Using crypto may be required to keep ya outta jail, given the guberment has gone so far low as to "route out this six year old sex pervert busy kissing the girls." (Quoted for emphasis.) I wonder when sexual harassment will become a sex offence. Are the red sashed sex cores of Orwell's 1984 around the corner? I wonder if he will need to register with the sheriffs office in any towns he moves into as a sex offender - or has that law not passed yet? Soon I believe our communications will be turned against us - as I am sure I will hear about this one in the future.... Crypto can help us from the all intrusive guberment - it is far to big. Hence a new project for us all: Multicast Crypto referred to as Electric Potatoes as mashed up potatoes are hard to put back together. Purpose: Already we are seeing problems for speech on the internet (see radikal postings - though they are a bit fruity IMHO.) And it sounds like the law in one country is going to be very interested in arresting people in another. Hence, perhaps we need a crypto system (including human procedures and fail safes) for community discussions. Crypto is very much one to one right now, but can we implement a crypto for wide distribution to a very defined set of people? This should be useful in commerce too... like CC of mail to others, etc. Problem Definition Time: Who will be responsible for allowing a member into the community? (And all the other trust issues...) The software to implement the community must be available on multiple platforms like UNIX, Windoze, Macintosh, NeXT, etc. How do we over come the problems of storage - should the messages remain encyphered at all times in local storage of a member in case of a knock on the door, requiring the user to use the software to read, write, store, and organize messages. Is it even possible to overcome the human turncoat factor? Can we protect them as well as us from coercian, black mail, seizure, or defection? Is this even possible, because we are looking for the freedom to speak, yet nobody will be able to hear us!!! ********** Method of discussion: Since we will all hopefully have many ideas and comments on this exercise,may I provide a protocal: Please have Project Electric Potatoes in the subject heading - some of us use the delete key quite freely and don't want to accidently remove your valued comments and ideas. Should the message contain a problem definition, please have Problem in the subject. Should the message contain an answer please have Answer in the subject. Should the message contain a rant, please have Rant in the subject. I leave it to the writer to include [CRYPTO] in the header.... Thank You All, and I hope we get a great discussion going on here.