WASTE 1.6 "Special Edition"

[Mazer]

Originally Posted by Malk-a-mite

Quick point, most of the world doesn't care to look at the code, and of those that do not all of them are qualified to tell what is a security hole and what isn't.

I count myself among that first group. I've never bothered to look at the source code. I put my trust in the competitive self interest and paranoia of the programmers and hackers who use their own software. If it's good enough for those people who actually know how to find security holes then it's good enough for me. Of course I leave this decision to each of us individually. If someone decides that they only trust the original programmer and none of the ones that came after him, fine.

Originally Posted by theknife

it is a particular political and legal climate that makes a program like Waste necessary in the first place...and it is this climate that breeds the fear and prejudice that Waste users may experience. the software only creates a group dynamic for a valid paranoia, because there really are powerful forces at work against people who would use a program like Waste.

People still find ways to feel unsafe within the strictures of WASTE's peculiar group dynamic. The legal climate makes the encryption necessary, but it doesn't make the infighting and the ostracizing and the turning of friends against each other necessary. As much as possible the software should shelter its users from the climate of fear and prejudice outside, but it often does not. Once you've exiled all the people in your mesh who make you feel unsafe (something you can only do by making them want to leave on their own), WASTE works perfectly.