What's so funny? WAS Re: rotor replacement

[Paul Rubin]

"Martin v. Löwis" <martin at v.loewis.de> writes:
> > Oh, ok.  Earlier you said you wanted user feedback before you could
> > conclude that there was reason to want an AES module at all.
> 
> I believe I never said that. I said that I wanted user feedback to
> determine whether *this* AES module (where this is either your
> from-scratch implementation, or any other specific implementation
> contributed) is desirable.

If that's what you're saying now, I'll accept it and not bother
looking for your other posts that came across much differently.

> > I had thought there were insurmountable
> > obstacles of a nontechnical nature, mainly caused by legal issues,..
> 
> These obstacles are indeed real. But I believe they are not
> unsurmountable. For example, there is the valid complaint that,
> in order to export the code from SF, we need to follow U.S.
> export laws. 10 years ago, these would have been unsurmountable.

Well, yes, 10 years ago, SF didn't exist <wink>.  But there was an ftp
site run by Michael Johnson that had some special server side checks
that made sure the client was in the USA.  That was considered good
enough to comply with the export regs, and another guy and I
distributed crypto code (a program that let you use your PC as an
encrypted voice phone) through that site in 1995.

Of course, every time my co-author and I released a new version
through the controlled ftp site, within a day or so the code somehow
managed to show up on another ftp site in Italy with worldwide access.
We (the authors) always managed to be shocked when that happened.  But
we had nothing to do with it, so it wasn't our problem.

> Today, it is still somewhat painful to comply with these laws,
> but this is what the PSF is for, which can fill out the forms
> necessary to allow exporting this code from the U.S.A.

Well, complying is painful in the sense of being morally repugnant
(people shouldn't have to notify the government in order to exercise
their free speech rights), but the actual process is pretty easy in
terms of the work required.  Python should qualify for the TSU
exception which means you just need to send an email to the BXA,
without needing to fill out any forms.  I thought that's what you had
done for the rotor module.