diff --git a/02-MFAQ/02-MFAQ.md b/02-MFAQ/02-MFAQ.md index 9eb50ba..d95c9f4 100644 --- a/02-MFAQ/02-MFAQ.md +++ b/02-MFAQ/02-MFAQ.md @@ -1,214 +1,221 @@ -2. MFAQ--Most Frequently Asked Questions +Most Frequently Asked Questions +============ + +##2.1. copyright + +THE CYPHERNOMICON: Cypherpunks FAQ and More, Version 0.666, +1994-09-10, Copyright Timothy C. May. All rights reserved. +See the detailed disclaimer. Use short sections under "fair +use" provisions, with appropriate credit, but don't put your +name on my words. - 2.1. copyright - THE CYPHERNOMICON: Cypherpunks FAQ and More, Version 0.666, - 1994-09-10, Copyright Timothy C. May. All rights reserved. - See the detailed disclaimer. Use short sections under "fair - use" provisions, with appropriate credit, but don't put your - name on my words. +##2.2. SUMMARY: MFAQ--Most Frequently Asked Questions + +Main Points + +- These are the main questions that keep coming up. Not + necessarily the most basic question, just the ones that get + asked a lot. What most FAQs are. +- Connections to Other Sections +- Where to Find Additional Information + - newcomers to crypto should buy Bruce Schneier's "Applied + Cryptography"...it will save many hours worth of + unnecessary questions and clueless remarks about + cryptography. + - the various FAQs publishe in the newsroups (like sci.crypt, + alt.security.pgp) are very helpful. (also at rtfm.mit.edu) +- Miscellaneous Comments + - I wasn't sure what to include here in the MFAQ--perhaps + people can make suggestions of other things to include. + - My advice is that if something interests you, use your + editing/searching tools to find the same topic in the main + section. Usually (but not always) there's more material in + the main chapters than here in the MFAQ. - 2.2. SUMMARY: MFAQ--Most Frequently Asked Questions - 2.2.1. Main Points - - These are the main questions that keep coming up. Not - necessarily the most basic question, just the ones that get - asked a lot. What most FAQs are. - 2.2.2. Connections to Other Sections - 2.2.3. Where to Find Additional Information - - newcomers to crypto should buy Bruce Schneier's "Applied - Cryptography"...it will save many hours worth of - unnecessary questions and clueless remarks about - cryptography. - - the various FAQs publishe in the newsroups (like sci.crypt, - alt.security.pgp) are very helpful. (also at rtfm.mit.edu) - 2.2.4. Miscellaneous Comments - - I wasn't sure what to include here in the MFAQ--perhaps - people can make suggestions of other things to include. - - My advice is that if something interests you, use your - editing/searching tools to find the same topic in the main - section. Usually (but not always) there's more material in - the main chapters than here in the MFAQ. +##2.3. "What's the 'Big Picture'?" + +- Strong crypto is here. It is widely available. +- It implies many changes in the way the world works. Private + channels between parties who have never met and who never + will meet are possible. Totally anonymous, unlinkable, + untraceable communications and exchanges are possible. +- Transactions can only be *voluntary*, since the parties are + untraceable and unknown and can withdraw at any time. This + has profound implications for the conventional approach of + using the threat of force, directed against parties by + governments or by others. In particular, threats of force + will fail. + - What emerges from this is unclear, but I think it will be a + form of anarcho-capitalist market system I call "crypto + anarchy." (Voluntary communications only, with no third + parties butting in.) - 2.3. "What's the 'Big Picture'?" - 2.3.1. Strong crypto is here. It is widely available. - 2.3.2. It implies many changes in the way the world works. Private - channels between parties who have never met and who never - will meet are possible. Totally anonymous, unlinkable, - untraceable communications and exchanges are possible. - 2.3.3. Transactions can only be *voluntary*, since the parties are - untraceable and unknown and can withdraw at any time. This - has profound implications for the conventional approach of - using the threat of force, directed against parties by - governments or by others. In particular, threats of force - will fail. - 2.3.4. What emerges from this is unclear, but I think it will be a - form of anarcho-capitalist market system I call "crypto - anarchy." (Voluntary communications only, with no third - parties butting in.) - - 2.4. Organizational - 2.4.1. "How do I get on--and off--the Cypherpunks list?" - - Send a message to "cypherpunks-request@toad.com" - - Any auto-processed commands? - - don't send requests to the list as a whole....this will - mark you as "clueless" - 2.4.2. "Why does the Cypherpunks list sometimes go down, or lose the - subscription list?" - - The host machine, toad.com, owned by John Gilmore, has had - the usual problems such machines have: overloading, - shortages of disk space, software upgrades, etc. Hugh - Daniel has done an admirable job of keeping it in good - shape, but problems do occur. - - Think of it as warning that lists and communication systems - remain somewhat fragile....a lesson for what is needed to - make digital money more robust and trustable. - - There is no paid staff, no hardware budget for - improvements. The work done is strictly voluntarily. - 2.4.3. "If I've just joined the Cypherpunks list, what