Adam Back wrote: This was an utterly fascinating post, if y'all don't mind my saying so. I certainly can't vouch for the details (or the theories), but whether any of the details are deliberate experiments on Dimitri's part or not, the totality of what has taken place would make an excellent source for a post-graduate study. Am I right? I would suggest, however, if you're looking for a likely candidate for really advanced social manipulation/experimentation, you should be looking at the list owner(s), not the gadflys. There's this silly theory some people have, that once in a while the little people (the good guys?) win enough points to set the bad guys back a ways. Not in 20th century Amerika. Read Carl Oglesby's article "Paranoia As A Way Of Knowing", and think: "Paranoia As A Way Of Knowing Who We Are." [much text deleted below]
It's occured to me recently that Dimitri's posts are not being read correctly, it is not the content which is the point, nor the superficial lack of crypto relevance. I await with interest the last phases of Dimitri's experiment, when the cypherpunks list becomes a moderated forum. My suggestions for interesting experiments during the moderated phase are: I hope Dimitri's selfless efforts in furthering understanding of DoS attacks on mailing lists is properly acknowledged when he publishes his findings on completion of his experiments. I also hope that Dimitri will document his recommendations for mailing list configuration and management in light of his experiments.