I think that the Clipper system has it's heart in the right place, but that it still has quite a few problems in implimentation. The keys to the system are kept separate, but NEVER is anything competely safe or foolproof. The keys, once used, have been exposed to about 10-15 different officials who, at their own leisure, may make a copy of the key and use it. Every time a key is used, more people have the opportunity to get it. After 800 wiretaps, the system is virtually useless. Through the use of Clipper and other various technologies, the US government is trying to hedge its way into control of the Net. This is not neccesarily a good thing. I think that the Net should have its own system of governemt: common sense. There would be no "President". There would only be a "Congress" of the people, which would include everyone. It could be set up as a newsgroup, or something. The use of keyed signatures would come in handy so that people would not be able to "stuff" the "votes", etc. I think it would be an interesting experiment. The "net.gov" would have its own electronic embassy, and the indivdual world governments would not be able to "force" their will upon everyone. The problem with a government making laws against certain on-line actions is that not all people are actually located in that country. The whole thing gets messier from there. A net.gov would solve a lot of problems. Any ideas? (I admit, it's not too appropriate, but I decided to get the discussion going. :) ) - DW - wallace@cs.widener.edu -- Sig of the Day -- Dennis.S.Wallace@cyber.widener.edu "Who the hell is Cthulu?" - Mark Schroy