From: nobody@neva.org (Neva Remailer)
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 07:43:43 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Selling a Persistent Identity
Message-ID: <199711112333.RAA02693@dfw-ix3.ix.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




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How would you sell a persistent identity with a good reputation?

The obvious method of selling the secret key doesn't work because the
buyer has to trust the seller not to resell it.  This could be solved
by revealing your True Name, but that's no fun.  A nym with a good
reputation for this sort of business could be used, but that wouldn't
be any fun either since it could link a series of identities with one
source.

The only thing I can think of is to have a trusted party who creates
and manages the key.  When the owner of the key wants to sign
something, he or she sends it to the trusted party for signing and
transmission.  To sell the key, the trusted party is instructed to
accept the buyer's messages instead of the seller's.  The buyer and
the seller never actually possess the key themselves.

Is there a better way to do this?

Monty Cantsin
Editor in Chief
Smile Magazine
http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html
http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm

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