 without issue.

And if you have multiple devices that use the same port you can open that port on each one. No need for an external server to look up what port the device can be reached on.

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