Re: [ALSC-Forum] Re: Another model to consider

[Thomas Roessler]

Esther Dyson said:

>>There's a third alternative. Sign up for an aliased e-mail list, 
>>so that you can be reached only through that list.  Then create 
>>a mechanism for a variety of third-party mailing lists.

Karl Auerbach responded:

>That technique is useful, but it is not sufficient.

>The sine qua non is that members must be able reach one another 
>privately, in secret, and without tipping off those who are in 
>opposition of what is afoot.

I have a problem with your logic - how is this supposed to work? 
You want to deal, privately, in secret, with someone you don't know 
- except from the voters' address list?  With someone you didn't 
ever communicate with before?  With someone who didn't ever comment 
in public?  This doesn't make sense to me.

(Note that I'm assuming that those who actually contribute to 
discussions on a mailing list like the one Esther describes will 
normally disclose their identity, and can thus be contacted.  I may 
be misunderstanding what she calls an "aliased e-mail list".)

>It is this ability to act in the background that is frequently 
>necessary for two people, or groups, to take what are often very 
>difficult steps to begin to reach compromise.  That kind of 
>tentative outreach can easily wither if it is forced to occur on a 
>public mailing list.

It would wither as well if it was performed by means which roughly 
have the same characteristics as spam.  

"Hello, I'm KARL, and YOU are on the VOTERS ROLL.  You don't know 
me, I don't know you, but I'd like to DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING 
CONFIDENTIAL AND SECRET ISSUES about a WORLD-DOMINATING CONSPIRACY 
with you..." ;-)

-- 
Thomas Roessler                        http://log.does-not-exist.org/