Re: LYNX-DEV Lynx & US Govt (was SSL for Lynx 2.8)

[Personal]

Philip Webb comments on the seeming paranoia of US citizens regarding SSL, etc..

Well, it is paranoia, but to those of us who have been on the net for a while,
it is well deserved paranoia. The US government is prone to take a person who
(like many hundreds of others) has been violating (knowingly or not) some
such ban, and ruining their life. I wish I recalled the guy's name, but there
is one guy who just ran an anonymous ftp site. Someone put some file on it
that the government felt was in violation of ITAR, and last I heard, the guy
was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for legal fees and facing
prison still. Not a position I want to chance emulating.

Since this is still a semi free country, I will say here that I detest the US's
position on encryption. It allows criminals to do what they want, but prevents
the many capable companies and individuals in the US from being able to compete
or participate in an entire segment of international trade or development. I
guess the poor dupes who coded this law must have beleived that the US was
lightyears ahead of the rest of the world in terms of software developemnt. 
Even if true, they made sure we couldn't have stayed that way!

Scott

Scott McGee: Salt Lake Community College Webmaster | When in danger,
___________________________________________________| or in doubt,
Email: address@hidden (Scott McGee)         | run in circles,
Web:   http://www.slcc.edu/infotech/webmaster.html | scream and shout.
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My opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the College. Trust me!