How to hold a key signing party?

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I've never attended a key signing party so I'd like to get some input on
the most effective way to run one.

What I have in mind is to have everyone who is planning on attending send
me their key and its fingerprint.  I'll collate the lot and print enough
copies of the list of names/fingerprints so that once everyone shows up,
each person can get a handout.  Everyone presents ID showing who they are
and reads off their fingerprint so the attendees can check them on their
handout.  Afterwards, I'll email all attendees the keys so they can sign
them and mail them back to me.  Once I receive the signed keys, I'll
redistribute them back to the owners & attendees.

This seems like a lot of work, which I don't mind, but if there is a more
efficient method, I'd like to know about it.
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Joe Block writes:
> What I have in mind is to have everyone who is planning on attending send
> me their key and its fingerprint.  I'll collate the lot and print enough
> copies of the list of names/fingerprints so that once everyone shows up,
> each person can get a handout.  Everyone presents ID showing who they are
> and reads off their fingerprint so the attendees can check them on their
> handout.  Afterwards, I'll email all attendees the keys so they can sign
> them and mail them back to me.  Once I receive the signed keys, I'll
> redistribute them back to the owners & attendees.

What you describe is the method we use at IETF meetings (we always
have key signing parties) and it is about as efficient as you can hope
for. The one proviso I'll add is that you really don't need people to
show ID -- thats up to the people signing the keys...

Perry

Joe Block writes:
 > What I have in mind is to have everyone who is planning on attending send
 > me their key and its fingerprint....
 > 
 > This seems like a lot of work, which I don't mind, but if there is a more
 > efficient method, I'd like to know about it.

Doesn't make any difference to me, you nefarious agent of the Great
Man In The Middle you.



[ You got to get up *pretty early in the morning* to put one over on
*me* like that. ]

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| Nobody's going to listen to you if you just | Mike McNally (m5@tivoli.com) |
| stand there and flap your arms like a fish. | Tivoli Systems, Austin TX    |
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