From: dlv@bwalk.dm.com (Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM)
Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 05:46:09 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: PGP-Domo...
In-Reply-To: <TCPSMTP.17.4.3.0.48.36.2780269260.1593210@nycmetro.com>
Message-ID: <mN7k5D41w165w@bwalk.dm.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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harka@nycmetro.com writes:

> On another mailing-list, there has been a lengthy discussion going
> on about encrypting the list-traffic or not.
> Although I personally agree, that encrypting a public mailing list
> is kind of useless I would like to know from a technical
> perspective if PGPdomo supports _both_ PGP and plain-text
> simultaneously on the same mailing list (if no public key
> available, send plain-text, otherwise encrypt).
> Also, considering the time it takes to encrypt/sign a message for
> each individual user (assuming they use pgp), isn't that too much
> overhead for the list-server, when we deal with a few hundred
> people and maybe traffic like on cypherpunks?

It depends a lot on the traffic. If it's 100 messages a day, then it's
a few hundred times the traffic on a list with a couple of messages a week.
It also depends on the kind of box you're running it on (386? Sparc 20?).
So, if I were looking to cut down on the CPU time required and the traffic,
I'd do this:

1. ecnrypt with the keys of every recipient to send out one encrypted
messages that every recipient can decrypt.

2. consider using a daily digest (or digest every few hours).

Anyway, if you have more than a dozen people on the mailing list whom
you don't know personally, you should *assume* that at least one of them
is a narc and/or an asshole who'll decrypt it and pass it on to others.

---

Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM
Brighton Beach Boardwalk BBS, Forest Hills, N.Y.: +1-718-261-2013, 14.4Kbps