"Crypto-weak" as opposed to "crypto-strong", cryptographically strong. The guy was testing BSD random(), which I think is Yet Another Linear Congruential Generator. If you think an LC PRNG has cryptographic relevance, you are gravely mistaken.
For top of the line crypto, you are absolutely correct. For a learning resource, I disagree.
What's so hard about "crypto-related"? If you can't think of any relationship between the articles and cryptography (technical, social, political, whatever), don't forward them. If they had been about cryptoanalysis of random(), that might be relevant, though hardly ground-breaking.
The concept of testing a RNG's stabilty and operating characteristics is something which is directly crypto related. Much more so than pedophilia or alt.whatever.rainbow.......
Yes, I could do that if I were so inclined. I am not.
So I see. You're not willing to take it upon youself to mail copies to people who can't otherwise get them, but you're happy to inflict irrelevant material straight out of Knuth on people who could easily get it themselves. What *is* your rationale here?
To help those who don't have access to this material other than through e-mail. And no I am not going to create a list of people and manualy setup some form of sub-list to filter this stuff according to each individuals interest. I don't have the interest, time, or the information on each and every member of c-punks to carry this out.
The bottem line is it was crypto related, was in reference to source code, and therefore fit the charter of this group.
Source code, yes. Would you like to explain its relationship to crypto?
RNG's are commenly used in crypto, to understand the more compicated techniques one must learn the more mundane basics. My main rationale is that while I see lots of people making suggestions I dont see any of them actually carrying it out. In the whole time I have been on this list I have *never* seen referals to the newsgroups. I have seen a general trend to repost this material so that people simply have it right then and there instead of having to send a sub-group roaming around looking for it. Seems a much more labor saving system.
Eli ebrandt@hmc.edu