Crypto Anarchy and Virtual Communities

[tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)]

At 4:15 PM 9/7/95, Duncan Frissell wrote:
>At 09:20 PM 9/6/95 -0500, Mac Norton wrote:
>>Well, scratch me deeply enough, I'm not sure I'd disagree
>>with Tim, "philosophically speaking."  The problem is, as
>>all the truly wise philosophers recognized, we must live
>>in the world.  And given the number of us who must do so,
>>that entails rules.
>
>That's what so nice about the nets.  You don't (won't) have to "live in the
>world" any more.  The creation of consentual halucinations (virtual worlds)
>allows you to "change the world" at will.
>
>And once the interface improves...
>
>Actually, the creation of separate "spaces" that can only be entered with
>your (each person's) permission will have a big impact on life in the real
>world.

I of course agree strongly with Duncan.

We don't often talk about this aspect, as it was all hashed-over a couple
of years ago, and most newcomers to the list do not seem as interested as
we were. (And, it has little to do with coding in C  :-})

Those interested might want to look at the very long chapter on "Crypto
Anarchy" in my Cyphernomicon, or my paper, "Crypto Anarchy and Virtual
Communities."

Or read "True Names" and "Snow Crash" and think about what happens when the
stuff we talk about is added. (Hint: Hiro Protagonist would not be "vastly
wealthy" in the Metaverse but poor in the Real World (tm).)

--Tim May

---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
Corralitos, CA              | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^756839      | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."