Factoring challenges considered boring

V. Alex Brennen vab at cryptnet.net
Tue Sep 4 00:38:19 PDT 2001


On Mon, 3 Sep 2001, Tim May wrote:

> On Monday, September 3, 2001, at 05:55 PM, V. Alex Brennen wrote:
> >
> > I've started on the very beginnings of a GNU Distributed Computing
> > client to attack the RSA RC5 and factoring challenges.
>
> Jeez, why waste time on such an old-hat idea?
>
> I'm serious. The latest factoring and RC5 challenges do nothing new.

The goal is to develop an architecture to allow access to
collective processing power.  Hopefully, much like this
mailing list, it will drive the establishment of a sense
of community and serve to reinforce a developing culture.
The reinforcement of the idea of community computing,
networking, and information, resources can help drive a
desire for a greater realization of those things and the
development of supporting group of people for extensions
of those ideas.  For example, ideas like FreeNet, which
are derived from the cryptoanarchist school of thought.

So, the answer to your question is that it's interesting
to me and I'm the one doing the programming.  If you can
come up with something more interesting I'll probably be
happy to work on it.  But I'm not really interested in
padding the pockets of the Lime Group, LCC. and I'm buzz
worded out on P2P. What I like is the idea of trying to
revitalize the cypherpunk movement - even a very tiny
little bit.

I'm really very disappointed with the Individual
Sovereignty/Cryptoanarchy subculture lately.  It seems
to be running out of steam.  There seems to be very few
people working on interesting things.  Coderpunks is a
ghost town with occasional spam rolling through like
a tumble weed, and cypherpunks seems to be obsessed
with Jim Bell like a bunch of little girls over the
back street boys.

Is anyone else writing code?


	- VAB





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