A few notes on the WIRED article (kudos)

[fergp@sytex.com (Paul Ferguson)]

I hope this goes over well. I found this article to be just what we need 
--- publicity. The kind that opens eyes. Tim, Eric and John -- I sat to 
thee, "How come this only happens in California?"  ;-)

- Snip, Snip ----- 8< ------

            From the "For What It's Worth Department"...
 
   A totally biased review of Steven Levey's "Crypto Rebels" article in
             WIRED, Volume 1, Issue 2, May/June 1993
 
 
I was a bit interested when a fellow cypherpunk mentioned that there
was a "decent" write-up in WIRED on the cypherpunk issues. Somehow, I
envisioned some sidebar mention. In these interesting times, any
mention of our efforts on the computer privacy frontier gets A-1
attention in my book. However, I was startled (and pleasantly
surprised) when I took a jaunt down to my local magazine-ary on
Broadway and found that my internaut campadres were on the cover, no
less. Golly gee, imagine that.
 
The cover itself conjures images of computer cultist symbolism. Tim
May, Eric Hughes and John Gilmore strike an interesting pose wearing
plain white, plastic carnival masks. The American flag held in their
hands is even more striking considering the topic at hand. (What the
hell does the Russian inscription mean?) I remember reading the post
announcement in the cypherpunks mail area about that meeting in
Mountain View. (If I had known that you western cypherpunks
would get all the press attention, I would've hopped a red-eye and
met you guys at Cygnus.) It's ironic that this topic built steam and
attention _before_ the "Clipper Chip" fiasco and still provides the
computer community with viable (perhaps not altogether proper)
alternatives. I knew it would. Ha.
 
Steven Levey has long since established himself as a solid, factual
and sometimes thought-provoking writer. His book "Hackers" is
considered by many professionals in the field to be the authoritative
work on the progression of computer hackers. Levey earns himself one
more brownie badge by bringing attention to the cypherpunk dilemma. The
article is thought provoking (read: it is not designed for
disinterested parties), accurate and for the most part, right on the
mark.
 
Key statements are sprinkled on the page margins, including "In the
Cypherpunk mind, cryptography is too important to leave to government
or even well-meaning companies. To insure that the tools of privacy
are available to all, individual acts of heroism are required." That
piece alone is enough to invoke thoughts of ...
 
A key profile is included about John Gilmore and his headaches with
the NSA, the Cypherpunk subscription mail group and several other
side-bar notes that lend some valuable credibility to the otherwise
incredulous auspices of the cypherpunk image.
 
Not only is this article well written, as far as information blurbs
go, this is good stuff, even for us neanderthals on the east coast.
In a broader aspect, WIRED is a magazine that deserves your attention.
Pick up this rag and give it the once-over. Somehow, I classify this
'zine as a combination of INFO World, The New Yorker and Mondo 2000.
Isn't that a draw? Humor and seriousness implied...
 
Paul Ferguson, Editor, Legal Net News

- Snip, Snip --- 8< -----

I loved the feel of the magazine, too. All recycled. Ain't that great?

Cheers.


Paul Ferguson                    |  Uncle Sam wants to read
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