Re: I'm leaving cypherpunks

["W. Kinney" <kinney@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>]

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I know I'm just a silly lurker, but I couldn't help but comment on this
one...

T. William Wells writes:

> Privacy is a *social* phenomenon, not a technical one. There is
> no sense in creating tools for privacy unless one also works for
> a society in which the deployment of these tools makes sense.

I don't agree with everything that Bill said, but this here really hits
the mark. And the place where the social agenda of the cypherpunks is
most truly reflected is in how people interact with each other on the list.

I find it incredibly ironic that Bill Wells, not too long ago, got
roundly pasted by Detweiler over his practice of keeping track of True
Names on ASAR, and wrote convincinly in defense of his policies to the
'punks.

I dropped him some e-mail at the time to tell him that there were actually
quite a few level heads around here, and that it seemed to me that the
'punks and ASAR were natural allies. Here is this guy running an anon
service on the net that actually means something vital to a lot of people
who don't have much in their lives that they feel they CAN count on, and
running it well. Here's a place where all this lovely talk could be
put to use where it counts. 

I don't have the expertise to do the kind of things this guy needs, but I've
been reading ASAR frequently of late -- all of you should be too, and
thinking about what anonymity is doing for the people who post there.

He got absolutely zip out of his association with the cypherpunks. And
we all passed up a terrific opportunity to be of real use to the world. Or
hasn't that occurred to anyone but me? 

Good job, folks. And Bill, sorry to see you go.


                                -- Will





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