-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Peter wrote:

The cypherpunks mailing list is not an organization. There is no membership list, there are no officers. There are no dues, no organizational hierarchy. There is no agreed set of aims, purposes, or activities. There is no property, and no post office address.

But the idea that people who exchange ideas on the list hold physical meetings all over the world (attended by non-posters) and choose to come together under the word "Cypherpunks" really calls to mind the phrase "autonomous decentralized network". Which, if you can believe the RAND Corporation, is apparently where it's at... Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy John Arquilla, David Ronfeldt (editors) free online pdf: http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1382/ Summary: "The fight for the future is not between the armies of leading states, nor are its weapons those of traditional armed forces. Rather, the combatants come from bomb-making terrorist groups like Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, or drug smuggling cartels like those in Colombia and Mexico. On the positive side are civil - -society activists fighting for the environment, democracy and human rights. What all have in common is that they operate in small, dispersed units that can deploy anywhere, anytime to penetrate and disrupt. They all feature network forms of organization, doctrine, strategy, and technology attuned to the information age. And, from the Intifadah to the drug war, they are proving very hard to beat." Note their interesting (and vital) distinction between criminal networks and those "on the positive side". God knows I don't speak for anyone here but myself, but in the best of all (im?)possible worlds, those interested in protecting privacy and freedom through cryptography belong right at the heart of that side of the continuum. Whether or not any of us individually can be successful at being perceived that way remains to be seen. There's a lot more that ought to be said on this, any thoughts? Something to keep in mind, at any rate. ~Faustine. *** Our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty. - --Samuel Adams -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: Hush 2.1 Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com wl4EARECAB4FAjxDdhAXHGZhdXN0aW5lLkBodXNobWFpbC5jb20ACgkQGwpHwwWoj8Xv wgCeM+kLnphQdPYKiNq0yc2EXJXmhucAn1ZH4t5kH5sQDD9pXjqs9LI0/Ln6 =8MD1 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----