[Enigmail] Proposed policy

[John W. Moore III]

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LeRoy Cressy wrote:

Please trim Reply's.


> It is my opinion that the majority of users of enigmail have a fairly
> comprehensive knowledge of computer security.  The majority of M$
> Windows users are totally clueless about computer security until their
> system gets broken into.  On the other hand the Windows user that uses a
> utility like Enigmail has a far greater appreciation of computer
> security than the average user thus you are degrading the expertise of
> the Windows user.  The majority of Linux and UNIX users already have a
> high appreciation of computer security and have a higher level of
> expertise in computer science.

IMHO, Your opinion is more a statement of personal belief that 'Nix
Users, as a class' are more knowledgeable [more intelligent?] than are
M$ Users.  My experience is that nothing could be further from the
truth.  No matter the O/S, the level of Computer Security knowledge is
solely the province of each individual User.  Interestingly, with the
increase in interest in Linux due to both Ubuntu & the launch of Vista
there are more malware writers turning their attention toward the Linux
platforms.
> 
> Thus the comment, "requires a level of technical knowledge we cannot
> expect people to understand" seems to degrade the competence of the ones
> who have installed all of the libraries and utilities that makes
> Enigmail work.
Libraries & Utilities?  GnuPG & Thunderbird [& SeaMonkey] have been
designed by their respective Authors to be amazingly simple to Install
on almost every platform.  Enigmail is a very simple Download & click to
Install on both M$ & Linux.

The steepest learning curve, no matter the O/S, is generally learning
how to interpret the Feedback that the Applications provide so as to
understand exactly what is going on and what You, the User, are being told.

Robert's suggestions are merely an attempt to make things clearer to
_everyone_ using Enigmail; not just the experienced elite.  Complexity
often generates confusion and causes folks to either abandon a useful
App or shy away from even trying it.

Every successful UI accomplishes this by aiming it's 'UI Messages' at
the lowest common denominator.  Think Newspapers for a moment; most are
deliberately written at the 7th grade reading level so they will be read
& understood by the largest audience possible.  At one time in History,
the plaintext written word was secure enough due to the lack of
education among the majority of the populace.

JOHN ;)
Timestamp: Tuesday 11 Dec 2007, 18:52  --500 (Eastern Standard Time)
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