files (was: Re: dbts, etc.)

D. Porter dporter at denova.com
Tue Oct 27 09:44:23 PST 1998



Steve Bellovin (smb at research.att.com) wrote...

 >  . . . to trace the the perturbations caused to the system. . .
 > The more anonymity, and the more privacy cut-outs, the
 > harder this is. . .
 > To be sure, one can assert that the philosophical
 > gains -- privacy, libertarianism, what have you -- are
 > sufficiently important that this price is worth paying. . .

Steve, as you point out most of us are driven primarily by practical
concerns. This is a philosophy: pragmatism. Beyond mind exercise,
philosophy is valuable exactly to the extent it is practical.

DBS increases freedom. Increased freedom is practical because it reduces
risks -- of confiscation, imprisonment, and death -- and because it
usually increases efficiency. All of these pragmatic considerations seem
much more important than the ease of maintenance, at least to me.

Doug






More information about the Testlist mailing list