-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- This list appears to be going through some sort of crisis. Tim May has quit, others are threatening to quit, and the messages criticizing the list itself threaten to outnumber those on all other topics! Frankly, I don't get it. What's everybody so upset about? A few arguments, some bad manners? Can we afford to be so sensitive? Now, I admit I don't read every message posted here (who has the time?), but I read a fair sampling, and I haven't seen anything half as bad as what I face every day on the subway. At least on this list, nobody has ever pulled a weapon on me! Personally I don't understand why some people are so bothered by the noise here and elsewhere on the nets. Sticks and stones and all that, you know? But a number of people here have even suggested that the Cypherpunks list, at least in its present form, is near the end of its useful life. I would like to go on record as strongly DISagreeing with that suggestion. Sure, I wish we were making more progress faster, but I think we are doing better than many of us realize. The job is not an easy one, and in my experience, I have found that difficult jobs demand perseverance above all other virtues. However, it seems that every time a forum, list, newsgroup or whatever becomes too popular, it reaches a "critical mass" at which people start complaining that everything is ruined, and soon thereafter the forum splinters and/or switches to a moderated format. Thinking about the phenomenon, I came up with the following brilliant (ahem) generalization, which I humbly dub "mkj's law": FREEDOM + DIVERSITY = NOISE Where "noise" is defined as any behavior(s) which a significant portion of the group finds undesirable. The above law appears to apply not only to network forums, but equally well to other types of social groups. (Note for example that mkj's law is inextricably linked with the old amateur-radio principle, "One Man's Signal is Another Man's Noise".) Mkj's law has disturbing implications, in that "noise" (which is normally considered a Bad Thing) is shown to be an inevitable consequence of the combination of freedom and diversity (which are normally considered Good Things). Mkj's law also states that there are only two ways to reduce the noise in any group: (1) Crack down on freedom (impose controls on behavior, the job of police in the physical realm or moderators/censors in the informational realm); or (2) Crack down on diversity (usually by restricting group membership, or perhaps by other means such as strong charismatic leadership). Note that this "mkj's law" stuff is a first-draft, brand-new idea for me; I'm not taking a firm position, just soliciting comments. ObCrypto-Philosophy: Clearly, at the root of the Cypherpunks agenda -- or any pro-privacy agenda -- lies a presumption that freedom and diversity are Good Things, whereas "noise reducers" like censorship, prejudice, and intrusive law-enforcement are Bad Things. I share this presumption. But it might be an interesting exercise to ask: If we can't accept with good grace the current noise on the Cypherpunks list, how are we going to like real life in a global society where freedom and diversity have been greatly increased by "crypto-anarchy"? Will the "global village" fragment into isolationist cliques? Even sooner, will the Cypherpunks? --- mkj P.S. Since I don't recall posting my public key to this list before: - -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.6 mQCNAi3q+mcAAAEEAOKHMopu6yj57rtwamGwh79bpxAzcbysIJ17PNc/D902WEHG m81FyrcjZaWgj2jX+JYPKqPrOmy72arHJjP5wkAFd2VG5p+WdQjkwXtObOoJ5qfd l+twaRqZVvl4gDiBoFrdrwVSGxXGqAMLOP3VvcQk3uH4y6GmdF11Wd4tm8clAAUR tC5NYWhhdG1hIEthbmUtSmVldmVzIDxta2pAb2N0b2Jlci5kdWNrdG93bi5vcmc+ =Eb3a - -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBLvYFdl11Wd4tm8clAQH20AP9ESKpTtl3C926QDOzUZXISQLWDWY6hsxd 1i3g29cePDDfb29D4LweXp5GTJTpGwHE5saXpPuveFrsWUN8KUOBlJRG0g+Sj1JP ZR3QAb/hRlEJBoi7bgpZJQOijXdJIV2oevO5Q9CinRP56CEudCnAhi3xqX5dfMeL ikAwokXsB44= =Nl3X -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----