From: Matthew J Ghio <mg5n+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 94 17:52:57 PST
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Oh No! Nazis on the Nets
In-Reply-To: <9402102226.AA09203@deathstar.iaks.ira.uka.de>
Message-ID: <AhKi=S200awO0BCkd9@andrew.cmu.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


danisch@ira.uka.de (Hadmut Danisch) writes:

> You all seem to have a nice patent for defense against
> Nazis. Why don't you tell/sell us this patent? It
> could be very helpfull.
> 
> Don't you believe that we are interested in a free press?
> Don't you believe that we want to fight against Naziism?
> How do you fight against your Nazis?

Our secret weapon against Nazis in the USA is that we don't censor them.
 We let them publish their books so everyone can see how stupid and
ridiculous nazism is.  We also have books about what the Nazis did to
the jews in WWII.

The reason the Nazis are such a problem in Germany is that the
government gives them so much free advertizing.  The whole thing about
how a secret BBS network eludes the police makes people very interested
in it.  People like the idea of belonging to a special elite
orginaztion, and its "underground" status gives it that appeal.  There
are Nazi BBS systems in the USA, and they're not too difficult to find. 
And most people couldn't care less.

But to make a relevant comparison to cypherpunks: How many people used
PGP before the clipper debate began?  (Fairly few)  How many heard about
it because of the recent public uproar caused by the government wanting
to control crypto?  If clipper had never been introduced, many people
who now use PGP would never have heard of it.  The government created
its own encryption "problem" by telling people about it.  The Germans
are creating their own Nazi problem by telling people about it.  Food
for thought...