Re: Cypherpunk trends & visions

[hfinney@shell.portal.com (Hal Finney)]

I have a shorter-term focus than Nick's proposals for digital coupons
and cash.  Here's what would be on my cypherpunks wish list:

Improved remailers:  The ability to handle reply messages; the ability to
	register pseudonyms of the user's choice, which get mapped to
	a user-supplied encrypted remailing block (this is Eric Hughes'
	model); true Chaumian "mix" functionality, with message batching
	so that in-to-out mapping is lost, including message padding
	so all messages are the same size.

Remailer standards:  An ad hoc assertion of standard remailer commands
	which all our different implementations will support.  We could
	have a SIG just to discuss this.  I don't think it would take long.

Remailer proliferation:  Build remailer software into some widely used
	mail packages like elm, metamail (which provides MIME support),
	emacs, etc.

Digital cash:  We badly need some implementation to start playing with;
	some net-based game which uses the digital cash.  Digital postage
	stamps for the remailers.

DH:  I'd like to see more DH-based comm software so I can log in from
	home to my work or school computer and have an encrypted link.  I
	know we have a version for the Amiga; I'd like to see it for PC.
	I'd also like to see an email program which used DH so that
	there would be no danger of coerced key exposure.

Cryptophones:  PC/Soundblaster or Mac based encrypted comm software using
	14.4 Kbaud modems.

This is a fairly daunting list, of course, but perhaps we should re-orient
ourselves to be a working group more than a debating group.  Split off
sub-groups, get people to volunteer for each one, put one person in charge,
have him make weekly or monthly reports to the main group.

Hal Finney
hfinney@shell.portal.com