[3555] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: files (was: Re: dbts, etc.)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (D. Porter)
Tue Oct 27 15:12:56 1998
Date: 27 Oct 98 10:52:00
From: dporter@denova.com (D. Porter)
To: smb@research.att.com (Steve Bellovin), vin@shore.net (Vin McLellan)
Cc: rah@shipwright.com (Robert Hettinga), cryptography@c2.net (cryptography),
cypherpunks@cyberpass.net (cypherpunks), dbs@philodox.com (dbs),
e$@vmeng.com (e$)
Steve Bellovin (smb@research.att.com) wrote...
> . . . to trace the the perturbations caused to the system. . .
> The more anonymity, and the more privacy cut-outs, the
> harder this is. . .
> To be sure, one can assert that the philosophical
> gains -- privacy, libertarianism, what have you -- are
> sufficiently important that this price is worth paying. . .
Steve, as you point out most of us are driven primarily by practical
concerns. This is a philosophy: pragmatism. Beyond mind exercise,
philosophy is valuable exactly to the extent it is practical.
DBS increases freedom. Increased freedom is practical because it reduces
risks -- of confiscation, imprisonment, and death -- and because it
usually increases efficiency. All of these pragmatic considerations seem
much more important than the ease of maintenance, at least to me.
Doug
