pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU (for you to know and me to find out) (02/08/88)
Anyone who feels they are currently victims of a campaign
to forge their articles can easily solve the problem.
Announce publicly that you are now withdrawing from posting
to the net for a specified period (three months or so), and
that in this period of time, any and ALL postings from "you"
should be ignored as a forgery.
Whoever is forging these articles will no longer have any
fun, since they will not confuse anyone, and will eventually
stop. Your own name will be cleared. After the furor dies
down and the forgers go on to bigger and better things, you
can return with some hope of being believed.
What? You CAN'T stop posting for that long? Your livelihood
would disappear? Tsk, tsk.
Pooh
pooh@oddjob.uchicago.edu
I would like to take you seriously but to do so would affront
your intelligence. -- Wm. F. Buckleygadfly@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Gadfly) (02/08/88)
In article <14316@oddjob.UChicago.EDU>, pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU (for you to know and me to find out) writes: > Anyone who feels they are currently victims of a campaign > to forge their articles can easily solve the problem. > > Announce publicly that you are now withdrawing from posting > to the net for a specified period (three months or so), and > that in this period of time, any and ALL postings from "you" > should be ignored as a forgery... What will that prove? The creative forger (I, for instance, am actually Pooh, responding to my own posting but using gadfly's account as he stands over my shoulder, his firm hands gently... hmmm, ok, so that's not very creative, but you get the picture) would simply announce a change of heart, and possibly a change of attitude (thereby confusing those who also notice a change of style). I mean, look how many people do announce their net.sabbaticals, only to reappear 2 days later because they "just had to respond". Don't go to sleep! And for Heaven's sake, don't stop posting! If you do, the pod-people will take over. Why would Pooh even mention such an unthinkable strategy, unless... *** *** J'EN AI RAS-LE-BOL ***** ***** ****** ****** 07 Feb 88 [18 Pluviose An CXCVI] ken perlow ***** ***** (312)979-8042 ** ** ** ** ihnp4!ihlpa!gadfly *** ***
gsmith@BOSCO.BERKELEY.EDU (02/08/88)
In article <7086@ihlpa.ATT.COM> gadfly@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Gadfly) writes: >In article <14316@oddjob.UChicago.EDU>, pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU >(for you to know and me to find out) writes: >> Anyone who feels they are currently victims of a campaign >> to forge their articles can easily solve the problem. >> Announce publicly that you are now withdrawing from posting >> to the net for a specified period (three months or so), and >> that in this period of time, any and ALL postings from "you" >> should be ignored as a forgery... I was going to point out that the "reasoning" here was seriously flawed, but then I found: >Don't go to sleep! And for Heaven's sake, don't stop posting! >If you do, the pod-people will take over. Why would Pooh even >mention such an unthinkable strategy, unless... I thought of that possibility too. In fact, the fact that I *did* have to think of it should alert people to the fact that merely because you are unaware of any forgeries going out under your name does not mean articles you write will automatically be above suspicion. I should also like to remark I was sorely tempted to post a forged "pooh@oddjob" article to get the point across to her, maybe following it up with phoney Michael Berch articles and stuff. I still think it is possible this forgery business is on the way to getting out of hand. The recent claim that all of the forgeries have been in "talk", "soc" or "alt" groups, for instance, is false. If you want a public announcement of some kind, here is one: I forswear all forgeries, I promise not to forge anything, even as a joke. Make you feel any better? Thought not. ucbvax!brahms!gsmith Gene Ward Smith/Brahmsgangster/Berkeley CA 94720 "What is algebra exactly? Is it those three-cornered things?" J.M. Barrie
COK@PSUVMA.BITNET (The Pentagonal Potentate) (02/08/88)
In article <7086@ihlpa.ATT.COM>, gadfly@ihlpa.ATT.COM (Gadfly) says: > >What will that prove? The creative forger (I, for instance, am >actually Pooh, responding to my own posting but using gadfly's >account as he stands over my shoulder, his firm hands gently... >hmmm, ok, so that's not very creative, but you get the picture) >would simply announce a change of heart, and possibly a change of >attitude (thereby confusing those who also notice a change of style). >I mean, look how many people do announce their net.sabbaticals, >only to reappear 2 days later because they "just had to respond". A truly creative forger would simply post a phony announcement of this sort, so that nothing by the REAL poster would be taken seriously. So if there were danger of forgery, then this would not solve anything. How to verify the authenticity of the withdrawal posting? > > *** *** >J'EN AI RAS-LE-BOL ***** ***** > ****** ****** 07 Feb 88 [18 Pluviose An CXCVI] >ken perlow ***** ***** >(312)979-8042 ** ** ** ** >ihnp4!ihlpa!gadfly *** *** ------- cok%psuvma@psuvax1.psu.edu "I'd love to, m'lad, but this fine Havana UUCP:. . .rutgers!psuvax1! magic wand is a bit too short to grant psuvma.BITNET!cok wishes with." Jackeen J. O'malley
hilda@kaos.UUCP (Hilda Marshall) (02/09/88)
In article <14316@oddjob.UChicago.EDU> pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU (for you to know and me to find out) writes: (how to keep people from forging articles in your name) )Announce publicly that you are now withdrawing from posting )to the net for a specified period (three months or so), and )that in this period of time, any and ALL postings from "you" )should be ignored as a forgery. Oh, no! Now all the pseudos will rush in and "sign off" in ther enemies' names!
pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU (for you to know and me to find out) (02/09/88)
Actually, it would work either way, by keeping ANYONE from posting
with that name for a while. . .which would quiet things down some.
