Re: Utility of Snake Oil FAQ

["Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>]

At 2:17 PM -0500 12/11/96, Jeremiah A Blatz wrote:
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>C Matthew Curtin <cmcurtin@research.megasoft.com> writes:
>> Got a bit of an update for everyone who was interested in the utility
>> of the Snake Oil FAQ. Tim May raised the issue that it seems likely
>> that a usenet FAQ will only reach people sufficiently clued to look
>> for a usenet FAQ, which probably means they're clued enough to already
>> know what's in the FAQ. I myself had this concern, but went ahead
>> taking everyone's input and working on it anyway.
>
>Good for you. I think Tim has largely overestimated the clue of the
>average FAQ-reader. I've learned quite a bit from FAQs. Besides,
>multiple distribution points for the same info are a Good Think, in
>that they increase exposure, and use different language to express the
>same things, thus allowing greater comprehension.

Careful. I didn't say precisely what Matthew said I said. My comment, from
some months ago, was, as I recall, that the people _most in need_ of
reading such a FAQ would probably be unreached by it. By "most in need" I
also meant the _developers_ of snake oil systems.

As a recent example, I rather doubt that the developers of the "virtual
one-time pads" and "really good Caesar ciphers" have seen the FAQ. Or, if
they have, that they understood the relevance for their own products.

The best "snake oil FAQ" is reading the first few chapters of, say,
Schneier. Those who read enough of Schneier are well-prepared to see the
flaws in "virtual one time pads," while those too lazy to bother are almost
certainly not likely to learn much from a FAQ.


I think it's fine that the authors of the Snake Oil FAQ generated it. To
each their own. My approval is not needed, as the Cyperpunks group is
neither a collective nor a democracy.

--Tim May



Just say "No" to "Big Brother Inside"
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