Nym use in the real world

[David Mandl]

At 10:01 AM 1/26/96, Eric Murray wrote:
>With the coming Internet restrictions and growing use of the
>net by LEAs, it's become obvious to me that I shouldn't post
>messages with my real name.  But I have some problems/questions about
>using a nym:

[...]

Very good points.  Just saying "use anonymity" is often a gross
oversimplification for several reasons.  One of the problems I've been
thinking about recently is that I may want only a special group of people,
and no one else, to know that I'm responsible for a post.  A nym won't work
in this case.

As has been pointed out here before, a lot of people are going to be
getting in trouble for things they posted to obscure newsgroups or mailing
lists four years ago.  How do I make sure that I get credit for something
I've posted, but avoid the Alta Vista police?  There are a few feeble
solutions, like:

h  w  t  w  s  t  c  b  s  f  w  A  V
i  o  h  a  o  h  a  e  e  o  i  l  i
d  r  i  y     e  n     a  r  t  t  s
i  d  s        y  '     r     h  a  t
n  s              t     c           a
g                       h
                        e
                        d

o.r..l.i.k.e..t.h.i.s

...but someone will undoubtedly find a way to search for these things
eventually, or they can just subscribe to the list!

Anonymity is a pain in the ass, frankly, which is why I've never used it.
True, I've never needed to post anything really sensitive, but going
through life as "Black Unicorn" (no offence, BU) is just an unacceptable
inconvenience as far as I'm concerned.  Sort of like having to live on the
lam, which I'm sure is no party.

It seems there are more and more situations where encryption and anonymity
aren't enough.  One obvious case is the web, where I may want to put
something of questionable legality on my home page.  There's no way that
crypto will render the laws irrelevant in this case.  Can I get an offshore
account and post the offending graphic there?  Yes, but it's a pain.  And
when the big net crackdown comes, I wonder whether the U.S. will pressure
other countries to participate and help them wipe out these data and gif
havens?

The net is moving farther and farther away from being a "Temporary
Autonomous Zone," meaning there are fewer and fewer pockets to hide or get
lost in.

   --Dave.

--
Dave Mandl
dmandl at panix.com
http://www.wfmu.org/~davem