The Dan Farmer rap - authors note

[proff () suburbia apana org au (Julian Assange)]

fter a rather hetic weak, I return to find my mail box stuffed with
assorted flames, congratulations and occasional mis-directed but rational
advice about my posting of `The Dan Farmer rap'.  Unfortunately flames
outweighted the latter two categories by a 3:1 ratio - and I received a lot
of endorsements.

Now, I try to keep keep out of the fray if I can possibly avoid it, and stick to
dropping the initial bombs.  This time however I feel obliged to set the
record straight given some of the clearly genuinely felt negative responses.

The DFR had been circulating in security circles for a week or so as an
object of wry humor prior to its public release.  In retrospect, this is
probably where it should have stayed.  That some of the sarcasim leveled
against Dan happened to have any basis in reality certainly does not mean
that I or anyone else was trying to suggest that it was isomorphically 1:1
with real life.  I'd have thought the fact that the whole thing was so
clearly over-the-top made it utterly obvious.  As far as I am aware, the DFR
caused only a good chuckle in the security people I delt with in the week
prior.

It was perhaps an error of judgement on my behalf to equate the people on
this list with those who knew myself and Dan more fully.  Such mistakes are
ripe to happen when one is merry and full of wine in the wee hours of the
morning.

I'm sorry if anyone thought it was anything much more sinister than
characterising and having a humourus poke a well known peir.  It wasn't.

Dan is an exhibitionist where much of his life is concerned. Only those
exhibited areas of Dan's life were in the DFR.  No breach of confidence
vis-a-vis Dan's private details took place. Indeed there are no private
details in the DFR.

May I say that I was highly amused by those people/companies that posted
public messages condeming the DFR as something rather deplorable yet at the
same time sent me private e-mail stating just the opposite.  You know who
you are.

On a closing note; SATAN has good and bad points. Indeed, it is much like
COPS in this area - and I suspect for many of the same reasons.

Anyone who creates sizeable free, useful and probably philanthropic
software, written on their own time and at their personal expense, deserve
much credit and acclaim.  Wietse Venema is such a person.  As are the other
SATAN authors.  (;-))

// Julian Assange (-Proff-)