Updating the white bit

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 9:03 AM -0700 11/30/97, Anonymous wrote:

>Anonymous <nobody@REPLAY.COM> wrote:

>>Cypherpunk technologies will be a major force to eliminate racism.
>>With privacy protected transactions, the color of a person's skin,
>>his religion and his ethnicity are no longer apparent.  People will
>>be able to succeed on merit - and not the "good old boys" definition
>>of merit, where somehow only white males seem to have what it takes.
>
>White males are a minority group.  Also, I believe you are
>overestimating the effects of racism when it comes to hiring talented
>technical professionals.  If not, there is a tremondous arbitrage
>opportunity out there.
>
>Monty Cantsin
>Editor in Chief

And the original comment above, that cypherpunk technologies will be a
major force to eliminate racism is only part of the picture....the
technologies also allow race to be considered as participants choose.

There is no reason the Chaumian ideas of credentials, usually with the
example of "age credentials," cannot be trivially extended to race or
gender or whatever credentials. As I wrote in an article which may
(someday) see print in a book about "true names":

"A "politically incorrect" usage of these virtual communities is to use
"race bits" to bar membership by certain races in such communities. This
can even be done without violating the protection of a nym, using the idea
of a "credential without identity." For example, the Aryan Cybernation
could demand that a credential be displayed showing one to be a Caucasian.
Ironically, an equivalent example, but one which is deemed politically
correct by many, is the example of "women-only" forums on the Net. In this
case, a woman could gain access to a women-only forum by demonstrating
possession of a credential with the appropriate gender bit set. (At the
simplest level, this can be done by having other women "vouch" for a
candidate, digitally signing a statement which the candidate presents. A
more robust system, with less opportunity for false use or false transfer
(perhaps to a male, horrors!) would be to implement Chaum's credentials
without identity scheme. But the point is to show how virtual communities
can establish their own access rules and their own enforcement mechanisms."

--Tim May


The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^2,976,221   | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."