From: jthomas@kolanut.mitre.org (Joe Thomas)
Date: Wed, 26 May 93 12:49:49 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Just the facts, ma'am.
Message-ID: <9305261949.AA07621@kolanut>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


From: composer@beyond.dreams.org (Jeff Kellem)
> 

> On the cypherpunks mailing list, Strat wrote...
>  > Rarely will you find a system administration staff more concerned with
>  > your privacy that the guys at Digital Express Group. As I recall, the
>  > set of username->real name mappings isn't even on machine readable media
>  > on the system.
> 

> Really?  That's odd, especially for a unix box, which access.digex.com
> seems to be.  And, as a matter of fact, it does seem to show "Robert
> Stratton" for the username of "strat".  So, it seems they do maintain
> username to "real name" mappings (even if they allow the user to change
> the "real name" listed.

Digital Express doesn't require that the GECOS field of /etc/passwd contain  
real names, although they obviously allow it.  (Finger  
jthomas@access.digex.net for my full name, as well as my PGP key :^)

I seem to remember that the new user signup script they use explicitly gives  
you the option of signing up under a pseudonymn, although they'll check up on  
you by phone if you do (and presumably write your name in the Big Book at that  
point).  I've seen quite a few public access Unix sites advertising  
"anonymous" accounts lately, especially after Julf's server went down.

Joe