Comments on: The Importance of Anonymity http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html Musings of a techie lawyer Sun, 20 May 2012 18:25:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7-bleeding By: Richard Leitten's 718 Weblog http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-102 Richard Leitten's 718 Weblog Sun, 01 May 2005 00:13:57 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-102 <strong>The Value of Anonymity</strong> This question awakens that little voice inside my head to remind me that if I feel the necessity for doing something in secret, then I probably shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. Putting my traditional Irish Catholic guilt... The Value of Anonymity

This question awakens that little voice inside my head to remind me that if I feel the necessity for doing something in secret, then I probably shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. Putting my traditional Irish Catholic guilt…

]]> By: Abject Learning http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-101 Abject Learning Mon, 13 Sep 2004 17:53:49 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-101 <strong>Espaces Grand Ouverts -- Translators Wanted</strong> I've been relieved by the response to my recent EDUCAUSE Review article on wikis. I was terrified at the prospect of SeriousWikiHeads reading the piece and ripping it to shreds, but so far the feedback has been gentle. Among others, Clay Shirky made a ... Espaces Grand Ouverts — Translators Wanted

I’ve been relieved by the response to my recent EDUCAUSE Review article on wikis. I was terrified at the prospect of SeriousWikiHeads reading the piece and ripping it to shreds, but so far the feedback has been gentle. Among others, Clay Shirky made a …

]]> By: Abject Learning http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-100 Abject Learning Mon, 13 Sep 2004 17:42:22 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-100 <strong>Espaces Grand Ouverts -- Translators Wanted</strong> I've been relieved by the response to my recent EDUCAUSE Review article on wikis. I was terrified at the prospect of SeriousWikiHeads reading the piece and ripping it to shreds, but so far the feedback has been gentle. Among others, Clay Shirky made a ... Espaces Grand Ouverts — Translators Wanted

I’ve been relieved by the response to my recent EDUCAUSE Review article on wikis. I was terrified at the prospect of SeriousWikiHeads reading the piece and ripping it to shreds, but so far the feedback has been gentle. Among others, Clay Shirky made a …

]]> By: RocknGo http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-99 RocknGo Tue, 07 Sep 2004 19:27:54 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-99 <strong>Wikis in Academia</strong> Via: Many-to-Many: Brian Lamb has a great article on wikis in academia in EDUCAUSE Review. I didn’t interview for the piece (would have shared how academic communities in Stanford [our very first customer], Berkeley, USC and others are using Soci... Wikis in Academia

Via: Many-to-Many: Brian Lamb has a great article on wikis in academia in EDUCAUSE Review. I didn’t interview for the piece (would have shared how academic communities in Stanford [our very first customer], Berkeley, USC and others are using Soci…

]]> By: Many-to-Many http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-98 Many-to-Many Tue, 07 Sep 2004 12:46:49 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-98 <strong>Wikis Anonymous</strong> Brian Lamb has a great article on wikis in academia in EDUCAUSE Review. I didn’t interview for the piece (would have shared how academic communities in Stanford [our very first customer], Berkeley, USC and others are using Socialtext with our... Wikis Anonymous

Brian Lamb has a great article on wikis in academia in EDUCAUSE Review. I didn’t interview for the piece (would have shared how academic communities in Stanford [our very first customer], Berkeley, USC and others are using Socialtext with our…

]]> By: Anonymous http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-97 Anonymous Sun, 22 Feb 2004 18:03:40 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-97 The Unlimited Freedom blog is published on the Invisiblog site, which provides cryptographically protected anonymity. Writers email their posts through a network of anonymous remailers, using PGP signatures to assure authenticity. <a href="http://invisiblog.com/1c801df4aee49232/article/a88db099b5d8146ae20bb21331c7cac1" rel="nofollow">http://invisiblog.com/1c801df4aee49232/article/a88db099b5d8146ae20bb21331c7cac1</a> describes the author's history with anonymous posting. His support for Trusted Computing and Digital Rights Management would make him a pariah in the online privacy community if his identity were known. As Lawrence Solum observed of his law students, "It is socially unacceptable to take the position that unlawful P2P filesharing is morally wrong." ( <a href="http://lsolum.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_lsolum_archive.html#107464058060655049" rel="nofollow">http://lsolum.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_lsolum_archive.html#107464058060655049</a> ) The same prejudice applies to those who argue that Trusted Computing is morally acceptable. By providing a resource where anonymous views can be presented without fear of negative repurcussions, services like Invisiblog improve the quality of public discourse. It's sad that our community accepts the kind of close-mindedness identified by Solum, but those are the realities. Given these facts, we should all support the availability of critical commentary and analysis which could not exist without the protection of anonymity. The Unlimited Freedom blog is published on the Invisiblog site, which provides cryptographically protected anonymity. Writers email their posts through a network of anonymous remailers, using PGP signatures to assure authenticity.

http://invisiblog.com/1c801df4aee49232/article/a88db099b5d8146ae20bb21331c7cac1 describes the author’s history with anonymous posting. His support for Trusted Computing and Digital Rights Management would make him a pariah in the online privacy community if his identity were known. As Lawrence Solum observed of his law students, “It is socially unacceptable to take the position that unlawful P2P filesharing is morally wrong.” ( http://lsolum.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_lsolum_archive.html#107464058060655049 ) The same prejudice applies to those who argue that Trusted Computing is morally acceptable.

