L. Det writes:
I for one never saw *that* announcement when I signed up! calling `pseudospoofing' `one of the `main goals' of cypherpunks software' sounds *criminal* to me. Or maybe I'm missing the point! I guess this is what anarchy really *is* all about!
It was one of the main reasons *I* signed up... we were working on a TV show about cyberspace, and Paco Nathan explained public key encryption, digital money, and nyms with reputations in his inimitably cheerful and energetic fashion for our cameras. The part he was most excited about (a part that still fascinates me no end) is the possibility of spawning new identities that can acquire reputations, property, prestige, ignominity, whatever, without the need to appeal to a government bureaucracy for validation. Furthermore, the whole notion that there is some kind of implied contract when you join a free mailing list completely absurd, second only to your notion that we are all pushing for the same political agenda (or should be) because we put our names in the same hat at toad.com. It just ain't so, and no amount of wishing will make it so. And, to cap it all off, I have had more external validation of the physical existence of the key members of *this* data space than any other international data space I participate in; in addition to numerous pictures, I've met a number of the folks, who have, in turn, met a number of the folks... cypherpunks is one of the meetingest mailing lists I've ever seen or heard of. Doug PS: the show never got edited, because Steve and I decided to set up io.com. -- ---------------- /\ Douglas Barnes cman@illuminati.io.com / \ Chief Wizard (512) 448-8950 (d), 447-7866 (v) / () \ Illuminati Online metaverse.io.com 7777 /______\