Cypherpunks, I was initially dismissive of the various calls by members of this List to censor the Net in various ways: - to protect children - to stop illegal posts - and even to better ensure that children get exposed to alternative views. (As a Adept of Cthulhu, I certainly feel it is my right to demand "fair access" to the children of Xtians and other such ilk. By not being given a chance of accepting Cthulhu into their hearts--literally--they are being condemned to being consumed as a light snack by the Elder Ones. This is just not fair to the children. Denying them access to salvation is a form of child abuse, and must be stopped. Raids by the BATF against anti-Cthulhu stronghold would be a good start....Cthulhu _likes_ the smell of burning children!) Anyway, the chorus of arguments for censorship here echoes the discussion going on on the Net as a whole. Very disturbing that so many Cypherpunks are being drawn in by these specious arguments. What version of our list have they been reading? Centralized control of the Net is neither advisable nor possible. "Not advisable" becuase then we'd have every special memetic interest group in the world lobbying for sanctions against their rivals, for more support for their particular views, and we'd have cops busting down doors. "Not possible" because the Net in its current form is world-wide in scope, with the U.S. only being currently the de facto nexus of activity. This will not be the case in 10 years, perhaps even in 5 years. For U.S. laws to control the Net is foolishly impractical. And strong crypto makes all this moot, eventually. Data havens, full pseudonymous remailers (two generations beyond today's flaky, student-run experiments), and "fortress crypto" (the bane of law enforcement) will make attempts to control who reads what moot. Your ideas, pro- or anti-Christian, pro- or anti-Muslim, will not be won by regulating the Net. And Cthulhu will have the last laugh. --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."