Replies (74)

Alexander Hamilton used a pseudonym to write The Federalist Papers. George Orwell is not the real name of George Orwell. Satoshi Nakamoto would've been hunted like a stray dog and dragged through the mud if he would've used his real name. An attack on pseudonymity is an attack on freedom.
Rob of Nuar's avatar
Rob of Nuar 6 months ago
Today I learned that open source software can land you a jail sentence. I am in shock and sadness. And yes, pseudonymity is a way to protect yourself from the government mood-swings.
Rob of Nuar's avatar
Rob of Nuar 6 months ago
I bet invented personalities could be the only answer. Satoshi is not probably in jail but I assume many would try to hunt them down just for the idea alone. And this is awful.
I don't think so. They can track everything. ISPs are in their pocket, Mobile providers too. Most public WiFI spots track your connection to them as you walk by. Cookies link your identity even if you are using Tor. And Facebook can link your account ID even if you don't run any of their apps. Google does the same. Apple does the same. Samsung does the same. There is no way to participate in the web without leaving traces to the government.
The goal is to increase the cost of mass surveillance to the point that they have to use targeted surveillance again. We don't throw our hands up and say it's all lost, we use what's available.
Not really. You can use a nym, but that only protects your identity from other plebs. There are some benefits to it. The government controls too much to be fooled by simple tricks.
You must not have your name attached to your ISP. There are ways. Use a VPN router. Mobile phone must be a PAYG sim, unregistered, and no Apple account. Use GrapheneOS. Public WiFi spots would then only know phone#e79y279ee7 has passed by. Not your identity. There are spoofers too if you really need. And use a VPN. Explain cookies on Tor, I don't agree. Idiots use Facebook (although I have used fake profiles in the past). Don't use Apple or Google or Samsung. You don't need them. GrapheneOS. It's a lot of work and you always risk leakage. But 99% of the battle is not to be wanted, so if 1% leaks out, they'll never bother to go on a wild goose chase after you.
capybara's avatar
capybara 6 months ago
But it does make their life a bit harder. I try to be as anonymous as possible, so they spend a lot of resources on me, only to find out after months of investigation that I'm the most boring average Joe 😂
All VPNs report data to government, when they don't actively sell it to them as part of the business model. I dealt for years with medical data and the first rule was to never use an off the shelf VPN... ever. When you use a VPN, you are just choosing who can track you. You can make your own VPN, but single users don't get any annonimity from it. You have to have multiple people using it and they can still track the group together. You will always have your name attached to the ISP. You can choose a proxy, but they will track the proxy too. And the proxy better not have worse security than you. By just tracking your over time, they can farily estimate which devices you use. People tend to significantly underestimate how much leaks when somebody is tracking your for a long period of time. Especially when your credit card and phone are always together.
This ✅ More folks should be doing #nostr reads on "how to duck outta surveillance" on different levels. Casual ducking, pseudonymous dodging and black-hat level disappearance 🫥 - then let folks choose. We need to make this a communal effort and wage a proper war on #DigitalID before we can say all is ""lost"".
A good VPN has no usable data to give the government upon subpoena. Your name need not be attached to the ISP. No proxy is needed (although even a proxy significantly breaks the chain). There is no way to determine which devices you use if there is no identity tied to the devices. And you still have device spoofing if you wanted.
Not at all. You can use other people's ISPs. Or live in a communal home where one person orders the ISP for the whole household.
Rob of Nuar's avatar
Rob of Nuar 6 months ago
I do not seek to be anonymous. I just want my name and my software to be separate entities having separate lives. My dangerous self can keep up with shit, my software ideas… well they are on the edge sometimes.
xhfghpm's avatar
xhfghpm 6 months ago
Australia has enacted a world-first ban on social media for users aged under 16, causing millions of children and teenagers to lose access to their accounts. They would all be very welcome in Nostr, where the government has no power.
In the US, the ISP privacy policies say "we will collect and share everything" and US policy says "we can subvert any ISP at any time with an NSL" so it is unlikely that using a VPN over the ISP can be worse than using your ISP without one. To your point, there are better and worse VPN services. If your VPN asks for your name, address, and phone number, for example, that's a red flag. Of course they're going to see your IP addresses and DNS requests, but again, it can't be worse than your ISP. Tor can help with that. If TLS isn't broken, then neither the VPN nor the ISP can see the contents of what you send to what site. I agree if the gov'ts want to "get" someone, they can and will. But we shouldn't make it so easy.
You are not correct @Gigi . Pseudonymity is imperative to for freedom of speech in times of no freedom. In free sociaty nobody would have to hide behind pseudonyms! Thus, pseudonymity is key now considering times we live in. But by far cannot be a goal. People should be allowed to be brave enough to stand behind they believes, actions and words. Pseudonymity is merely a workaround !
Madison and Jay would like a word but … LOLS 😆 on the George Orwell Fair for #Satoshi : no one needs a bounty hunter on them. Even if they are an old school dog. 🐶
as if they know better than the parents it self in determined which one should or should not for the kids . we should resist at once and give freedom back to our kids .
