WD> That information is provided to my system by Janis' system. Right?
Yes, it is provided by a system operated by Janis. So...
WD> Janis and I have had this set-up like that for about 20 years. It has WD> always worked well, and it still does.
So... you connect to 1:261/38 through a privately arranged undocumented backdoor. The fact remains that 1:261/38 is not connectable using the information in the public nodelist. IMNSHO that is not operating "like a freshly oiled Swiss clockwork". Shooting the messengers will not make that message go away.