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> Let's not act like the United States was a shining example of freedom and democracy before WWII, either. Maybe we don't bother mentioning these very obvious

> Let's not act like the United States was a shining example of freedom and democracy before WWII, either. Maybe we don't bother mentioning these very obvious historical circumstances. Instead, we can talk about what technological solutions exist already, or could exist in the near term, which would obviate these institutions of oppression. I am very interested in tools like Whatsat[0] and Sphinx[1] which protect communications between participants... but what about my browsing. Do i just need to migrate all my "real" searches to Tor (already pwnt) or Beaker (insufficient, frankly)? How can we continue to define ourselves as free persons while we exist among these dark patterns? 0 - https://github.com/joostjager/whatsat https://github.com/joostjager/whatsat 1 - https://sphinx.chat/ https://sphinx.chat/

claudeganon 6y ago
> Maybe we don't bother mentioning these very obvious historical circumstances. Instead, we can talk about what technological solutions exist already, or could exist in the near term, which would obviate these institutions of oppression. These have never been solely technical problems, but political, moral, and organizational ones. States can simply make use or development of any technology illegal and bring the full force of its monopoly on violence to bear on those who run afoul of it. That has to be countered outside of just building things. Ignoring history doesn’t make its lessons irrelevant.
- tossAfterUsing 6y ago
  having technologists teaching the lessons to themselves is just jerking off... HN has more potential than that. for everybody else to learn lessons is a great objective, but doesn't need to be the objective among this crowd.
maerF0x0 6y ago
> migrate all my "real" searches to Tor (already pwnt) Can you please explain for someone not up to speed on the topic?
- wpasc 6y ago
  Not OP, but Tor uses proxy servers to hide your activity from snoopers as it is routed. Unfortunately, the FBI has seemingly found ways to track down users who used Tor (I think dread pirate Robert's of piratebay is the quintessential example)
  - soylentcola 6y ago
    Silk Road, rather than Pirate Bay, but otherwise, yes.
- tossAfterUsing 6y ago
  https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/11/9719098/fbi-reportedly-paid-1-million-carnegie-mellon-tor https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/11/9719098/fbi-reportedly-p...

claudeganon 6y ago

> Maybe we don't bother mentioning these very obvious historical circumstances. Instead, we can talk about what technological solutions exist already, or could exist in the near term, which would obviate these institutions of oppression. These have never been solely technical problems, but political, moral, and organizational ones. States can simply make use or development of any technology illegal and bring the full force of its monopoly on violence to bear on those who run afoul of it. That has to be countered outside of just building things. Ignoring history doesn’t make its lessons irrelevant.

tossAfterUsing 6y ago
having technologists teaching the lessons to themselves is just jerking off... HN has more potential than that. for everybody else to learn lessons is a great objective, but doesn't need to be the objective among this crowd.

maerF0x0 6y ago

> migrate all my "real" searches to Tor (already pwnt) Can you please explain for someone not up to speed on the topic?

wpasc 6y ago
Not OP, but Tor uses proxy servers to hide your activity from snoopers as it is routed. Unfortunately, the FBI has seemingly found ways to track down users who used Tor (I think dread pirate Robert's of piratebay is the quintessential example)
- soylentcola 6y ago
  Silk Road, rather than Pirate Bay, but otherwise, yes.
tossAfterUsing 6y ago
https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/11/9719098/fbi-reportedly-paid-1-million-carnegie-mellon-tor https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/11/9719098/fbi-reportedly-p...