Archive-name: cryptography-faq/part02 Last-modified: 1993/4/15   FAQ for sci.crypt, part 2: Net Etiquette  This is the second of ten parts of the sci.crypt FAQ. The parts are mostly independent, but you should read the first part before the rest. We don't have the time to send out missing parts by mail, so don't ask. Notes such as ``[KAH67]'' refer to the reference list in the last part.  The sections of this FAQ are available via anonymous FTP to rtfm.mit.edu  as /pub/usenet/news.answers/cryptography-faq/part[xx].  The Cryptography  FAQ is posted to the newsgroups sci.crypt, sci.answers, and news.answers  every 21 days.   Contents:  * What groups are around? What's a FAQ? Who am I? Why am I here? * Do political discussions belong in sci.crypt? * How do I present a new encryption scheme in sci.crypt?   * What groups are around? What's a FAQ? Who am I? Why am I here?    Read news.announce.newusers and news.answers for a few weeks. Always   make sure to read a newsgroup for some time before you post to it.   You'll be amazed how often the same question can be asked in the same   newsgroup. After a month you'll have a much better sense of what the   readers want to see.  * Do political discussions belong in sci.crypt?    No. In fact some newsgroups (notably misc.legal.computing) were   created exactly so that political questions like ``Should RSA be   patented?'' don't get in the way of technical discussions. Many   sci.crypt readers also read misc.legal.computing, comp.org.eff.talk,   comp.patents, sci.math, comp.compression, et al.; for the benefit of   people who don't care about those other topics, try to put your   postings in the right group.    Questions about microfilm and smuggling and other non-cryptographic   ``spy stuff'' don't belong in sci.crypt either.  * How do I present a new encryption scheme in sci.crypt?    ``I just came up with this neat method of encryption. Here's some   ciphertext: FHDSIJOYW^&%$*#@OGBUJHKFSYUIRE. Is it strong?'' Without a   doubt questions like this are the most annoying traffic on sci.crypt.    If you have come up with an encryption scheme, providing some   ciphertext from it is not adequate. Nobody has ever been impressed by   random gibberish. Any new algorithm should be secure even if the   opponent knows the full algorithm (including how any message key is   distributed) and only the private key is kept secret. There are some   systematic and unsystematic ways to take reasonably long ciphertexts   and decrypt them even without prior knowledge of the algorithm, but   this is a time-consuming and possibly fruitless exercise which most   sci.crypt readers won't bother with.    So what do you do if you have a new encryption scheme? First of all,   find out if it's really new. Look through this FAQ for references and   related methods. Familiarize yourself with the literature and the   introductory textbooks.    When you can appreciate how your cryptosystem fits into the world at   large, try to break it yourself! You shouldn't waste the time of tens   of thousands of readers asking a question which you could have easily   answered on your own.    If you really think your system is secure, and you want to get some   reassurance from experts, you might try posting full details of your   system, including working code and a solid theoretical explanation, to   sci.crypt. (Keep in mind that the export of cryptography is regulated   in some areas.)    If you're lucky an expert might take some interest in what you posted.   You can encourage this by offering cash rewards---for instance, noted   cryptographer Ralph Merkle is offering $1000 to anyone who can break   Snefru-4---but there are no guarantees. If you don't have enough   experience, then most likely any experts who look at your system will   be able to find a flaw. If this happens, it's your responsibility to   consider the flaw and learn from it, rather than just add one more   layer of complication and come back for another round.    A different way to get your cryptosystem reviewed is to have the NSA   look at it. A full discussion of this procedure is outside the scope   of this FAQ.