Re: [OT] Posting styles
On 08/04/12 05:44, Joey Hess wrote:
> Wayne Topa wrote:
>> Who would want to spoof YOUR Mail.
>>
>> I have been on this list for 19 years now and do not recall anyone
>> being spoofed. From the tenor of your mails, I doubt anyone would
>> gain anything from it.
>
> This is fallacious, dangerous, and probably insulting thinking.
Don't spare the hyperbole. ;-p
>
> I'm sure that many people on this list are eg, sysadmins for large
> or important installations. Or perhaps they are researchers,
> decision-makers, free software developers, or any of a myriad of
> other important things.
As opposed to the people who aren't important things?
What are you trying to say Joey? (for those of us who aren't semiotician
psychologists)
>
> If you're at least some of the time sending mail that is important to
> be reliably attributed to you,
That sentence doesn't even make sense.
Perhaps what you're trying to say is:-
When you send mail that is important it be reliably attributed to you -
make sure you sign it properly, with a published key endorsed by a
well-known (easily verifiable) chain of trust. Use the appropriate type
of signing protocol (don't expect people to massage your mail). Any
exceptions to the above conditions guarantees you're wasting everyone's
time and bandwidth while lowering the standards.
<snipped>
> If you're signing some mail, you might as well sign all of it,
No. email it just a digital form of communication - the same rules that
determine sane use of verification apply as to other forms of communication.
> as this will habituate people to expect your mail to be signed,
Nope. Wishful thinking at best.
> and avoid you needing to decide what's important enough to sign.
It's called a brain. Use it or lose it.
> It also acts as a nice signal that you can handle encrypted mail,
It shows you have pgp installed, not that you know how to use it.
> which needs to be used more widely.
In some circumstances yes. In others absolutely not. Think about it.
Who are you? I see no signature with a chain of trust.
Who have you self appointed yourself spokesperson for? The vast majority
of the last two decades worth of posters who *don't* sign their posts?
Digital signature are fine - in an appropriate context. Like wearing
condoms. In the wrong context it's just stupid and lowers the standard.
Evolution didn't end with the development of thumbs. Really.
If you read this far consider that most of us are not saying "don't sign
your posts". If everything in life was simple, everyone would be simpletons.
Kind regards
--
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answers to questions about Debian:-
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/collections/Scott_Ferguson/debian/
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