The Cyphernomicon: Cypherpunks FAQ and More (1994) [Txt]
Prescient stuff from 1993.<p>&quot;We anticipate that computer networks will play a more and
   more important role in many parts of our lives.  But this
   increased computerization brings tremendous dangers for
   infringing privacy.  Cypherpunks seek to put into place
   structures which will allow people to preserve their privacy
   if they choose.  No one will be forced to use pseudonyms or
   post anonymously. But it should be a matter of choice how
   much information a person chooses to reveal about himself
   when he communicates.  Right now, the nets don&#x27;t give you
   that much choice.  We are trying to give this power to
   people.&quot;  [Hal Finney, 1993-02-23]<p>“Hal Finney has made cogent arguments as to why we should
     not become too complacent about the role of technology vis-
     a-vis politics. He warns us not to grow to confident:
    - &quot;Fundamentally, I believe we will have the kind of
       society that most people want.  If we want freedom and
       privacy, we must persuade others that these are worth
       having.  There are no shortcuts.  Withdrawing into
       technology is like pulling the blankets over your head.
       It feels good for a while, until reality catches up.”<p>“The idea here is that the ultimate solution to the low
     signal-to-noise ratio on the nets is not a matter of
     forcing people to &quot;stand behind their words&quot;.  People can
     stand behind all kinds of idiotic ideas.  Rather, there
     will need to be developed better systems for filtering news
     and mail, for developing &quot;digital reputations&quot; which can be
     stamped on one&#x27;s postings to pass through these smart
     filters, and even applying these reputations to pseudonyms.
     In such a system, the fact that someone is posting or
     mailing pseudonymously is not a problem, since nuisance
     posters won&#x27;t be able to get through.&quot;  [Hal Finney, 1993-
     02-23]”<p>8.6.5. &quot;Why are remailers needed?&quot;
  + Hal Finney summarized the reasons nicely in an answer back
     in early 1993.
    - &quot;There are several different advantages provided by
       anonymous remailers. One of the simplest and least
       controversial would be to defeat traffic analysis on
       ordinary email.....Two people who wish to communicate
       privately can use PGP or some other encryption system to
       hide the content of their messages.  But the fact that
       they are communicating with each other is still visible
       to many people: sysops at their sites and possibly at
       intervening sites, as well as various net snoopers.  It
       would be natural for them to desire an additional amount
       of privacy which would disguise who they were
       communicating with as well as what they were saying.<p><pre><code>       &quot;Anonymous remailers make this possible.  By forwarding
       mail between themselves through remailers, while still
       identifying themselves in the (encrypted) message
       contents, they have even more communications privacy than
       with simple encryption.
       
       &quot;(The Cypherpunk vision includes a world in which
       literally hundreds or thousands of such remailers
       operate.  Mail could be bounced through dozens of these
       services, mixing in with tens of thousands of other
       messages, re-encrypted at each step of the way.  This
       should make traffic analysis virtually impossible.  By
       sending periodic dummy messages which just get swallowed
       up at some step, people can even disguise _when_ they are
       communicating.)&quot; [Hal Finney, 1993-02-23]
       
       &quot;The more controversial vision associated with anonymous
       remailers is expressed in such science fiction stories as
       &quot;True Names&quot;, by Vernor
       Vinge, or &quot;Ender&#x27;s Game&quot;, by Orson Scott Card.  These
       depict worlds in which computer networks are in
       widespread use, but in which many people choose to
       participate through pseudonyms.  In this way they can
       make unpopular arguments or participate in frowned-upon
       transactions without their activities being linked to
       their true identities.  It also allows people to develop
       reputations based on the quality of their ideas, rather
       than their job, wealth, age, or status.&quot; [Hal Finney,
       1993-02-23]
  - &quot;Other advantages of this approach include its extension to
     electronic on-line transactions.  Already today many
     records are kept of our financial dealings - each time we
     purchase an item over the phone using a credit card, this
     is recorded by the credit card company.  In time, even more
     of this kind of information may be collected and possibly
     sold. One Cypherpunk vision includes the ability to engage
     in transactions anonymously, using &quot;digital cash&quot;, which
     would not be traceable to the participants.  Particularly
     for buying &quot;soft&quot; products, like music, video, and software
     (which all may be deliverable over the net eventually), it
     should be possible to engage in such transactions
     anonymously.  So this is another area where anonymous mail
     is important.&quot;  [Hal Finney, 1993-02-23]</code></pre>