should I do?" - - Read for a while. Things will become clearer, themes will - emerge, and certain questions will be answered. This is - good advice for any group or list, and is especially so for - a list with 500 or more people on it. (We hit 700+ at one - point, then a couple of list outages knocked the number - down a bit.) - - Read the references mentioned here, if you can. The - sci.crypt FAQ should be read. And purchase Bruce Schneier's - "Applied Cryptography" the first chance you get. - - Join in on things that interest you, but don't make a fool - of yourself. Reputations matter, and you may come to regret - having come across as a tedious fool in your first weeks on - the list. (If you're a tedious fool after the first few - weeks, that may just be your nature, of course.) - - Avoid ranting and raving on unrelated topics, such as - abortion (pro or con), guns (pro or con), etc. The usual - topics that usually generate a lot of heat and not much - light. (Yes, most of us have strong views on these and - other topics, and, yes, we sometimes let our views creep - into discussions. There's no denying that certain - resonances exist. I'm just urging caution.) - 2.4.4. "I'm swamped by the list volume; what can I do?" - - This is a natural reaction. Nobody can follow it all; I - spend entirely too many hours a day reading the list, and I - certainly can't follow it all. Pick areas of expertise and - then follow them and ignore the rest. After all, not seeing - things on the list can be no worse than not even being - subscribed to the list! - - Hit the "delete" key quickly - - find someone who will digest it for you (Eric Hughes has - repeatedly said anyone can retransmit the list this way; - Hal Finney has offered an encrypted list) - + Better mailers may help. Some people have used mail-to-news - systems and then read the list as a local newsgroup, with - threads. - - I have Eudora, which supports off-line reading and - sorting features, but I generally end up reading with an - online mail program (elm). - - The mailing list may someday be switched over to a - newsgroup, a la "alt.cypherpunks." (This may affect some - people whose sites do not carry alt groups.) - 2.4.5. "It's very easy to get lost in the morass of detail here. Are - there any ways to track what's *really* important?" - - First, a lot of the stuff posted in the Usenet newsgroups, - and on the Cypherpunks list, is peripheral stuff, - epiphenomenal cruft that will blow away in the first strong - breeze. Grungy details about PGP shells, about RSA - encryption speeds, about NSA supercomputers. There's just - no reason for people to worry about "weak IDEA keys" when - so many more pressing matters exist. (Let the experts - worry.) Little of this makes any real difference, just as - little of the stuff in daily newspapers is memorable or - deserves to be memorable. - - Second, "read the sources." Read "1984," "The Shockwave - Rider," "Atlas Shrugged," "True Names." Read the Chaum - article on making Big Brother obsolete (October 1985, - "Communications of the ACM"). - - Third, don't lose sight of the core values: privacy, - technological solutions over legal solutions, avoiding - taxation, bypassing laws, etc. (Not everyone will agree - with all of these points.) - - Fourth, don't drown in the detail. Pick some areas of - interest and follow _them_. You may not need to know the - inner workings of DES or all the switches on PGP to make - contributions in other areas. (In fact, you surely don't.) - 2.4.6. "Who are the Cypherpunks?" - - A mix of about 500-700 - + Can find out who by sending message to majordomo@toad.com - with the message body text "who cypherpunks" (no quotes, of - course). - - Is this a privacy flaw? Maybe. - - Lots of students (they have the time, the Internet - accounts). Lots of computer science/programming folks. Lots - of libertarians. - - quote from Wired article, and from "Whole Earth Review" - 2.4.7. "Who runs the Cypherpunks?" - - Nobody. There's no formal "leadership." No ruler = no head - = an arch = anarchy. (Look up the etymology of anarchy.) - - However, the mailing list currently resides on a physical - machine, and this machine creates some nexus of control, - much like having a party at someon'e house. The list - administrator is currently Eric Hughes (and has been since - the beginning). He is helped by Hugh Daniel, who often does - maintenance of the toad.com, and by John Gilmore, who owns - the toad.com machine and account. - - In an extreme situation of abuse or neverending ranting, - these folks could kick someone off the list and block them - from resubscribing via majordomo. (I presume they could-- - it's never happened.) - - To emphasize: nobody's ever been kicked off the list, so - far as I know. Not even Detweiler...he asked to be removed - (when the list subscribes were done manually). - - As to who sets policy, there is no policy! No charter, no - agenda, no action items. Just what people want to work on - themselves. Which is all that can be expected. (Some people - get frustrated at this lack of consensus, and they - sometimes start flaming and ranting about "Cypherpunks - never do anything," but this lack of consensus is to be - expected. Nobody's being paid, nobody's got hiring and - firing authority, so any work that gets done has to be - voluntary. Some volunteer groups are more organized than we - are, but