Given that .local is reserved for Multicast DNS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.local#Multicast_DNS_.28mDNS.29_standard <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.local#Multicast_DNS_.28mDNS.29_standard> which is usually resolved by a response by the host in question to a multicast query, if the host is tagged "dialup", it seems to me that it should not be an error (i.e. not of itself cause xymonnet's status to go yellow). If an MDNS name isn't resolvable, and the host is tagged as dialup...heck, it's probably perfectly normal. When my laptop (named "lapple") is at home, lapple.local resolves; when it isn't, it doesn't resolve*.
In other words, I'm asking for a special case of treating unresolvable the same as unreachable only when all of three conditions apply: name has 0.0.0.0 in hosts.cfg (external resolution); name ends in .local; "dialup" tag present. A fourth condition - that xymonnet was run with the --no-ares option (or building without c-ares support, I suppose) could also be applied, in the non-recommended case of someone having .local resolved by an internal unicast DNS server.
- something might be responding on its behalf, but that's not the norm.