6 ms·

"Finally, to demonstrate both their deep involvement in the activity and to prove they are not an undercover cop, they must pass a timed written test on the min

"Finally, to demonstrate both their deep involvement in the activity and to prove they are not an undercover cop, they must pass a timed written test on the minutiae of various child abuse victims and media." This part seems strange to me. Police officers working in...this area, look at a lot of the relevant material and are probably intimately familiar with the details of famous cases. If anybody can be expected to pass such a test, it's a cop.

jimmytidey 10y ago
This stood out to me too. Seems like it's a subculture with social norms like any other- not just a prosaic file sharing system.
pdkl95 10y ago
This is the hubris of "NOBUS"[1]. Believing that "NObody But US" has secret knowledge tends to create a false-confidence trap. It doesn't matter if your are a small criminal organization or a large and well-funded government agency; assuming your adversary is ignorant or stupid is terrible security. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOBUS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOBUS
- jiiam 10y ago
  It's still better than letting anyone with just basic knowledge in. I mean, if a cop can learn to pass those tests, surely a committed pedophile can, with the twist that the pedophile would not find the whole process disgusting. In a way, the test could be taken to be a deterrent to police forces, who presumably will be challenged by the prospect of having to learn the minutiae involved in child abuse.
  - zdkl 10y ago
    If you can't beat em, make them more like you, right?
    - dsfyu404ed 10y ago
      I'll take "effects of terrorism in the united states since 1990" for $400, Alex.
- sseveran 10y ago
  While not perfect it may not have 0 value. I work in a somewhat esoteric part of finance and it is very easy to distinguish experts from people with a medium amount of knowledge. It forces your adversary to become far more committed and use far more resources than they otherwise would. Although I could imagine using a watson like technology to obviate the need for a human to memorize all the required information.

jimmytidey 10y ago

This stood out to me too. Seems like it's a subculture with social norms like any other- not just a prosaic file sharing system.

pdkl95 10y ago

This is the hubris of "NOBUS"[1]. Believing that "NObody But US" has secret knowledge tends to create a false-confidence trap. It doesn't matter if your are a small criminal organization or a large and well-funded government agency; assuming your adversary is ignorant or stupid is terrible security. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOBUS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOBUS

jiiam 10y ago
It's still better than letting anyone with just basic knowledge in. I mean, if a cop can learn to pass those tests, surely a committed pedophile can, with the twist that the pedophile would not find the whole process disgusting. In a way, the test could be taken to be a deterrent to police forces, who presumably will be challenged by the prospect of having to learn the minutiae involved in child abuse.
- zdkl 10y ago
  If you can't beat em, make them more like you, right?
  - dsfyu404ed 10y ago
    I'll take "effects of terrorism in the united states since 1990" for $400, Alex.
sseveran 10y ago
While not perfect it may not have 0 value. I work in a somewhat esoteric part of finance and it is very easy to distinguish experts from people with a medium amount of knowledge. It forces your adversary to become far more committed and use far more resources than they otherwise would. Although I could imagine using a watson like technology to obviate the need for a human to memorize all the required information.