(fwd) I don't use PGP. (Was:I NUKED PGP.)

[Connie Sadler]

Subject: (fwd) I don't use PGP. (Was:I NUKED PGP.)
From: "Connie Sadler"@MR.STANFORD.EDU
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 10:28:00 PDT
A1-type: DOCUMENT
Posting-date: Wed, 14 Dec 1994 00:00:00 PDT

<Black Unicorn says:

<I'm a Mac user.

<MacPGP is a general nightmare.  For those of us who have shell accounts, 
<it is such a annoyance as to cause me to dislike using it at all except for
<the most extreme messages.

<I fear I am not of the ability, or of the spare time to work on making a 
<seamless application myself or else it surely would have been a project 
<on the top of my list.

<PGP needs to be a drop and drag application.  I want a box sitting on my 
<desktop, a box I can drag any document to and press two buttons after a 
<mouse click and drag and encrypt/decrypt/sign a message which can then be 
<copy/pasted to Zterm.  Currently the only thing that nears the 
<transparancy of this sort of thing is the bulky, annoying, poorly 
<packaged and massively oversized, not to mention rarely working, MacPGP 
<Kit.  It doesn't seem to work out to any time advantage when I factor in 
<the debugging and outright code crashes into my computation.

<The modular PGP project has been out there for almost a year.  Any 
<progress on this front?  Does anyone care?

<Now that some lists are beginning to delay or reject unsigned messages 
<altogether, I would really like to be able to reply to a simple note in 
<less than the 7 minutes it currently takes me.

<This is the single most problematic hitch in PGP.  It's not easy to use, 
<to install, or to apply.

<Every move toward transparent crypto simply serves to increase user base 
<and deter a prospective ban.  It should be in EVERYONE's interest to try 
<and push for a easier front end, while still allowing a flexible and 
<detailed set of advanced options for the expert user.

<Curve Encrypt is a classic example of simplicty and ease.  PGP front end 
<designers for the Mac should take its example.

<-uni- (Dark)
<Spelling errors disclaimed, I've been up for 30 hours.

I just have to say AMEN to this message. I LOVE PGP but agree with the
writer that until we make it easier to use (drag and click!), we're
losing many, many potential users out there. I, too, will keep my fingers
crossed. And who knows? Maybe one day, I'll develop enough technical
skill to do something about it myself - I'm working on it.

Connie