> Hey, I have a great idea! Setting up some file traders by leaving a
> known security risk in the product is great for publicity, I
> agree. But what if we set up someone to go to JAIL? Or to get KILLED?
> That'd be even BETTER!
Your sarcasm is not appreciated and in bad taste.
What is the security risk? Where is it stated in the goals of this
project that it be impossible for someone to determine that you are
running a Freenet node? Freenet provided anonymity to producers and
consumers of information, NOT to the network itself. The issue of
monopoly control over Internet access is not something that can be fought
in software alone, and we will only devalue the rest of our work if we
claim that it can.
> There's one thing I know: I don't plan on being the patsy who loses
> his ISP account for the greater glory of Freenet. I've already turned
> off my nodes and contacted friends to set up a private net (protected
> by our firewalls). I can't honestly encourage anyone to use Freenet,
> knowing that it has such gaping risks.
What is the security risk? That your Internet connection could be cut
off? WAKE UP - it can be cut off anyway, for any number of dumb reasons
(read your ISP contract if you want a list), most of them a *hell* of a
lot more likely than someone with the ability to cut off your connection
stumbling across your Freenet node. You clearly don't understand the
philosophy of civil disobedience do you? The whole point is that so may
people ignore a dumb law that it is impossible to enforce, unfortunately
it can't happen if everyone adopted your attitude. There comes a point
when injustice must be tackled head-on, not just with
workarounds. Freenet will make the DMCA very difficult to enforce, but
can it make it impossible, probably not.
> Many, many universities shut down Napster even before getting RIAA
> letters. Those gutsy schools are the exception, not the rule.
It only takes a small number of ISPs/companies/universities world wide to
resist a ban on Freenet, for such a ban to be rendered somewhat
meaningless, this aside from the huge difficulties in enforcing such a ban
anyway.
As I have said before, the best defence against a ban on Freenet is to
make Freenet so wide-spread that such a ban would be impossible to
enforce.
Ian.
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