From: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
Date: Thu, 21 Sep 95 10:04:39 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Persistent Services Needed
Message-ID: <ac86e99240021004ca42@[205.199.118.202]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



One of the problems we're facing with "Cypherpunks" services is that they
are catch-as-catch-can, or, bluntly, "flaky." Archive sites stop being
archives, remailers vanish overnight (*), and other experiments pop up and
then vanish with regularity.

(My favorite example, and one which always makes me smile, is the example
of a remailer in Europe a couple of years ago which became inoperative with
the message: "The foo remailer will stop operating tonight because I have
to take my laptop with me for the summer to Portugal.")

I'm not criticizing these folks. Rather, I'm just saying something pretty
obvious, that _persistence_ is important.

This probably means commercialization, or formalized business
relationships. With such persistent business set-ups, "the show must go
on."

Another reason for digital money.

--Tim May


Notice: With 1000 people on the Cypherpunks list, and many on other lists I
am on, nearly every article I write generates at least one question,
request for more information, dispute with my choice of words, etc. I have
been trying to respond to these, usually privately, but the burden has
become too much, and I no longer plan to respond to trivial or ephemeral
points. If you don't hear from me, this is why. Some requests for pointers
to information will still be handled, but I advise people to learn how to
use the archives and/or search tools.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
Corralitos, CA              | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^756839      | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."