On (29 Aug 96) Scott Hoffman wrote to Bill Cheek...
BC> If you know what is "right", by all means, state it.  But do NOT infer or
BC> state that others are "wrong" without making a case for what is "right".  
Y
BC> message above would otherwise have made a good INTRODUCTION or prelude to 
a
BC> informative article.  SO why didn't you do it?
 SH> Elementry (sic) My Dear Watson..  Elementary...  I have written over
 SH> 75 articles on the field of cryptography, many published in
 SH> journals, HOWEVER, as you might have noted...  this really isnt (sic)
 SH> the place for detailed discussions on cryptography..  For if I
 SH> were to post an article on that topic, I would surely get a
 SH> reply that I'm "Off Topic" in this echo!  But anyhow..  Their
 SH> is a "Public Key Cryptography" echo on FIDONET, and I suggest
 SH> some people check it out and ask questions.  Not much activity
 SH> their, but when you ask a question, somebody will usually
 SH> answer it very technically and promptly.
Scott, Bill and I have had a few differences of opinion from time to
time, and I suspect he is leaning toward the opposite side of the
fence than I am on this issue too, but in this case, I must side
with him.
In your above quote of Bill's last message, he says:
BC> If you know what is "right", by all means, state it.
Isn't that giving you permission to educate everyone????
In all the discussion that we have had concerning public keys and
cryptography, he has always asked us to stick to "the meat and
potatoes".  He has NEVER jumped on someone for providing facts, in
fact he has jumped on people for providing opinions WITHOUT FACTS.
He even extended the original deadline that he set for this
discussion because he felt that there was more to be learned. You on
the other hand, posted a message that basically talked down to
everyone in the echo, while placing yourself on a pedestal, as if
you were some perfect individual.  Frankly, I was surprised that
Bill didn't come down on you like a ton of bricks, for your self
righteous attitude.  Instead, he offered you the chance to educate
everyone, and you had to continue with your "holier than thou"
attitude AND, once again, while talking down to everyone refuse to
attempt to educate anyone.  No, in this case, Bill isn't off base,
YOU ARE.  I don't care how many articles, if any, you "may have"
have written or published.  Of all the discussion that has flowed on
this subject, right or wrong, your's has been the least informative.
At least everyone else took a stand, and risked being wrong in
public, rather than posting a message like your's which basically
said, "You're all wrong, only *I* am right, never mind why, Cya!"
It would be better to have said nothing rather than try to insult
everyone's intelligence.
Martin
... Words are not food, though sometimes we must eat them.
--- PPoint 2.01
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