Tim May doesn't know anything about Onion Routers, Crowds, or any of the other new privacy technologies like Adam Back's prototype Eternity service.
Judging Tim May in this way seems rather unfair as I have no reason to believe you know any of this to be true, although your anonymity prevents me from knowing either way.
In truth, he has lost all interest in cryptography and now spends his time talking about guns and making racist comments.
True, Tim spends little time posting about crypto now, but maybe he feels he has said what he wants to, and moved on, maybe he`ll post about crypto again in the future, maybe not. If you don`t like his writing killfile him, or use the delete key, if you don`t like the content on the list now, write something yourself, start a thread you find interesting, do something to change the situation rather than bemoaning the state of the list.
He wonders why the cypherpunks list no longer attracts quality cryptographic ideas. He need look no farther than the nearest mirror.
People who have something to say about crypto will post here, look at the number of good cryptographers on the list and tell me where else you will find such an accumulation of talented thinkers and writers. Cypherpunks was never intended to be a pure crypto list anyway (as I see it), more of an applied crypto list discussing applications of technology as a defence of personal freedom, related issues will inevitably be discussed and that includes guns and "anti-discrimination" laws. If you don`t like the list, change it or leave, sci.crypt and sci.crypt.research are excellent groups on a more pure cryptography topic than cpunx, apart from the massive number of "where do I get PGP for my PC" questions on sci.crypt (sci.crypt.research is moderated and much lower traffic).
His violent rants and his off-topic, offensive posts have done more than anything to drive good people off the list.
"good people" as you see them presumably have the level of technical competence required to set up procmail, and put those who they see as "ranting" in their killfile.
The single best thing that could happen to the cypherpunks list (and the cypherpunks movement, for that matter) would be for Tim May to leave the list and disassociate himself from the cypherpunks.
Oh worthy anonymous one, please enlighten us with your next pronouncement on the best thing we can do for the movement.
He would be much more comfortable joining the KKK and the local militia.
How do you know Tim isn`t already a member of his local militia? Why do you feel Tims predisposition towards active methods of preserving his freedom rule out his participation in this group?
After him, Paul Bradley, William Geiger and Dimitri Vulis can follow.
Never let it be said that I post in my own defence against a silly flamebait message such as this, but I cannot see the writers problem with ignoring me if he doesn`t like what I post.
This will leave fine thinkers with good hearts like Adam Back, Bill Stewart, Wei Dai and others, people who still believe that cryptography can make a strong contribution to our freedom.
I still believe cryptography can make a contribution to freedom, but I am gradually persuaded more and more to the belief that other means of defence may become necessary as a last resort, and I believe in being prepared for all possible outcomes. Datacomms Technologies data security Paul Bradley, Paul@fatmans.demon.co.uk Paul@crypto.uk.eu.org, Paul@cryptography.uk.eu.org Http://www.cryptography.home.ml.org/ Email for PGP public key, ID: FC76DA85 "Don`t forget to mount a scratch monkey"