I do sympathize with L. Detweiler's concern about multiple identities. Human nature being what it is, if a series of posts appears quickly taking one view, people who disagree may think, well, I guess I'm in the minority on this, I won't make a stink about it. That's just part of the herd instinct, which, IMO, we all share. The lesson is that it is even more important on the net not to be afraid to take unpopular stands. You may find that there are more people who agree with you than you thought. In particular, although I think Detweiler's posts could be tightened up considerably, and I don't agree with his solutions in detail, I can understand his paranoia, having shared it from time to time. There are some possible technological solutions to some of the issues raised. Chaum, in his 1985 CACM paper, describes how "credentials" can be exchanged among various pseudonyms a person may have. A credential can basically be any statement by a 3rd party about a person. It could be a statement by a college that he had a certain degree. It could be a statement by a government that he had a driver's license. It could be a statement by a business that he was an agent for that business. The credential would be given to the person, then Chaum shows how it could be re-blinded and shown under other pseudonyms. The credential can be verified, but it can't be linked to the True Name or other pseudonyms of the holder. We could think about using something like this for reputations. Take Nick's question about how a new pseudonym could get through the filters. Maybe the person posts under his real name for a while, then some respected person is willing to give him a "valued poster" credential. He can re-blind this credential and submit it with posts he starts to make under his pseudonym. People will know that the pseudonymous poster is at least potentially capable of making sense, and give his words some weight. But there will be no connection to his True Name. (Of course, this could lead occasionally to a Dr. Jekyll who makes sensible and weighty posts under his own name, while under his Mr. Hyde pseudonym he rants and raves. But hopefully this would not happen too often.) Other credentials could be related to some of the other points Detweiler raised, such as list membership > some number of months. The point would be that these credentials are voluntary, used to get past people's filters, and that they retain poster anonymity while giving readers useful information about the poster. It's ironic that L. Detweiler, who has played a major part in spreading awareness of Cypherpunks technology through his widely read Privacy and Anonymity FAQ, is suggesting that people should be limited in their use of this technology. Still, the concerns he raises are going to be shared by many people, and we should try to be ready with technological solutions that are consistent with privacy protection. Hal Finney hfinney@shell.portal.com