Why, after reading the questions presented below, think that Danit is
the *wrong* person to be writing this article?
On Fri, 6 Sep 2002, R. A. Hettinga wrote:
--- begin forwarded text
Status: RO
From: Danit Lidor [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: seeking information for Wired News article
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2002 13:19:21 -0700
Hi there,
I am a reporter at Wired News. We received notice of the upcoming
Cypherpunks10th anniversary bash. I am thinking of writing a short article
about the history and current status of the cypherpunk community.
Note that the term community here, while probably not accurate in
the strictest sense, is certainly a *LOT* more accurate than the
implied term organization, which the vast majority of your questions
approach.
Cypherpunks are organized only in the sense that they manage to
get their shopping done when they run out of food. There are CP's who
fall all over the 4 corners of the political spectrum, and all over
the physical world. Realisticaly, about the only thing that they all
have in common is a strong interest in crypto, and a native suspicion
for most forms of authority.
Obviously, things have changed a lot in the last 10 years. I imagine that
you and other cypherpunks would have much to say on the topic. Please feel
free to rant and rave to me about whatever you feel would be relevant to
this kind of article.
Now you've done it: expect 700 emails per day from MattD :-(
When did the Cypherpunks come into existence?
When did Humanity come into existence? I'm serious here: CP merely
utilized a new communications medium.
Who were the founding
members?
Here we go with the membership thing again - You have it Completely
Wrong. There are no members, there is no leadership, there is no
Following or Group. CP's are individuals who happen to identify
themselves as CP's - period.
What was the inital purpose?
The purpose? You mean What does The Group want to accomplish? See
above.
What kinds of people are involved?
Doctors, Lawyers, Mathematecians, Felons, Druggies, Anti-druggies,
Anarchists, Libertarians, Right-Wing-Fanatics, Left-Wing-Fanatics,
Teachers, Housewives, Househusbands, students, cops, criminals...
Who (socially, i mean, not names!) exactly are the members of the group?
Agains, there IS NO GROUP. I'm not trying to be cute here - THERE IS
NO GROUP. The whole concept of group is flawed in this context.
How many at any one time?
Anyone's guess. I personally know a bunch of folks who follow CP who
do so only out of curiosity: do I count them in? How about all the
federal agents who subscribe to the CP lists? Getting the drift?
Is it a rotating membership, with people coming and going?
No. There is no Membership.
There has been a substantial amount of press dedicated to the Cypherpunks,
what's been the community response?
Varied. Like the press itself. Like the CP's themselves. It is not
possible to place CP into any cubbyhole.
Have their been internal discussions about the repercussions of the media's
involvment and the like?
OooOoOoooh Internal Discussions! I like that: it implies
that (radical) Group thing again... :-(
WN has had a very familiar relationship with the cypherpunks - has it been
viewed as a positive thing?
By some, and not others.
Have the ideals of the group changed over the years?
Sorry Kemosabe: most of the folks who refer to themselves as CP's are
less than idealists. And, since there IS NO F*@#$ GROUP, this
question is irrelevant.
Are there any manifestos
Many: Google Is Your Friend.
or official statements
Official Statements! That's rich!!! Tell you what - take one from
Column-A, and one from Column-B, where each column is the source of
your choice, and I'll [personally] acknowledge them as the Official
Statements of Whomever You Like.
from the group that I can
access?
What are the future plans for the cypherpunks?
I guess you should ask each CP individually. Personally, my long term
plans are to Get Out Of Dodge (USA), before it turns into Germany in
1941. My short term plans are to try and educate as many persons in
authority as possible in How The Real World Works, and as many
persons NOT in authority in How The Real World Works.
I attempted to access cypherpunks.com but most of the links are dead, why
isn't anyone maintaining it?
Maybe if someone were to form a CypherPunks GROUP, they would get
maintained?
Or is it unrelated to the current community?
With whom else are the cypherpunks allied?
[I actually had to take a moment to wipe the tears of laughter from
the question]
Nobody. Any such alliance would require a Group Consensus -
something which is just patently impossible. If you ever find two
CP's who can agree on enough to come to a broad Consensus, you let me
know so I can mark it on my calendar.
What do you, personally, have to say about the future of the Internet,
privacy, legislation
