NODE dd4ec2d2Certification Authorities in history.
Bill Stewart <stewarts@ix.netcom.com>Sun, 8 Oct 95 00:18:17 PDT
Timothy C. May (or somebody like him, or Tim the Enchanted) wrote:
>> The talk of certification authorities is OK, so long as the practice is
>> _completely_ and "strongly" voluntary (*).
It occurred to me that the authors of the US Constitution had
direct experience with the equivalent of mandatory certification hierarchies
for legally acceptable digital signatures.
They called it "The Stamp Act".
If you wanted to make a legal document, such as a contract or will,
it needed to be on paper with a tax stamp on it; I forget if this was
a watermark or a stick-on stamp, but you could only get it from the authorities.
They didn't like it. There was also a few-percent sales tax on tea around
that time. They didn't like that either :-)
--------
</serious_mode>
<Don_Hopkins_Monty_Python_Voice>
<i> WHAT </i> is your name?
<i> WHAT </i> is your certificate number?
</Don_Hopkins_Monty_Python_Voice>
<serious_mode>
#---
# Thanks; Bill
# Bill Stewart, Freelance Information Architect, stewarts@ix.netcom.com
# Phone +1-510-247-0664 Pager/Voicemail 1-408-787-1281
#---
NODE df13574dRe: Certification Authorities in history.
Hal <hfinney@shell.portal.com>Sun, 8 Oct 95 10:27:46 PDT
One key to rule them all;
One key to find them;
One key to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them.
NODE 33564fa9Re: Certification Authorities in history.
Brian Davis <bdavis@dg.thepoint.net>Sun, 8 Oct 95 19:12:10 PDT
On Sun, 8 Oct 1995, Hal wrote:
> One key to rule them all;
> One key to find them;
> One key to bring them all
> And in the darkness bind them.
In the land of Langley, where the shadows lie.
NODE f6329a6fRe: Certification Authorities in history.
Brian Davis <bdavis@dg.thepoint.net>Sun, 8 Oct 95 18:27:56 PDT
On Sun, 8 Oct 1995, Bill Stewart wrote:
> Timothy C. May (or somebody like him, or Tim the Enchanted) wrote:
> >> The talk of certification authorities is OK, so long as the practice is
> >> _completely_ and "strongly" voluntary (*).
>
> It occurred to me that the authors of the US Constitution had
> direct experience with the equivalent of mandatory certification hierarchies
> for legally acceptable digital signatures.
>
> They called it "The Stamp Act".
>
> If you wanted to make a legal document, such as a contract or will,
> it needed to be on paper with a tax stamp on it; I forget if this was
> a watermark or a stick-on stamp, but you could only get it from the authorities.
>
> They didn't like it. There was also a few-percent sales tax on tea around
> that time. They didn't like that either :-)
But their principal reason for disliking it was "Taxation without
representation." Today, you get to vote on those who decide on taxes,
unlike the colonists ....
EBD