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I don't think there are actionable items in that manifesto, and was written during the RSA munitions debate.

atoav 1y ago
I'd argue the actionable things are already happening: Hackers and cryptographers creating technical solutions that defy governmental control, people trying to sway public opinion (or trying to get people to realize that being surveilled isn't just about their secret it is about a fundamental balance of powers between companies/governments and individuals). All of those things are pushed by people right now. Maybe the scale isn't right, maybe the effort needs you as well.
kpcyrd 1y ago
The actionable items are "write code" and "build systems". The cypherpunk scene is still alive and evolving, but it's fairly niche, and a tough environment for people driven by external validation while 'things are well'. But there are still people around making sure the necessary pieces are in place in case they become necessary.
- prophesi 1y ago
  The privacy-preserving systems have been built and are finally making it into the mainstream, only to be uprooted by politics. Not that we no longer need to build more of such systems, but the root of the issue lies elsewhere.
  - zarzavat 1y ago
    Yes but the mainstream systems are not decentralized enough. We need better systems. We, the technological community, have failed the wider public by not creating decentralized alternatives that are as good as centralized ones. Chat Control shouldn't even be an issue, we should just be able to laugh it away. Is anyone concerned about Mastodon being banned? No right because it would be almost impossible to implement. Yet it is possible for WhatsApp/Telegram(yuck)/Signal. Even the tech darling Signal is centralized as fuck.
    - hellojesus 1y ago
      Why wouldn't signal just move their company to some random other country? It's not like they make money from their users, and people can easily sideload the app.
      - aleph_minus_one 1y ago
        It is suspected that Signal was originally financed by the CIA: https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/signal-facing-collapse-after-cia-cuts-funding https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/signal-faci...
        prophesi 1y ago
        Wasn't TOR originally funded by the CIA as well?
        hollerith 1y ago
        No, the Naval Research Laboratory. The Navy wanted to give its researchers and strategists a way to look stuff up on the web without anyone's being able to see what they were looking up.
    - fsflover 1y ago
      > Even the tech darling Signal is centralized as fuck. This. Signal is actively fighting against decentralization, which makes me suspicious. Their arguments were debunked by the Matrix team, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21936929 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21936929
- aleph_minus_one 1y ago
  > The actionable items are "write code" and "build systems". Indeed. At the parent page of https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html (https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/ https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/), you can read: "if you want to write code, go to OpenPrivacy.org": > https://www.openprivacy.org/ https://www.openprivacy.org/ This website perhaps gives you some inspirations.

I'd argue the actionable things are already happening: Hackers and cryptographers creating technical solutions that defy governmental control, people trying to sway public opinion (or trying to get people to realize that being surveilled isn't just about their secret it is about a fundamental balance of powers between companies/governments and individuals). All of those things are pushed by people right now. Maybe the scale isn't right, maybe the effort needs you as well.

kpcyrd 1y ago

The actionable items are "write code" and "build systems". The cypherpunk scene is still alive and evolving, but it's fairly niche, and a tough environment for people driven by external validation while 'things are well'. But there are still people around making sure the necessary pieces are in place in case they become necessary.

prophesi 1y ago
The privacy-preserving systems have been built and are finally making it into the mainstream, only to be uprooted by politics. Not that we no longer need to build more of such systems, but the root of the issue lies elsewhere.
- zarzavat 1y ago
  Yes but the mainstream systems are not decentralized enough. We need better systems. We, the technological community, have failed the wider public by not creating decentralized alternatives that are as good as centralized ones. Chat Control shouldn't even be an issue, we should just be able to laugh it away. Is anyone concerned about Mastodon being banned? No right because it would be almost impossible to implement. Yet it is possible for WhatsApp/Telegram(yuck)/Signal. Even the tech darling Signal is centralized as fuck.
  - hellojesus 1y ago
    Why wouldn't signal just move their company to some random other country? It's not like they make money from their users, and people can easily sideload the app.
    - aleph_minus_one 1y ago
      It is suspected that Signal was originally financed by the CIA: https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/signal-facing-collapse-after-cia-cuts-funding https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/signal-faci...
      - prophesi 1y ago
        Wasn't TOR originally funded by the CIA as well?
        hollerith 1y ago
        No, the Naval Research Laboratory. The Navy wanted to give its researchers and strategists a way to look stuff up on the web without anyone's being able to see what they were looking up.
  - fsflover 1y ago
    > Even the tech darling Signal is centralized as fuck. This. Signal is actively fighting against decentralization, which makes me suspicious. Their arguments were debunked by the Matrix team, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21936929 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21936929
aleph_minus_one 1y ago
> The actionable items are "write code" and "build systems". Indeed. At the parent page of https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html (https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/ https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/), you can read: "if you want to write code, go to OpenPrivacy.org": > https://www.openprivacy.org/ https://www.openprivacy.org/ This website perhaps gives you some inspirations.