From: Toto (from the thread "ONE MILLION CHILDREN.....") I can see that I'm going to have to lay in an extra supply of garlic and silver bulltets. I suspect that everyone on the CypherPunks list is either an employee of the NSA, or a member of the alleged 'Circle of Eunuchs'. In the words of the author of "Make BIG $$$", "Email everybody, and let Eudora sort them out." ..................................................... You're just tooooo funny, Toto. Fortunately you also have some agreeably accurate & serious things to say as well, such as: Perhaps if the 'experts', busy discussing highly-technical areas, were to take the time to educate those seeking to gain a wider knowledge of cryptography, then CypherPunks would have a broader base of active crypto-related postings. The more plants that you have in your garden, the less room there is for weeds. A broad base of different types of posters makes the list interesting; a serious consideration of the actual focal subject gives it credibility and respect. Of course, a forum is for conversation; some people who are extremely focused on their work don't want to talk all that much about it, and those who have a lot to say aren't necessarily engaged directly in the actual work involved. It's also much easier to make many small comments on a thread than to present a developed, coherent presentation of one's view. (I credit Tim May for often posting just such messages as these.) As a non-cryptographer my interest in the subject has to do with the role it plays in the context of maintaining/expanding "liberty" and of having tools to employ for privacy and independence from indiscriminate "regulators". Reading only about the code wouldn't keep me super-enthralled. But seeing the effects of it on all aspects of our regulated social existence, with the list as a starting point for understanding, is highly engaging. .. Blanc