From: Sherry Mayo <scmayo@rschp2.anu.edu.au>
Date: Wed, 13 Sep 95 17:46:21 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: re: CYPHERPUNK considered harmful.
Message-ID: <9509140046.AA07859@toad.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


P. Trei writes
>                  "CYPHERPUNK" considered harmful

>     I would like to propose that we, the 'cypherpunks', are making a
> strategic error, which will make it far more difficult to achieve the
> goal we share.
>      Our error lies in our approach to encouraging the widespread use of
> crypto. It is an error of hubris - overweening pride.

>      We too often think of ourselves as an elite - smarter and better in
> various ways to our non-cpunk neighbours. We refer to these others as
> 'Joe Sixpack" and other such derogatary terms. 

I think thsi is confusing two separate things. The need to publicise 
and encourage the use of crypto is important to many of us and lots of us
do this in various ways (web pages, magazine articles etc). The other aspect
of the cypherpunks is writing code, discussing protocols etc, some of which
is fairly arcane stuff and is by necessity the interest of an "elite" (as you
put it). I think the success of this list lies in the mixture.

>      I suggest that we drop the term 'cypherpunk' - it has the wrong
> connotations to get our ideas into the mainstream. I don't have a 
> perfect replacement yet:

I'll come clean and say that
initially the term "cypherpunks" made me cringe (and still does, maybe 'cos
I'm a brit ;-) ;-) but I certainly remembered it and it stuck in my mind enough
to get me interested in this stuff in the first place. In short, don't ditch
the name because if nothing else it *is* memorable, much more so that some more
comventional tag.

However, you do make some bloody good points about not alienating more
conservative people by coming over all crypto-anarchist (or whatever your 
particular bent is) when encouraging/publicising the use of crypto. 
The "why use crypto" questions and answers was a good example of how to
appeal to a more conservative viewpoint. When trying to find out about
crypto intially on the WWW I was rather overwhelmed by the number of political 
rants and a bit underwhelmed by the lack of solid info. This situation has 
improved a lot in the last 2 years but still needs work IMHO. 

[An aside to Web page maintainers...
<whinge>
Another thing to consider (for Web sites in particular) is that people 
from _all over the world_ will be reading it. If your site is a fairly 
central one, bear in mind that a lot of rants about congress trampling all over
the Nth amendment mean bugger all to a lot of us furriners, and come over
as a bit parochial. I'm not saying a local perspective is a bad thing, just
that it shouldn't be the only thing.
</whinge> ]

my 2c worth

Sherry