From: "Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Sat, 9 Nov 1996 10:55:12 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Black Unicorn exposed?
In-Reply-To: <v02140b03aeaa71ed1c84@[192.0.2.1]>
Message-ID: <v03007802aeaa83af46f1@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 9:45 AM -0800 11/9/96, Peter Hendrickson wrote:
>At 11:00 AM 11/9/1996, Robert Hettinga wrote:
>> S. L. vonBernhardt, <mailto:unicorn@schloss.li>,...
>
>Black Unicorn recently stated that had taken measures to shield
>his identity so that people would be unable to cause harm to
>his professional activities by making unsubstantiated claims
>that could scare off prospective clients.
>
>It appears now that this protection has evaporated.  It will not
>be very hard in the future to put this information together with
>other statements people may make about Mr. Unicorn.
>
>We are hardly operating in a hostile environment.  Yet, somebody
>who has apparently gone to some effort to have an anonymous
>identity has been exposed.  The implications of this are worth
>considering.


Careful about the passive construction "was exposed." I took the
announcement, presumably based on his summary to R. Hettinga, and
containing biographical information which he presumably supplied, to be an
active decision by him to "come out of the closet."

Exactly as you did, Peter, by breaking your silence of many months (based
on your fears of a pogrom, as you admitted) and suddenly posting a large
number of posts in one day. It would be misleading for us to say "Peter
Hendrickson was exposed." You exposed yourself. As did S, L. vonBernhardt.

Ditto for Lucky Green, who has revealed his True Name to various of us, and
whose True Name could probably be deduced by anyone by spending a few
minutes with Deja News or Alta Vista.

--Tim May (not his real name)

"The government announcement is disastrous," said Jim Bidzos,.."We warned IBM
that the National Security Agency would try to twist their technology."
[NYT, 1996-10-02]
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."