Paranoia Strikes Deep...

["L. Detweiler" <ld231782@longs.lance.colostate.edu>]

Hello, I have been hearing some rumors about the cypherpunks
being `penetrated' by some spies and areas of the Internet
(mailing lists, newsgroups, private mail, journal articles, etc.)
being targeted with `tentacle' infiltrations. I thought this was
kind of fascinating to contemplate how they would behave. It
seems to me that loyalty is very hard to judge by mere email
messages alone, and that these hypothetical spies might take that
to their advantage. Here are some of the things that either
cypherpunk loyalists (cyberanarchists) or cy{b,ph}erwonk spies
might say to gain credibility and further `intelligence' from
insiders:

- L.Detweiler is insane, has sent death threats, is behind
S.Boxx, is involved in cyberspatial guerrila warfare, is the
mastermind of a spy plot, etc. He is the only person in the world
who cares about pseudospoofing. (All the complete ad hominem
fantasy stuff).

- `T.C. May and E.Hughes and J.Gilmore are all outstanding and
upstanding net citizens, have never pseudospoofed or done
anything wrong, and are the target of an anonymous smear campaign
by terrorists.'

- `I have been to cypherpunk meetings and parties, and I have met
all the people who have been accused of being tentacles, and they
are all real. In fact, I saw their drivers licenses.' `Someone
accused of being a tentacle actually lives with me.'

- There are no conspiracies whatsoever going on inside the
cypherpunks, including drug use by `leaders' or pseudospoofing or
other illegitimate activities.

-  Lies are liberating. `We have a right to lie to the media and
other people through tentacles.' One can make a game out of
infecting respectable media outlets like Wired and NYT with
elaborate deceptions.

- Pseudospoofing is liberating. `You are only as good as the
number of identities you can project on the internet; this is a
feature, not a bug.' The Enders Game book (Orson Scott Card?) is
an example of the liberating effect of pseudospoofing on freeing
people from their arbitrary prejudices about human identity and
accountability.

- There's no big deal about black marketeering or tax evasion.
Everyone does it. It's a survival tactic in a brutal world of
corrupt governments and massive corporations out to oppress the
little guy. We are entering a New World Order where anarchy will
rule and all governments will crumble.

- Blacknet is a harmless and visionary cyberspatial experiment
done by T.C.May.

- `Please take these annoying discussions about secret
conspiracies elsewhere.'

Of course, if any of these statements are by the spies, they are
just trying to build up your trust so that they can betray you
later when they have the proper opportunity. Or, sometimes, there
is the dictum that `intelligence is more valuable than
liquidation' and they may continue to deceive you just for the
valuable intelligence indefinately.

* * *


Then there may be some `tentacles' out there that are being
driven by the counterrevolutionaries bent on destroying the
Cyberanarchist movement and interested in getting some of their
own propaganda out there. These would be indistinguishable from
cy{b,ph}erwonk loyalists.

- L.Detweiler is brilliant, has made stellar net contributions,
has never sent death threats, no evidence exists that he is
behind S.Boxx, he has spoken out against cyberspatial guerrila
warfare, is the mastermind of a new mailing list but talk of a
spy plot is preposterous, etc. He is one of many in the world who
cares very seriously about pseudospoofing as all his writing in
e.g. RISKS and CUD attests. 

- `Very little is know about T.C. May and E.Hughes and J.Gilmore
as far as their personalities, and in fact J.Gilmore has admitted
publicly to drug use, and all vehemently resist making
unequivocal public or private statements on pseudospoofing,
although they do seem to be the target of an anonymous smear
campaign by the anonymous person S.Boxx, but with some disturbing
elements of truth.'

- `I have never been to cypherpunk meetings and parties, and I am
suspicious of the behavior of many of the `people' L.Detweiler
has accused of being tentacles, because of the lack of verifiable
information and a sort of `cardboard cutout' flavor to their
personalities. There seems to be some desperate damage control
going on.'

- There seem to be some actual conspiracies going on inside the
cypherpunks, including drug use by `leaders' or pseudospoofing or
other illegitimate activities.

-  Lies are lies. `No one has a right to lie to the media or
other people through tentacles.' Anyone who makes a game out of
infecting respectable media outlets like Wired and NYT with
elaborate deceptions is malicious, depraved, and perverted.

- Pseudospoofing is perverted. Statements like `You are only as
good as the number of identities you can project on the internet;
this is a feature, not a bug.' are depraved and deluded. The
Enders Game book (Orson Scott Card?) is an example of the very
dangerous effect of pseudospoofing on manipulating people in
their assumptions and presumptions about human identity and
accountability, and for mind control and brainwashing.

- Black marketeering and tax evasion are evil. Though many
promote it, it is toxic to social harmony. Those that promote it
are all hypocrites who claim that they have found new societies
that are free of it, but have found only societies of poisonous
distrust and paranoia. The whole purpose of governments and
corporations is to serve people, and if they fail to do so they
need to be adjusted but not destroyed.

- `Please don't censor these fascinating discussions about secret
conspiracies and cyberanarchists.'


* * *

It's quite a pity that in Cyberspace, to borrow a phrase that is
rapidly becoming a cliche, no one knows if you are a spy. Perhaps
we can work together to build systems that minimize this kind of
rampant paranoia. It's really a shame that someone with a grudge
against any mailing list or its leaders could so disrupt its
smooth flowing operation with no repercussions. I have some ideas
for preventing this, and in fact I encourage anyone else who does
to join the Cy{ph,b}erwonks list and discuss these issues
associated with Electronic Democracy.

``The first casualty in war is the truth.'' There is a saying in
war, `shoot them all and let God sort them out.' Perhaps in these
turbulent times, this message represents a `list all the rumors
and let the People sort them out.' I hope the truth prevails in
Cyberspace as it does in the real world. Our own controversies,
such as those above, will serve as an interesting experiment.