CP uses for the PGP 5.0 source

[Steve Schear <azur@netcom.com>]

With the on-line availability of PGP 5.0 source code expected any day,
perhaps the group should consider what CP goals can now be made practical.
Hopefully, PGP will not object to CP uses.  I submit the following as CP
projects which could be substantially eased by the source code:

EMAIL PLUG-INS
PGP 5.0 contains some very good code examples for creating email plug-ins
for Microsoft Exchange for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft Outlook
for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, Eudora Pro/Light for Windows 95, Windows
NT 4.0, Macintosh, Claris Emailer for Mac only.  For cross-platform ease, I
suggest we tackle the Eudora emailers, which have a well defined API, first.

1. Remailer:  One reason remailers haven't been as popular as we've hoped
is the need to operate separate, sometime difficult to use, remailer client
software.  By integrating these and other functions into plug-ins, creation
of persistant identities and integration with key generation and management
can be simplified.

2. Digital postage: CPs can gain the high-ground in the battle for handling
the SPAM problem by offering plug-ins which enforce restrictions on
incoming mail using digital postage.  Two postage approaches have been
discussed on the CP lists: ecash and hashcash.  I suggest that the plug-ins
offer both d-postage forms.

Hashcash is eligent in its simplicity and its lack of a required central
clearing facility. Hascash-based d-postage could also seed the development
of commercial distributed computing Net industry, as SPAMers elect to
purchase hashcash rather than generating it themselves-the idea isn't to
eliminate SPAM, just place it on similar economic footing with junk
snailmail. Adam Back has already done a considerable amount of
investigation of ways to implement hascash (See
http://www.dcs.ex.ac.uk/~aba/hashcash/).

ECash could really supply an economic shot in the arm for remailers, making
possible commercial (read profitable) remailers.  It will also offer a
ready-made market for accountless ecash, which will be available soon.
Jeremey Barrett's higher level ecash API should greatly simplify ecash
integration.

--Steve


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