But seriously, folks--how big a threat IS this forgery stuff, anyway?
You don't see forgeries popping up of Valerie, for instance, or
Hilda, or Kenn, or. . . the list goes on. Know why?
Because a successful forgery of these erstwhile posters would be
BORING. They'd be reasonable, informative, entertaining, enlightening. . .
We'd only have a surplus of intelligence and maturity, which would only
do the net good. Who the hell gets his/her jollies by posting yet another
thoughtful and original posting?
The only *real* fun-to-mimic posters are the ones who are regularly
both off-the-wall and inflammatory, to the point where you could write
almost ANYTHING. As long as it was rude and controversial, people
would at least have to think a while before figuring out the difference.
Moreover, they get even MORE het up at attempts to forge them, which
adds positive feedback. If you had a posting ostensibly from Marcia
with the words "Nazi pig-fucking Commie libertarian woman-basher"
in it, would anyone stop laughing long enough even to SUSPECT it
of being genuine?
The REAL solution is left as an exercise to the reader.
Pooh
pooh@oddjob.uchicago.edu
Keywords: faux, pseudo, surrogate, imitation, artificial. . .nevin1@ihlpf.ATT.COM (00704a-Liber) (02/10/88)
In article <14316@oddjob.UChicago.EDU>, pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU (for you to know and me to find out) writes: .Anyone who feels they are currently victims of a campaign .to forge their articles can easily solve the problem. .Announce publicly that you are now withdrawing from posting .to the net for a specified period (three months or so), and .that in this period of time, any and ALL postings from "you" .should be ignored as a forgery... But what happens if the FORGER posts the 'I am withdrawing' message with someone else's name? :-) -- _ __ NEVIN J. LIBER ..!ihnp4!ihlpf!nevin1 (312) 510-6194 ' ) ) "The secret compartment of my ring I fill / / _ , __o ____ with an Underdog super-energy pill." / (_</_\/ <__/ / <_ These are solely MY opinions, not AT&T's, blah blah blah
legare@ut-emx.UUCP (BoB teCh) (02/10/88)
In article <14316@oddjob.UChicago.EDU>, pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU (for you to know and me to find out) writes: > > Anyone who feels they are currently victims of a campaign > to forge their articles can easily solve the problem. > > Announce publicly that you are now withdrawing from posting > to the net for a specified period (three months or so), and > that in this period of time, any and ALL postings from "you" > should be ignored as a forgery. > > Whoever is forging these articles will no longer have any > fun, since they will not confuse anyone, and will eventually > stop. Your own name will be cleared. After the furor dies > down and the forgers go on to bigger and better things, you what? and give up showbusiness? BoB teCh "I feel unabashed." Rollo, shortly before bashing
davis@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM (Jim Davis) (02/11/88)
pooh@oddjob.UChicago.EDU writes:
pooh> Anyone who feels they are currently victims of a campaign
pooh> to forge their articles can easily solve the problem.
pooh> Announce publicly that you are now withdrawing from posting
pooh> to the net for a specified period (three months or so), and
pooh> that in this period of time, any and ALL postings from "you"
pooh> should be ignored as a forgery.
pooh> Whoever is forging these articles will no longer have any
pooh> fun, since they will not confuse anyone, and will eventually
pooh> stop. Your own name will be cleared. After the furor dies
pooh> down and the forgers go on to bigger and better things, you
pooh> can return with some hope of being believed.
This may be exactly what the forgers want.
There are measures that would allow forgery victims to continue
posting, without allowing easy forgery. The protocol I have selected
to describe was chosen for its ease of use, and not for perfection.
It does require that the user monitor what they are said to have
posted, and deny the postings that are forged. Lacking widely
available public key encryption programs, there is no simple, easy
solution. This protocol assumes that forgery attempts are rare, and
has a significant cost if a forgery does occur.
If you are or feel that you might become a victim of forgery
attempts then follow this procedure.
Posting Mechanism
1) Select a password solely for netnews posting, one that
will not reveal anything about yourself.
2) Announce to the net that you will be signing important
messages during the interval from <start_time> to
<stop_time>. Using the protocol below, sign this message.
Announce your encryption method (e.g. crypt|vis ).
3) Sign all messages desired to be accepted as non-forgeries.
4) If a forgery does occur, do the following:
a) Announce the forgery;
b) Announce a new password has been chosen;
c) Sign this message with the new and old passwords.
A few days later, send a single message:
d) Reveal the old password;
e) Announce a new password;
f) Sign this message with the new password.
5) At the expiration of the password's interval, announce
that a new password has been chosen for a new interval,
and sign this password with both the old and new signatures.
Signing Mechanism
1) Append or embed a piece of text encrypted using the current password.
The text should describe the circumstances of the message,
for example:
"This 42 line message with subject "Killing Rabbits is Bad"
was posted late February 10th, 1988"
------- Signature -- Method is Elm Automatic Encryption-----------
[encode]
Iw;X2K[HE*KLRD;cxZ.D8uFCuUuiEDcAB7Q{'*.*%c.W;GIE$G(@9Ok
1XzchpYi9aJlV"c{XT'XLk7$nNBrxy_3JUrBA7fMs[LI,BY9z5QrBOI}3
CNVPspKSQp\-[Q?kXrYTswf`SF&]!h5TzNqYry7<8v10<Xn6
[clear]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Jim Davis
hplabs!davis
davis@hplabs.hp.com