Re: Cyphernomicon FAQ -- Review in "Wired"

tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May):

> 1. Rishab Aiyer Ghosh tells me he has committed to write a review of the
> Cyphernomicon FAQ for "Wired," for either December or January publication.
> I had nothing to do with this, and it surprised me when he contacted me to
> notify me. (I reminded him of the "pre-release" status, the

It surprised _me_ that you put this on the list - magazines usually don't care
to announce their future stories so much in advance, but this is a little 
review and cypherpunks are noted for their discretion ;-) so I guess it's ok.

As far as the "usefulness" of info on "advanced stuff", and the "questions it 
will generate" - awareness is all about arousing curiousity. It will be a Good 
Thing if people who keep reading about the nuclear terrorists and pedophiles 
can come and see for themselves what _really_ goes on on the list. Of course 
the membership may soar for a while before declining again, but _some_ new 
useful people are bound to join.

> 3. Hal Abelson, Professor of Computer Science at MIT, has asked me if he
> could convert the FAQ into a Web document for his class on "ETHICS AND LAW

If he does a good job, then it would be nice. A web is really the best way to
browse through so much inter-related info.

> 4. Yes, I still have concerns about multiple, out-dated copies floating
> around. I worry about people going to great lengths to "Webify" the version

Come on. Responsible sysadmins regularly mirror updates - from the thousands of
PGP sites to the dozens who download 6 mb of movie databases each week. Every
one does not get in sync as soon as the new release is out, but these things
usually don't take more than a week.

> 5. Rishab is especially anxious to get CompuServe, AOL, etc., versions
> available, or referenced in his review in "Wired." Thus, if any of you want

Scott Loftesness (76703.407@compuserve.com), the primary SysOp of CompuServe's 
Telecom and Internet Forums says he'll have the Cyphernomicon in both forums:
TELECOM FORUM (GO TELECOM)
LIBRARY: NETWORK SECURITY (LIB 6)
FILENAME: CYPFAQ.ZIP

INTERNET FORUM (GO INETFORUM)
LIBRARY: RESOURCES-TECHNICAL (LIB 15)
FILENAME: CYPFAQ.ZIP

Worst comes to worst, WIRED can put it up in their forums at AOL etc.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rishab Aiyer Ghosh             "Clean the air! clean the sky! wash the wind!
rishab@dxm.ernet.in                   take stone from stone and wash them..."
Voice/Fax/Data +91 11 6853410  
Voicemail +91 11 3760335                 H 34C Saket, New Delhi 110017, INDIA

> tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May):
> 
> > 1. Rishab Aiyer Ghosh tells me he has committed to write a review of the
> > Cyphernomicon FAQ for "Wired," for either December or January publication.
> > I had nothing to do with this, and it surprised me when he contacted me to
> > notify me. (I reminded him of the "pre-release" status, the
> 
> It surprised _me_ that you put this on the list - magazines usually don't care
> to announce their future stories so much in advance, but this is a little 
> review and cypherpunks are noted for their discretion ;-) so I guess it's ok.

Sorry! It never occurred to me that this could be a secret, as several
Cypherpunks have reported on upcoming articles they are writing, or
are to be interiviewed in. But, like Rishab mentioned, be discreet (as
well as being discrete, always a good thing for number theorists).


on Abelson's Web doc:

> If he does a good job, then it would be nice. A web is really the best way to
> browse through so much inter-related info.

That's a matter of opinion, and perhaps of age. I find most hypertext
docs incredibly confusing and incoherent. Web docs I've seen are often
just a mishmash (mishmosh, for you Gen Xers) of scraps, of articles,
and of pointers to other, equally disorganized docs.

This is a raging debate in hypertext and authorial circles. The "voice
of the author" vs. "lost in hyperspace."

What kind of job Hal Abelson and his associates do--if they still plan
to do it (Hal contacted me within a matter of hours of the release, so
he clearly couldn't have seen much of it...maybe it's considered too
extreme, too outre, for an MIT class...)--is of course unknown. I
don't think any of them has the time to do a fine-granularity linkage,
so the "Web browsing" will mostly likely just be the usual
course-granularity linkages of entire chapters, not individual points,
a la Nelson.

> > 4. Yes, I still have concerns about multiple, out-dated copies floating
> > around. I worry about people going to great lengths to "Webify" the version
> 
> Come on. Responsible sysadmins regularly mirror updates - from the thousands of
> PGP sites to the dozens who download 6 mb of movie databases each week. Every
> one does not get in sync as soon as the new release is out, but these things
> usually don't take more than a week.

If they agree to do so. But I see a lot of old, outdated FAQs on
people's systems, indicating that updates are often not diligently
done.

All I ask is that anyone who puts up copies at their sites agrees to
maintain them as current, and if they leave their site or can't
maintain the docs currently, that they then delete the old version(s)
and thus not lead anyone into thinking that what they find is current.

Seems reasonable to me.

--Tim May


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