CDR: Re: would it be so much to ask..

[Ray Dillinger]

On Wed, 20 Sep 2000, Steve Furlong wrote:

>Call me a moron, but what do you mean here? I had figured that "A.
>Melon" was the nym of one individual, "Nomen Nescio" was the nym of one,
>probably other, individual, and so on. Are "A Melon" etc group nyms,
>like "Publius" of the US Federalist Papers? Does some anonymizer give
>the same name for everyone who uses it?

In the past, I have been Secret Squirrel.  I have the means to be 
A. Melon.  Usually I post under my True Name.  There is also a nym 
which is mine and mine alone, whose continuity I maintain using 
a PGP key that no one knowing my True Name has ever signed.  But 
there is not much continuity to maintain, since I have need of 
that nym very rarely.

Many remailers (almost all good ones, I think) use the same name 
on all outgoing posts.  On some of them, you can override it by 
including appropriate instructions in the last layer of the envelope, 
but it's rarely a good idea -- if you want hard anonymity, you are 
in the business of not giving any unnecessary clues. 

Judging from writing style and grammatical habits, I think there are
at least 3 "A. Melon"s on this mailing list.  But I could be wrong, 
and if I am, that's okay. 

				Bear

PS.  For bonus points, can anyone name the now-defunct remailer 
     whose default posting name was in fact "Publius?"