Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I don't mind reading serious questions no matter how naive, provided that the questioner is willing to listen to the responses no matter how acerbic. You would have to have a pretty thick skin to post here frequently. ---------- From: Futplex[SMTP:futplex@pseudonym.com] Sent: Friday, November 03, 1995 2:30 PM To: Cypherpunks Mailing List Subject: Re: Many Topics are Appropriate for Discussion Here I have some not-so-hypothetical questions: Suppose I have serious and plausibly realistic aspirations to become an authority in some subtopic of cryptography, network security, etc. (sometime well into the next millenium). Am I more likely to learn and hone my skills by actively participating (sticking my neck out) or merely lurking indefinitely ? Regardless of the answer to the previous question, should the list suffer me my missteps and naivete ? I do not consider these questions rhetorical, and the answers are very important to me on a personal level. And now I believe I'll shut up for a while. -Futplex <futplex@pseudonym.com>