From: aba@dcs.exeter.ac.uk
Date: Sun, 17 Sep 95 05:37:01 PDT
To: roy@cybrspc.mn.org
Subject: Re: CYPHERPUNK considered harmful
In-Reply-To: <950916.115448.5Q5.rnr.w165w@cybrspc.mn.org>
Message-ID: <18742.9509171235@exe.dcs.exeter.ac.uk>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



Roy Silvernail <roy@cybrspc.mn.org> writes:
> In list.cypherpunks, aba@dcs.exeter.ac.uk writes:
> > One thing I have been thinking would be nice would be a USENET
> > newsgroup, as mailing lists are a step away from easy access which
> > some people never make.
> 
> That's a feature, not a bug.  Unless the group was moderated, I predict
> the S/N ratio to be <= 0.  Witness the crap in alt.2600.

I think you misunderstand what I was saying, I wasn't saying *instead
of*, but *as well as*, and with a different purpose, just a comment on
Peter's post as to creating *another* group / list with a different
purpose, one to specifically further his ideas on transferring
technology to more people.

> The mailing list, as someone said before me, works as a limited
> pre-screening system.  Given the nature of the list's focus and
> discussion, I think a newsgroup would end up being a stable
> attractor for the clue-deficit crowd.  Not something I'd find
> useful.

So I most definately agree with the likely effects of for instance
merging the list and a newsgroup with a mail to news gateway, as
someone suggested, this would be a really bad idea, and would open the
list to a flood of junk.

If a group such as say alt.cypherpunks were created, it would be just
yet another group which hosts endless directionless arguments with
David Sternlight, etc. via huge cross posting.

Perhaps it would be better to just post crypto FAQs to existing crypto
groups, to further use of crypto.

A later suggestion someone else had was of a read-only mailing list
mirror in a newsgroup.  I'm not sure about this, I mean yes it would
allow more people to casually read, and this is what I use Todd
Masco's nntp.hks.net nntp server for, and find it a really nice way to
read, much nicer than a mail box, even if it was slower for me.  Of
course there are software solutions which allow you to set up similar
effects your self, but as a standard read-only newsgroup, I think it
would likely increase readership.  But I'm not sure, I mean even that
is likely to get the list some more junk, as it will less of a barrier
to post, I mean all you have to do is send to cypherpunks@toad.com,
after all, and it wouldn't take a lot to figure that out.

Undecided as to whether a read only newsgroup in mail.cypherpunks or
something would be a good idea or not.  I'm sure it already happens a
lot of places, so perhaps it won't make a lot of difference.

But I definately wasn't advocating gating an alt group to cpunks and
vice-versa.

Adam