there are other factors that make this more - possible for them than it is for us. C'est la vie.) - - Those who get heard on the mailing list, or in the physical - meetings, are those who write articles that people find - interesting or who say things of note. Sounds fair to me. - 2.4.8. "Why don't the issues that interest me get discussed?" - - Maybe they already have been--several times. Many newcomers - are often chagrined to find arcane topics being discussed, - with little discussion of "the basics." - - This is hardly surprising....people get over the "basics" - after a few months and want to move on to more exciting (to - them) topics. All lists are like this. - - In any case, after you've read the list for a while--maybe - several weeks--go ahead and ask away. Making your topic - fresher may generate more responses than, say, asking - what's wrong with Clipper. (A truly overworked topic, - naturally.) - 2.4.9. "How did the Cypherpunks group get started?" - 2.4.10. "Where did the name 'Cypherpunks' come from?" - + Jude Milhon, aka St. Jude, then an editor at "Mondo 2000," - was at the earliest meetings...she quipped "You guys are - just a bunch of cypherpunks." The name was adopted - immediately. - - The 'cyberpunk' genre of science fiction often deals with - issues of cyberspace and computer security ("ice"), so - the link is natural. A point of confusion is that - cyberpunks are popularly thought of as, well, as "punks," - while many Cyberpunks are frequently libertarians and - anarchists of various stripes. In my view, the two are - not in conflict. - - Some, however, would prefer a more staid name. The U.K. - branch calls itself the "U.K. Crypto Privacy - Association." However, the advantages of the - name are clear. For one thing, many people are bored by - staid names. For another, it gets us noticed by - journalists and others. - - - - We are actually not very "punkish" at all. About as punkish - as most of our cyberpunk cousins are, which is to say, not - very. - + the name - - Crypto Cabal (this before the sci.crypt FAQ folks - appeared, I think), Crypto Liberation Front, other names - - not everybody likes the name...such is life +- 2.4. Organizational +- "How do I get on--and off--the Cypherpunks list?" + - Send a message to "cypherpunks-request@toad.com" + - Any auto-processed commands? + - don't send requests to the list as a whole....this will + mark you as "clueless" +- "Why does the Cypherpunks list sometimes go down, or lose the + subscription list?" + - The host machine, toad.com, owned by John Gilmore, has had + the usual problems such machines have: overloading, + shortages of disk space, software upgrades, etc. Hugh + Daniel has done an admirable job of keeping it in good + shape, but problems do occur. + - Think of it as warning that lists and communication systems + remain somewhat fragile....a lesson for what is needed to + make digital money more robust and trustable. + - There is no paid staff, no hardware budget for + improvements. The work done is strictly voluntarily. +- "If I've just joined the Cypherpunks list, what should I do?" + - Read for a while. Things will become clearer, themes will + emerge, and certain questions will be answered. This is + good advice for any group or list, and is especially so for + a list with 500 or more people on it. (We hit 700+ at one + point, then a couple of list outages knocked the number + down a bit.) + - Read the references mentioned here, if you can. The + sci.crypt FAQ should be read. And purchase Bruce Schneier's + "Applied Cryptography" the first chance you get. + - Join in on things that interest you, but don't make a fool + of yourself. Reputations matter, and you may come to regret + having come across as a tedious fool in your first weeks on + the list. (If you're a tedious fool after the first few + weeks, that may just be your nature, of course.) + - Avoid ranting and raving on unrelated topics, such as + abortion (pro or con), guns (pro or con), etc. The usual + topics that usually generate a lot of heat and not much + light. (Yes, most of us have strong views on these and + other topics, and, yes, we sometimes let our views creep + into discussions. There's no denying that certain + resonances exist. I'm just urging caution.) +- "I'm swamped by the list volume; what can I do?" + - This is a natural reaction. Nobody can follow it all; I + spend entirely too many hours a day reading the list, and I + certainly can't follow it all. Pick areas of expertise and + then follow them and ignore the rest. After all, not seeing + things on the list can be no worse than not even being + subscribed to the list! + - Hit the "delete" key quickly + - find someone who will digest it for you (Eric Hughes has + repeatedly said anyone can retransmit the list this way; + Hal Finney has offered an encrypted list) + + Better mailers may help. Some people have used mail-to-news + systems and then read the list as a local newsgroup, with + threads. + - I have Eudora, which supports off-line reading and + sorting features, but I generally end up reading with an + online mail program (elm). + - The mailing list may someday be switched over to a + newsgroup, a la "alt.cypherpunks." (This may affect some + people whose sites do not carry alt groups.) +- "It's very easy to get lost in the morass of detail here. Are + there any ways to track what's *really* important?" + - First, a