Fees for delivery not set by standards committees

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 3:26 PM -0700 12/17/97, Steve Schear wrote:
>>On 17 Dec 1997 02:21:48 -0600, in local.cypherpunks you wrote:
>>Yes, but if you just phase it in over time, what benefit, if any, will
>>users see until hashcash is fully deployed.  Until that time, people will
>>still have to accept email without hashcash or risk losing important
>>messages.
>
>If I want to send an important message to you and I get a hashcash
>rejection reponse and I'm given a Web site where I can get a Java applet
>to create the hashcash, I'll do it.  We all know we must affix postage to
>our snailmail. Its time to embrace the postal system's paradigm and
>educate the reminder of the Net.  Those

This "We all know we must affix postage to our snailmail. " is misleading,
as there is no "must affix postage" ontologically wired into mail delivery.
Or package delivery. Indeed, package deliverers charge what the market will
bear, and prices move around as competitors jockey for market share.

If a private network decides to charge for packet delivery, then the price
will be what the price is, determined by a variety of factors. Ditto for
remailers.

The solution is not at the "international standards" level.

>All we need is a small, influential, group to sing the praises of
>hashcash.  I'm sure Declan and Wired will pick up the banner if what we
>come up with works.  After that IETF activity is a far gone conclusion.

"Far gone" is probably correct. Foregone is not.

I doubt that puff pieces in "Wired" will do much. And all those cover
stories showing Jaron Lanier and his dreadlocks jacking into virtual
reality did exactly what for VR, besides selling some magazines?

--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."