signing messages

17 Dec 2003

      -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Seems like one way to encourage the use of digital signatures is to
start forging messages from people who don't ordinarily sign their
messages. Necessity is the mother of invention, and all of that.

I finally started signing my messages on a regular basis as a result
of Detweiler forging a message which purported to be from me. On the
other hand, I think Tim has been the most frequent target of 
Detweiler's forgeries, and I don't detect much of a creep towards
signing messages on his part. 

Eric, would you mind clarifying the purpose of the "sign-or-delay"
rule? Last time this came up I assumed that it was to encourage 
folks who had 95% of the tools/initiative to start using crypto 
techniques on a day-to-day basis to get off their asses and do so;
but other people seem to have different ideas about the purpose(s)
of such a practice. 

I think it might be interesting to try the "sign-or-delay" rule on
a part-time basis - perhaps weekends only, or never on weekends, or
only during December, or whatever. To me, it seems useful as sort of
a "Great American Smoke-Out Day" for crypto; to get folks to go just
one day where they use crypto in a practical, applied way, to prove
that they can do it. What they do after that is their own business.

signing messages

Greg Broiles