From: Adam Shostack <adam@homeport.org>
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 1997 07:30:43 -0800 (PST)
To: shamrock@netcom.com (Lucky Green)
Subject: Re: Hard to Tax Scenario
In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19970329214555.006f24d0@netcom9.netcom.com>
Message-ID: <199703301526.KAA02522@homeport.org>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


When i asked Doug for the details...

>The version I prefer is "It's a major sign of weakness when your 
>payment protocol includes 'and then we have you arrested' as a
>terminating state."

I tend to corrupt this to "'And then the cops show up' is a bad step
to include in your protocol."  Its a wonderful insight.

Adam


Lucky Green wrote:
| At 10:24 PM 3/29/97 -0500, Robert Hettinga wrote:
| >(By the way, I'm going to embarass Doug Barnes now by naming a law after
| >him. He said a thing of beauty at FC97: "Any transaction protocol which
| >has, as one of it's steps, '...and then you call the cops', isn't a real
| >good idea on the internet." Shall we call it Barnes' Law, anyone? Sure,
| >lots have said it before, but no one's said it better...)
| 
| Actually, I think it was "...and then you punish them". I second the motion.
| :-)


-- 
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once."
					               -Hume