Re: Senator, your public key please?

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

At 8:10 AM 5/18/96, t byfield wrote:

>        There's no reason that webs of trust of well-signed keys couldn't be
>very fluidly incorporated into patronage networks, for example, or that
>their incorporation would affect network dynamics in any notable way. One

Keys, key signings, and webs of trust can be used in all sorts of ways.

And I expect the "burrowcrats" will try to regulate the use.

Imagine, for example, if I use a "web of trust" to help me decide who's
trustworthy enough to negotiate the sale of my house to.

Further imagine that I want to see keys signed by Tom Metzger, my buddy
from the Aryan Nations. Guess what? No blacks will have their keys signed,
and hence I'll have to tell them, "Sorry, you're just not in my web of
trust."

(Now, this is a hypothetical, meant to show that use of a web of trust can
trigger such decisions, and could thus trigger legal challenges.)

The web of trust may not be transitive, but the "web of taint" may be more so.

New forms of blackballing, blacklisting, redlining, etc.

And I fully expect that who signs one's keys, and whose signatures are
found on one's keys, may become a political and legal issue in the coming
years.

What if, for example, Sen. Leahy _did_ end up in the web of trust for Aryan
Nation? Even if he never intended it, this could have some severe PR
repercussions.

An exciting new world we're entering.

--Tim May



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