Given that the cypherpunks are limited to text lately, it might be interesting to convert our mailing list into a version of Ted Nelson's Xanadu Hypertext system. He had some plan where people would pay the author several coins for the priviledge to reading their text. This could have several advantages. 1) People would quit posting random stuff because they knew that it would dillute their "brand name" and cause people not to buy their next posting. 2) People would have an incentive to contribute to the group because they would start running out of cash if they didn't say something valuable. Of course there are downsides to this. Posters like Sternlight might find themselves unread. Or neo-Sternlights might be rewarded for the controversy they generate by attracting high readership. The need to post or run out of money would discourage low-volume neophiles and those without hours of idle time to burn. -Peter