Let me tell you a little story... (Score 1)

Privacy has been dead for a very, very long time. I find it interesting that many people coming of age in the digital era fail to realize this, because privacy has only become an issue when it started affecting your computers.

Don't get me wrong--I use computers for work, all day, every day. I use them for play as well. But there is much more out there than the internet, and much more to you than your .sig file.

However, the power of computers lies in this: There is very little effective electronic legislation in place in the world today (example: cryptography is governed by munitions laws of all things). Most legislation aimed at the electronic world is a badly rehashed attempt to apply existing policy to new ideas--generally by politicos who don't understand the first thing about it.

This is where you, the internet user, come into the picture. Take advantage of the fact that electronic law has not yet coalesced into any strong set of guidelines. Take it upon yourself to protect yourself and show others how to protect themselves. If people become accustomed to preserving their online privacy, they will be a lot less willing to give it up when the time comes.

ps: give carmack a break. some of you petty little fuckers need to wake up and smell the coffee if you think that's a threat.