Re: Message Havens

[Karl Lui Barrus <klbarrus@owlnet.rice.edu>]

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>Downloading the whole message base to scan for one's messages
>will place a massive load on net.resources, and probably
>a prohibitive load on most people's terminals.  

I disagree.  The only resource that will be hit is the message haven
(unlike say every computer in the world that carries the certain
usenet group you have chosen to use as a communications vehicle).
Geez, think of like a place that offers anonymous ftp.  It's resources
are hit, but I don't buy the "massive load on net.resources".

The only load I can envision being hit on a person's terminal is the
time it would take to browse all messages.  You have to read each
message and have your communications software log in a file, or
scrollback/record each one individually.  I mean, the info is already
coming to your computer, you just have to save it.  Maybe the haven
could offer a way to get all the days/weeks/whatever files in one big
chuck; this is clearly no worse than just ftp'ing a large file.

> This scheme should avoid this nescessity:

This scheme is precisely what I described earlier!  The two users
agree on what to name/tag the file, and that's how they get messages
to each other.  The problem is Bob can't just retreive that one file
(if he is concerned about traffic analysis), so he can get them all so
a watcher learns nothing.  You have suggested downloading a smaller
portion of the available message base instead of the whole thing.

>The gopherhole must be trusted not to divulge which posts came from
>who, and it's key must not be compromized.

Alice and Bob can get their messages to the haven via anonymous
remailers to avoid problem #1.  

I didn't envision the message haven even having a key.  It isn't
needed if they both are encrypting with the other person's key anyway,
so I'm not sure what problem #2 is.

Karl Barrus
klbarrus@owlnet.rice.edu

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