From: nobody@pmantis.berkeley.edu
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 04:12:03 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: szabo@netcom.com is NOT a tentacle!!!
Message-ID: <9401121210.AA13798@pmantis.berkeley.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


As for the `Szabo being a tentacle thread' in the newsgroups, pmetzger
just posted stating that he had indeed posted the name of 
the town Szabo lives in, as well as the names of his roommates.  He refrained 
from posting that information again.  I seem to vaguely recall seeing the 
original post, but can't find it in the buffers here -- everything before 
December 21st or so has expired. 
 
 the thing that ROYALLY PISSES ME OFF is that NOONE WHO HEARD 
PMETZGER CLAIM THIS has POSTED TO SAY THAT THEY HEARD HIM SAY THAT. 
reminds me of the infamous rape and murder of that NY woman, with 
dozens of witnesses hearing her screams, just going about their 
business. who will be raped next? and who will be silent? everyone who 
is watching my thread, and being silent about what they know, is a 
hypocrite and a dangerous accomplice to lies. 
 
I guess that's a bit overstated.  I suspect people in most major metropolitan 
areas don't want to get involved partially because they fear retribution, and 
partially because, with that many people packed together, you tend to care 
less about your neighbors than you would in a small town, where you know the 
people in your building or street.  I suspect people on the net don't bother 
because "it's just bits" -- they read the Net like they watch TV, without any 
connection to the characters or dramas unfolding before them.  In large part, 
what is said here doesn't really matter.  People get curious, but it's not 
worth getting into an uproar. 
 
if YOU GIVE A DAMN, POST! 
 
Ah, there's the rub.  Deep down, I really don't care about this particular 
issue.  To my knowledge, Nick Szabo, whether real or not, has never said 
anything that has made me even care whether or not he has real.  I've never 
found anything he's said particularly interesting.  He's a net.person.  Should 
he turn out to be a "tentacle," that's fine by me -- he won't be the first 
I've encountered.  If he turns out to be T.C.May in disguise, all that means 
is that there's one less person with T.C.May's ideas in the world than people 
thought. 
 
I think that uncaring attitude, which I regard as fairly dominant among people 
who've used cyberspace (and especially Usenet) a good amount of time, is the 
very reason that May's ideas about widespread crypto bringing down governments 
will never come to pass.  People have, and I believe will continue to have, a 
distrust about putting much faith into computers, and thus cyberspace will 
always have limitations.  I believe people put a great deal of stock in the 
feel of a crisp paper dollar bill, as well as a smile and a handshake. :-) 
 
Perhaps to add more fuel to the fire, a Nicholas Szabo does indeed live in 
Cupertino, according to a 1990-1991 White Pages from the area.  There is no 
G.Dale listed, however.  (I was hoping to correlate the two numbers)  I 
suspect that I need a more recent phone book to make a better test. 


------ Legalize:          >--<o | I confess to an unatural, and abnormal .
\    /  :-)-~             o>--< | act I have programmed a computer.     . .
 \  / You are ~1,000,000,000,000,000 .1ms NAND gates have a nice day.  . . .
  \/ The true theory of everything will run on a finite turing machine. . . .