With the way Firefox gives that scare-popup on a self-signed cert, mandating SSL would only make people that cannot afford (or cannot get) a signed cert into se

With the way Firefox gives that scare-popup on a self-signed cert, mandating SSL would only make people that cannot afford (or cannot get) a signed cert into second-class citizens on the web. Remember that one of the primary benefits to "the internet" is that the all peers are equal as far as the network is concerned, and the barrier to entry for publication is reduced to zero. Anything that ends up as a barrier to increase that cost only serves the interests of those that wish the internet could be reduced back to "cable tv", with gatekeepers able to regulate what is published while taking in a publication fee as tribute. I am usually one pushing hard for encryption, but more PKI is not what is needed. The idea above about using DNS to distribute keys is a good idea; I would also suggest simply mandating that self-signed certificates [1] be treated fairly, without the scare-box. Either would still allow somebody to setup a home server with a simple apache/whatever install, no outside approval needed. [1] - Note that I said "fairly", not "the same as authenticated certificates". Encryption without authentication is still a benefit, and should not be given the popup that scares people away currently. Just don't mark it as "secure" with the closed padlock!