1993-10-02 - PGP in FIDO

Header Data

From: alk@et.msc.edu (Anthony L. Kimball)
To: pmetzger@lehman.com
Message Hash: 1c63813a2d532be5a1361f6bdfeb9234499dab235e7c985bf2e850efb2d37e86
Message ID: <9310022059.AA18202@et.msc.edu>
Reply To: <9310022023.AA19386@snark.lehman.com>
UTC Datetime: 1993-10-02 21:04:25 UTC
Raw Date: Sat, 2 Oct 93 14:04:25 PDT

Raw message

From: alk@et.msc.edu (Anthony L. Kimball)
Date: Sat, 2 Oct 93 14:04:25 PDT
To: pmetzger@lehman.com
Subject: PGP in FIDO
In-Reply-To: <9310022023.AA19386@snark.lehman.com>
Message-ID: <9310022059.AA18202@et.msc.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


   However, the law
   is the law. 

And as such is an ass, yes.

   Disagreeing with it or consciously deciding to violate it
   is one thing, but smug amateur lawyering in which you pretend that it
   isn't supposed to apply to you is another.

I don't see the good in this sort of thing.  The FIDOnet operators
in question are probably operating in good faith, whether mistakenly
or no, their smugness or lack thereof is not in evidence, and if there
is anyone you should be annoyed with, it is the federal agencies which
have created such a chilling atmosphere that their belief resulted.
Put another way, they're terrified of the feds.  Terrified people make 
stupid mistakes.  The root of the problem is the cause of the
terror, not the mistakes that result.  

I think it would be more constructive, instead of trying to imprison
the BBS operator for offending your aethetic judgement (I realize you
were not serious, of course -- please accept my rhetorical license as 
no less broad than your own), to document to them the reasoned legal
opinion of the appropriately credentialled M. Godwin, so that they may
protect themselves from legal assault.







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