[liberationtech] What I've learned from Cryptocat

[Jillian C. York]

+1.

A *safer *web-based tool than Facebook chat with a GIANT WARNING is far
better than everyone continuing to hold their discussions in insecure fora.

I get the problem here, I do: You most certainly don't want people to think
your tool is 100% safe when it's not.  But moving to a browser add-on only
doesn't solve the main problem: That many, many, *many* people who need
encrypted chat do not control/admin the device on which they want to chat.

If users were probably warned, would that satisfy others?



On Mon, Aug 6, 2012 at 5:15 PM, Douglas Lucas <dal at riseup.net> wrote:

> Hi Libtech and Nadim,
>
> Is it possible for both versions of crypto.cat to be available? That is
> to say, maintain the existing version of quick, disposable chat rooms,
> and then also create the new, more secure version with the XMPP and the
> browser extension?
>
> I ask because in my experience it's easy to get "ordinary civilians" to
> use current disposable crypto.cat chatrooms -- shoot them the link, and
> suddenly they're off facebook or google chat, which they've heard enough
> nasty things about already -- and in so doing, begin to lure them to
> what some might call the dark arts. Whereas with the planned extension +
> login/password version, the barrier to entry (at least for my target
> demographic) is significantly higher.
>
> A devil's advocate could argue the existence of two versions would
> disincentive people from ever moving to more secure methods, but I don't
> have anything like the empirical numbers to know what would really happen.
>
> In any case, crypto.cat is appreciated!
>
> :-Douglas
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-- 
*+1-857-891-4244 |** jilliancyork.com | @jilliancyork *

"We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want the
seemingly impossible to become a reality" - *Vaclav Havel*
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