Message pools _are_ in use today!

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

At 4:37 PM 6/29/96, Hal wrote:
>From: ichudov@algebra.com (Igor Chudov @ home)
>> A nice, albeit quite expensive, way of pretection from traffic analysis
>> is to create a mailing list (or a newsgroup) and forward all messages to
>> all users of that mailing list or newsgroup. Of course, since messages
>> are encrypted, only the recipients will be able to decrypt them.
>
>This was discussed here several years ago, under the name "anonymous
>message pools".  Myron Cuperman, the operator of the extropia remailer
>implemented one, although I don't know if it is still running (I
>haven't gotten any mail from it for years).  It was basically just a
>mailing list specifically for this purpose, that you would use as your
>anonymous return address.  Of course a problem is that there may not be
>enough people signed up to provide much privacy protection.

The newsgroup "alt.anonymous.messages" has existed for a year or two, and
serves to be working reasonably well as a message pool. Check it out.

One will find numerous messages of the sort copied below. Having browsed
some of the less common newsgroups (and trolled, in my my earlier days), I
surmise that messages to nyms like "TheBear" are related to "support and
recovery" sorts of topics. (I mention this because this is a compelling
example of where anonymity is often sought; that people are using remailers
and message pools to communicate is interesting. When Louis Freeh claims
that remailers are only being used by hackers and Russian mafia arms
exporters, this is a counterexample.)

Here's just one such message, of several I saw this morning in
"alt.anonymous.messages". (Note that anonymous message pool sorts of
messages also appear directly from time to time in groups like
"alt.abuse.recovery" and that ilk.)

--begin copied message--

From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous)
Newsgroups: alt.anonymous.messages
Subject: TheBear
Date: 15 Jun 1996 14:26:12 +0200
Organization: Replay and Company UnLimited
Lines: 14
Sender: replay@basement.replay.com
Message-ID: <4pua54$gt6@basement.replay.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: basement.replay.com
X-XS4ALL-Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 14:26:17 MET DST
XComm: Replay may or may not approve of the content of this posting
XComm: Report misuse of this automated service to <abuse@REPLAY.COM>


-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
Version: 2.6.2
Comment: Processed by Mailcrypt 3.4, an Emacs/PGP interface

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4oQ9p+vmtsZ32dPBoG4aF7bvh5ejqwZSpvuKOpgt1M8SKbA+Nma+EclMzQ3us3Ey
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AABsOTd6WOMH8PWnKHuP7PMCflH2p+halmCDsn9ytmoG6uzrINHH/B8c7aW6c7xw
9nXbB+99xLldhAqyg1M/oKi4pjfJ8cuSonDxMPTP8rr49XTCFaiOuQ7JUe3MEaop
NIppnoBMrBvGRkKOgrYy
=lYbJ
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

--end copied message--

--Tim May

Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software!
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist         | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."