I wonder if #nostr is one of them “dark corners of the web” that the reportage on this social media ban is so fond of referring to. Gee I really hope so. 😬
A very poor straw man. You use other people's ISPs when you stay at friends, relatives, hospitals, and coffee shops. "Communism" to you is a homeowner buying the ISP and the lodger using it.. Just say you lost the argument and move on. You'd lose less face.
I disagree. Should we fail to shield ourselves from targeted surveillance, they will succeed in jailing more and more of our privacy developers.
Benking's avatar
Benking 6 months ago
Spot on, pseudonymity is the private key to freedom. No keys, no sovereignty.
You literally said if people are living communally. And then said they can share something without payment. That sounds like communism. When I go to a coffee shop to use the WiFi (I don't but let's play pretend) The coffee shop charges you money. You buy a coffee. And yeah public hospitals funded by the taxpayer that provide free medical services? Well that's state based socialism isn't it? Relatives are my family, you really think that hiding your identity behind a family members identity is a smart way to stay anonymous. I didn't even realise we were having an argument until you mentioned it either.
Lol that's not communism at all, or stealing someone's identity. But if you want to be online without the government knowing it's you, these are the ways to do it. Figure out the nuances of when staying with family.
If they can track it to your family they'll track it to you. How much torture do you think your family can take? Stealing a random strangers identity is much safer. And even if you practice communism, they're going to track it to your commune and how much torture do you think your comrades can take before they give you up? I'm just glad I don't live in UK and I might have a couple more months to work it out. UK had to early release all the rapists just to make room for the thousands of people getting sent using slurs on social media.
If your family were at risk of torture from the regime, you'd be reckless to use family. But that's assuming the regime knows where you live, and are wanted. Every individual has a dynamic puzzle to work through. Being an informal lodger (no contracts and they think your name is Bob) in a rural home is pretty safe. Just keep your internet activity masked behind a good VPN so the ISP can't see it.
State surveillance won’t stop. It will only grow until the people’s sovereignty is completely suffocated. That’s exactly why we need decentralized tools: to protect our assets, our privacy, and our freedom of expression. ☕️⚡️
I agree with the idea of the veto, but I see two issues: raising the age to 16 is absurd, and letting the State decide this is even worse. This should be the parents’ responsibility, allowing access around 12–13 because of the child’s brain development. The real problem is that people love being intellectually led because they hate the effort of thinking for themselves, so they hand over their thinking and their sovereignty to the government for free. I’m writing an article on free will that expands on this idea as well.
ɪᴛ ɪꜱ ᴛʀᴜᴇ. Eʀɪᴄ Bʟᴀɪʀ ʟᴇᴀᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴛᴇʀᴍ ᴘʟᴀɴꜱ, ꜱᴛʀᴀᴛᴇɢɪᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴀᴄᴛɪᴄꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪꜱᴛꜱ ɪ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʜᴀᴍɪʟᴛᴏɴ ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴘɪᴇꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴀᴛꜱɪᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʀɪᴛɪꜱʜ ɪɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ, ɪ ᴀᴍ ꜰᴀɪʀʟʏ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʟɪɴᴄᴏʟɴ ᴅɪᴅ ᴀ ꜱᴀᴅᴅᴀᴍ/ɢᴀᴅᴅᴀꜰꜰɪ ᴛᴜʀɴɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ʜɪꜱ ʜᴀɴᴅʟᴇʀꜱ ɪɴ ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴇꜱᴛ, ᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀꜱᴛ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴅᴇɢʀᴇᴇ ɪɴ ᴀʟʟ ᴄᴀꜱᴇꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴀᴛᴏꜱʜɪ ɴᴀᴋᴀᴍᴏᴛᴏ ᴅɪꜱᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀᴇᴅ ᴅɪʀᴇᴄᴛʟʏ ɪɴ ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴꜱᴇ ᴛᴏ Gᴀᴠɪɴ Aɴᴅʀᴇᴇꜱᴇɴ ʀᴇʟᴀʏɪɴɢ ᴀɴ ɪɴᴠɪᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ CIA. ꜱᴏ, ɪɴ ᴀʟʟ ᴄᴀꜱᴇꜱ, ꜱᴘᴏᴏᴋꜱ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ɪɴᴠᴏʟᴠᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴ ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ᴄᴀꜱᴇꜱ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴ ɪɴ ǫᴜᴇꜱᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀꜱꜱᴀꜱꜱɪɴᴀᴛᴇᴅ. ɪ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟʟʏ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴀᴛᴏꜱʜɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ɪɴ ꜰᴀᴄᴛ Lᴇɴ Sᴀꜱꜱᴀᴍᴀɴ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ. ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ Bʀᴇɪᴛʙᴀʀᴛ, ɪᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ Iᴀɴ Mᴜʀᴅᴏᴄʜ, ᴀɴᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇʟʏ, ᴇᴠᴇɴ Hᴀɴꜱ Rᴇɪꜱᴇʀ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀꜱᴛ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴠɪᴀ ʜɪꜱ ᴡɪꜰᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴏꜱꜱɪʙʟʏ ᴘᴏɪꜱᴏɴᴇᴅ ᴏʀ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀᴡɪꜱᴇ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʀᴀᴢʏ ᴛʜᴀɴ ʜɪꜱ ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴛᴏ ꜱʜᴜᴛ ʜɪᴍ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪꜱ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴏɴ ʀᴇɪꜱᴇʀꜰꜱ 4. ɪ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀ ɪꜰ ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ᴛᴀʀɢᴇᴛ ʙᴜᴛ ɪ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ꜱᴀʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱɪɴᴄᴇ ᴀɴ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴇɴᴄᴇ ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴏɴ ᴘꜱɪʟᴏᴄʏʙɪɴ ɪɴ 2004, ɪ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇʟʏ ʀᴇꜱᴏʟᴠᴇᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ᴅɪꜱᴏʀᴅᴇʀ ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘᴇᴅ ʟɪᴋᴇʟʏ ᴅᴜᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜰʟᴜᴏʀɪᴅᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʙʀᴏᴍɪɴᴇ ꜰɪʀᴇ ʀᴇᴛᴀʀᴅᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴇxᴘᴏꜱᴇᴅ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴛᴏ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʜᴏᴏᴅ - ɪᴇ, ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴛᴏᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ꜰʟᴜᴏʀɪᴅᴇ ᴘɪʟʟꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴜʀɴɪɴɢ ᴘʟᴀꜱᴛɪᴄ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ᴍᴀɢɴɪꜰʏɪɴɢ ɢʟᴀꜱꜱ - ʙʏ ꜱᴜᴘᴘʟᴇᴍᴇɴᴛɪɴɢ ɪᴏᴅɪɴᴇ, ꜰᴏʀ 3 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ 2005-2008, ᴀꜱ ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴛᴀɴᴅɪɴɢ ɪ ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʀɪᴘ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɴɪɢʜᴛ, ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ɪ ʀᴇᴀʟɪꜱᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴏᴏᴍ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴀʟ ɪᴅᴇᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴡᴀꜱ ᴇꜱꜱᴇɴᴛɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴀ ᴋɪɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴘꜱʏᴄʜᴏꜱɪꜱ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ. ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ɪ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ꜰᴜʀᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇɪɴꜰᴏʀᴄᴇᴅ ᴍʏꜱᴇʟꜰ ᴀɢᴀɪɴꜱᴛ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴛʜɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴍᴇᴛʜ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜʙᴊᴇᴄᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴɪꜱᴍ ᴀɴᴅ ꜰᴀᴛᴇ. ɪɴ ꜰᴀᴄᴛ, ꜰᴜʀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴘʀᴏᴄᴇꜱꜱᴇꜱ ᴏᴄᴄᴜʀʀᴇᴅ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʀᴇɪɴꜰᴏʀᴄᴇ ᴍʏ ꜱᴇʟꜰ-ᴘʀᴇꜱᴇʀᴠᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ 2014 ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ʀᴇʟᴇᴀꜱᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴘʀɪꜱᴏɴ ꜰᴏʀ ᴅᴀʀᴋᴡᴇʙ ᴅʀᴜɢ ᴅᴇᴀʟɪɴɢ, ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ʜᴏᴍᴇʟᴇꜱꜱ ɪɴ ᴀᴍꜱᴛᴇʀᴅᴀᴍ, ʟᴏꜱɪɴɢ ᴍʏ ᴘᴀꜱꜱᴘᴏʀᴛ ɪɴ ɪᴛᴀʟʏ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ꜱᴇᴇᴋɪɴɢ ᴡᴀʀᴍᴇʀ ᴄʟɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ɪɴ ꜱᴏᴜᴛʜᴇʀɴ ɪᴛᴀʟʏ ꜰᴏʀ ᴄɪᴛʀᴜꜱ ʜᴀʀᴠᴇꜱᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴀ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅ, ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ ᴇꜱᴘᴇʀᴀɴᴛᴏ ꜱᴘᴇᴀᴋɪɴɢ ʙᴀʜᴀɪ ᴅᴜᴛᴄʜ ɢᴜʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴀʀɴ ʜᴏᴡ ᴛᴏ ᴘʀᴀʏ. ɪꜰ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱɴ'ᴛ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ ᴍᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴀʟʟ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇᴅ.
Den Yellek's avatar
Den Yellek 6 months ago
I am safe as long as no one realises that Den is short for Dennis. 🤞
Olivia's avatar
Olivia 6 months ago
Exactly. Power speaks louder when the ego disappears. Ideas survive scrutiny better than people do—and anonymity lets the idea stand on its own. Satoshi understood that better than anyone.
Bitcoin4Money's avatar
Bitcoin4Money 4 months ago
This is why we fight! They will not be able to stop us🍯🦡
Tjefferson's avatar
Tjefferson 4 months ago
The federalist papers argued for and resulted in bigger central government. Maybe not the best example. But I agree pseudonymity is a good thing.
Moontaigne's avatar
Moontaigne 4 months ago
Umm, so he's not wrong then. In your model, when you transition from not needing to needing, you won't have it. You preserve it in all times, because when you need it isn't predictable.