Notices by Soatok Dreamseeker (soatok@furry.engineer)

Session be like

"We're metadata-resistant. Also, we recently passed the 1 million user milestone. Don't ask how we distinguish unique users!"

https://www.404media.co/email/9ee8f6a1-348a-4fb1-b1b3-30c8898d7581/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter

Have you heard of the Queer in Cryptography conference?

Maybe consider attending.

I will be delivering a keynote, in fursuit.

:3

https://cryptography.lgbt

E2EE for the Fediverse Update – We’re Going Post-Quantum

In 2022, I wrote about my plan to build end-to-end encryption for the Fediverse. The goals were simple: Provide secure encryption of message content and media attachments between Fediverse users, as a new type of Direct Message which is encrypted between participants. Do not pretend to be a Signal competitor. The primary concern at the time was "honest but curious" Fediverse instance admins who might snoop on…

https://soatok.blog/2024/09/13/e2ee-for-the-fediverse-update-were-going-post-quantum/

This Matrix story just keeps getting worse.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41249371

https://soatok.blog/2024/08/14/security-issues-in-matrixs-olm-library/#addendum-2024-08-14

Towards Federated Key Transparency

In late 2022, I blogged about the work needed to develop a specification for end-to-end encryption for the fediverse. I sketched out some of the key management components on GitHub, and then the public work abruptly stalled. A few of you have wondered what's the deal with that. This post covers why this effort stalled, what I'm proposing we do next.

http://soatok.blog/2024/06/06/towards-federated-key-transparency/

Something I detest: Defeatist people who ass-moan whenever someone talks about changing something.

"You won't succeed"

"The fight's already lost"

"Why bother?"

Fuuuuuuuuuck you. I *hate* that pointless negativity.

Yes, I will probably fail. A lot! Maybe you've already tried before and failed, or maybe someone you know has.

Do you know what failures are?

Lessons.

Failing is how you learn to fucking succeed.

Failure doesn't mean you give up.

Failure means you study WHY you failed and see if you can change anything to get a different outcome.

I'm very quick to point out a doomed tactic, but that doesn't always mean the goal is unattainable.

Fun #DEFCON31 story.

I'd gone to the EFF's Tech Trivia game because @cooperq was wearing a three piece tiger suit, and I was in fursuit, and I thought it'd be a fun photo together.

I sat down at a table with a bunch of friendly folks, many of whom were at their first #DEFCON.

We ended up getting 2nd place before donations ("bribes"), 1st place after. We decided to take a group photo together afterward.

Is someone posting lies about me somewhere?

I woke up to discover that several friends-of-friends have me blocked, but cannot locate anyone accusing me of being bad (full-text search is nonexistent lol), so I've no idea what I did to upset anyone. I've never interacted with these folks (that I can remember anyway).

Edit to add:

I would like to request that, if something I said or did was problematic, please let me know before pressing the block button so I can at least be aware of the grievance. As it stands, my choices are either:

a. Who fucking knows? YOLO

b. Wonder about it incessantly and unproductively

And I'm faaaar too inclined to choose (b) naturally, so I'm going to opt for (a) deliberately to avoid misery.

Lifehack:

Instead of wondering if something is normal, ask if it's harmful.

Dressing up as an anthropomorphic animal character isn't normal, but it makes a lot of people smile.

Being exceptionally talented isn't normal, but it sure offers a way to enrich your life as well as the people you care for.

To hell with normal. To hell with being afraid of being called weird. Furries figured this out decades ago. Many anime fans and gamers, too.

Yet, I hear people ask things like, "Is it normal to feel the way I do?"

I dunno.

Does it make your life harder? Then you might want to do something about it. Does it cause harm to others? Definitely do something to correct it.

But to cry when you watch movies? Or to want to cuddle so much that you lose any interest in actually having sex? Or to hate the world we inherited so much that it hurts, and so you channel it into helping others suffer a little less?

Who gives a shit about normal. That's human.

Why did mathematicians call their Python framework Sage?

"Adder" was right there!

@coin Nope

How many times do I have to "Don't recommend channel" before YouTube stops trying to push right-wing bullshit?

@sambowne Non-paywall link: https://archive.fo/N6mvb

Wait, people actually pay for Linux?

I thought RHEL was just a meme.

@coin No good deed goes unpunished on Twitter

I briefly went back to the birdsite to share some tips about how to use BitTorrent safely.

This was the response I got:

1. I was called a thief because someone thinks piracy actually steals from artists. Not so.

2. An actual nazi replied with spam.

3. Several people smugly bragged about how they've never been in trouble for torrenting from home.

4. "Now that you've told us, THEY will make it impossible"

SSH, Virtual Machines, Tor. None of these are going away.

If you're curious about how Twitter is doing:

The proportion of bad users has grown starkly since November. You're not missing much.

@cuchaz https://soatok.blog/2022/08/20/cryptographic-agility-and-superior-alternatives/

Literally every sane person on the planet: "No means no. Consent matters!"

Project managers at tech companies: "Either consent or 'not now', there is no 'never' option."