By providing a resource where anonymous views can be presented without fear of negative repurcussions, services like Invisiblog improve the quality of public discourse. It’s sad that our community accepts the kind of close-mindedness identified by Solum, but those are the realities. Given these facts, we should all support the availability of critical commentary and analysis which could not exist without the protection of anonymity.

]]> By: Ben Edelman http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-96 Ben Edelman Sun, 22 Feb 2004 18:00:39 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-96 But where's the connection between H.R.3754 and anonymity? The bill speaks of knowingly providing material and misleading false contact information. Those who use legitimate anonymous registration services (Domains by Proxy etc.) enter truthful contact information of a third party (namely, the registrar in its capacity as proxy). So they don't run afoul of H.R.3754. Admittedly they pay a few dollars extra for domain registration, but it's hard to think these costs present a major deterrent since they're so small relative to the costs of hosting (not to mention content development). But where’s the connection between H.R.3754 and anonymity? The bill speaks of knowingly providing material and misleading false contact information. Those who use legitimate anonymous registration services (Domains by Proxy etc.) enter truthful contact information of a third party (namely, the registrar in its capacity as proxy). So they don’t run afoul of H.R.3754. Admittedly they pay a few dollars extra for domain registration, but it’s hard to think these costs present a major deterrent since they’re so small relative to the costs of hosting (not to mention content development).

]]> By: K http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-95 K Mon, 16 Feb 2004 15:33:30 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-95 Rick- Domains are not always the sole identifier in a URL, but they can be, and it is often more useful for everyone when they are. Maybe I'm the one confused, because it seems entirely obvious to me what the difference is between having a 2nd level and 3rd level URL. If I want a website, I have a choice: 1) register my own domain name, i.e. K.info, or 2) use a third level domain on a) someone else's domain, i.e. K.anonymity.info, or b) my own domain, i.e. A.K.info. Options 1 and 2b give me control of the domain and the content, but are not anonymous, as the whois will show who I am and where I live. Option 2a may provide anonymity but I am subject to the will of the owner of anonymity.info. That person/organization can shut me off at anytime. This is why a 3rd level is different than a 2nd level, and it is entirely relevant to the issue at hand. I'm not familiar enough with the .name's anymore to compare the .name scheme to the standard com, net, org, info, etc. Rick- Domains are not always the sole identifier in a URL, but they can be, and it is often more useful for everyone when they are. Maybe I’m the one confused, because it seems entirely obvious to me what the difference is between having a 2nd level and 3rd level URL. If I want a website, I have a choice: 1) register my own domain name, i.e. K.info, or 2) use a third level domain on a) someone else’s domain, i.e. K.anonymity.info, or b) my own domain, i.e. A.K.info.

Options 1 and 2b give me control of the domain and the content, but are not anonymous, as the whois will show who I am and where I live. Option 2a may provide anonymity but I am subject to the will of the owner of anonymity.info. That person/organization can shut me off at anytime. This is why a 3rd level is different than a 2nd level, and it is entirely relevant to the issue at hand. I’m not familiar enough with the .name’s anymore to compare the .name scheme to the standard com, net, org, info, etc.

]]> By: R Wesson http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-94 R Wesson Mon, 16 Feb 2004 02:15:33 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-94 K, Domains are not the sole identifier in a uri and with the advent of search engines may not even be relivant to this discussion. My points is that a.stupid.name is a valid 3rd level FQDN that has privacy protections, if you could explain why a.stupid.com is any different. I would appeciate the clue. -rick K,

Domains are not the sole identifier in a uri and with the advent of search engines may not even be relivant to this discussion.

My points is that a.stupid.name is a valid 3rd level FQDN that has privacy protections, if you could explain why a.stupid.com is any different. I would appeciate the clue.

-rick

]]> By: K http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2004/02/10/the_importance_of_anonymity.html#comment-93 K Sun, 15 Feb 2004 16:39:37 +0000 http://wendy.seltzer.org/wordpress/?p=81#comment-93 Rick, Wendy explained the difference in her comment at 11:25am. Users should be able to manage and control their own domain names so they don't have to rely on someone else to maintain an anonymous site. 3rd and 4th level domains only provide as much free/anonymous speech as the manager of the 2nd level permits. Rick,
Wendy explained the difference in her comment at 11:25am. Users should be able to manage and control their own domain names so they don’t have to rely on someone else to maintain an anonymous site. 3rd and 4th level domains only provide as much free/anonymous speech as the manager of the 2nd level permits.

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