From: "David K. Merriman" <merriman@amaonline.com>
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 1996 13:03:02 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Rarity: Crypto question enclosed
Message-ID: <199611102102.NAA17006@toad.com>
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To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Date: Sun Nov 10 15:03:35 1996
Sorry that this message doesn't include any flames, "outings", 
denigrations, or other stuff......

My simple question is regarding key/certificate distribution:

        Is there any particular reason that such can't be accomplished via 
on-line lists, and made available via a service on a port, using standard 
(textual) commands, like mail and such are now?

        The things that come to mind are a 'client' request for a key, a 
'client' submission of a key, an external host requesting a key exchange, 
and the host itself requesting a key exchange with another system (only 
new/changed keys being swapped).

        The way I see it working is similar to (but not as slow as, or 
requiring the human intervention) of the key servers already existing. 
Granted that the first few such servers might carry a higher load, but I'd 
think that would taper off as the (presumably free) software became 
available, similar to the growth of remailer software (which would seem to 
be a fairly reasonable relationship....).

        Hooks into existing PGP-fluent software shouldn't be difficult with 
a standardized protocol, and I wouldn't think that the servers would be 
that difficult to code and implement on a 'standard' (consistently used, 
that is) port.

        I'm willing to have a try at the first server, if the parameters 
can be defined.

Dave Merriman


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