lot of the stuff posted in the Usenet newsgroups, + and on the Cypherpunks list, is peripheral stuff, + epiphenomenal cruft that will blow away in the first strong + breeze. Grungy details about PGP shells, about RSA + encryption speeds, about NSA supercomputers. There's just + no reason for people to worry about "weak IDEA keys" when + so many more pressing matters exist. (Let the experts + worry.) Little of this makes any real difference, just as + little of the stuff in daily newspapers is memorable or + deserves to be memorable. + - Second, "read the sources." Read "1984," "The Shockwave + Rider," "Atlas Shrugged," "True Names." Read the Chaum + article on making Big Brother obsolete (October 1985, + "Communications of the ACM"). + - Third, don't lose sight of the core values: privacy, + technological solutions over legal solutions, avoiding + taxation, bypassing laws, etc. (Not everyone will agree + with all of these points.) + - Fourth, don't drown in the detail. Pick some areas of + interest and follow _them_. You may not need to know the + inner workings of DES or all the switches on PGP to make + contributions in other areas. (In fact, you surely don't.) +- "Who are the Cypherpunks?" + - A mix of about 500-700 + + Can find out who by sending message to majordomo@toad.com + with the message body text "who cypherpunks" (no quotes, of + course). + - Is this a privacy flaw? Maybe. + - Lots of students (they have the time, the Internet + accounts). Lots of computer science/programming folks. Lots + of libertarians. + - quote from Wired article, and from "Whole Earth Review" +- "Who runs the Cypherpunks?" + - Nobody. There's no formal "leadership." No ruler = no head + = an arch = anarchy. (Look up the etymology of anarchy.) + - However, the mailing list currently resides on a physical + machine, and this machine creates some nexus of control, + much like having a party at someon'e house. The list + administrator is currently Eric Hughes (and has been since + the beginning). He is helped by Hugh Daniel, who often does + maintenance of the toad.com, and by John Gilmore, who owns + the toad.com machine and account. + - In an extreme situation of abuse or neverending ranting, + these folks could kick someone off the list and block them + from resubscribing via majordomo. (I presume they could-- + it's never happened.) + - To emphasize: nobody's ever been kicked off the list, so + far as I know. Not even Detweiler...he asked to be removed + (when the list subscribes were done manually). + - As to who sets policy, there is no policy! No charter, no + agenda, no action items. Just what people want to work on + themselves. Which is all that can be expected. (Some people + get frustrated at this lack of consensus, and they + sometimes start flaming and ranting about "Cypherpunks + never do anything," but this lack of consensus is to be + expected. Nobody's being paid, nobody's got hiring and + firing authority, so any work that gets done has to be + voluntary. Some volunteer groups are more organized than we + are, but there are other factors that make this more + possible for them than it is for us. C'est la vie.) + - Those who get heard on the mailing list, or in the physical + meetings, are those who write articles that people find + interesting or who say things of note. Sounds fair to me. +- "Why don't the issues that interest me get discussed?" + - Maybe they already have been--several times. Many newcomers + are often chagrined to find arcane topics being discussed, + with little discussion of "the basics." + - This is hardly surprising....people get over the "basics" + after a few months and want to move on to more exciting (to + them) topics. All lists are like this. + - In any case, after you've read the list for a while--maybe + several weeks--go ahead and ask away. Making your topic + fresher may generate more responses than, say, asking + what's wrong with Clipper. (A truly overworked topic, + naturally.) +- "How did the Cypherpunks group get started?" +- "Where did the name 'Cypherpunks' come from?" + + Jude Milhon, aka St. Jude, then an editor at "Mondo 2000," + was at the earliest meetings...she quipped "You guys are + just a bunch of cypherpunks." The name was adopted + immediately. + - The 'cyberpunk' genre of science fiction often deals with + issues of cyberspace and computer security ("ice"), so + the link is natural. A point of confusion is that + cyberpunks are popularly thought of as, well, as "punks," + while many Cyberpunks are frequently libertarians and + anarchists of various stripes. In my view, the two are + not in conflict. + - Some, however, would prefer a more staid name. The U.K. + branch calls itself the "U.K. Crypto Privacy + Association." However, the advantages of the + name are clear. For one thing, many people are bored by + staid names. For another, it gets us noticed by + journalists and others. + - We are actually not very "punkish" at all. About as punkish + as most of our cyberpunk cousins are, which is to say, not + very. + + the name + - Crypto Cabal (this before the sci.crypt FAQ folks + appeared, I think), Crypto Liberation Front, other names + - not everybody likes the name...such is life + + ## Partially completed FAQ section + 2.4.11. "Why doesn't the Cypherpunks group have announced goals, ideologies, and plans?" - The short answer: we're just a mailing list, a loose