The Call of the Open Sidewalk

From a place slightly to the side of the more popular path

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pgpfan:subject [2021/09/22 14:04] – created b.walzerpgpfan:subject [2021/11/02 13:21] (current) – Another example, better image b.walzer
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 > Do not open before Christmas. > Do not open before Christmas.
- 
-> Important documents. Open immediately. 
  
 > To be opened on passing the Sixth Degree of Longitude West of Greenwich. > To be opened on passing the Sixth Degree of Longitude West of Greenwich.
  
 > For your eyes only. > For your eyes only.
 +
 +{{openimmediately.jpg|Open Immediately!}}
  
 Sometimes the message is for the post office: Sometimes the message is for the post office:
  
-{{donotforward.png|Do Not Forward}}+{{donotforward.jpg|Do Not Forward}}
  
 There doesn't seem to be any term available for this sort of meta information, so for my purposes I will dub it the "envelope subject". Since the envelope and contents are physical objects, in practice there is always meta information due to differences in the envelope and the weight and feel of the contents. A letter from your employer that looks like your paycheck is opened immediately. A letter from your employer of unknown aspect might be opened apprehensively in private. There doesn't seem to be any term available for this sort of meta information, so for my purposes I will dub it the "envelope subject". Since the envelope and contents are physical objects, in practice there is always meta information due to differences in the envelope and the weight and feel of the contents. A letter from your employer that looks like your paycheck is opened immediately. A letter from your employer of unknown aspect might be opened apprehensively in private.
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 An advantage that encrypted email has over other mediums is that the recipient can carefully choose when and where they open the email(([[em:emailvsim]])). Having an envelope subject supports this. An advantage that encrypted email has over other mediums is that the recipient can carefully choose when and where they open the email(([[em:emailvsim]])). Having an envelope subject supports this.
  
-If instead the subject is included with the encrypted part of the email things get more complicated. Some questions:+If it was originally decided that the subject would be included with the encrypted part of the email then things would of been more complicated. Some questions:
  
   * Should we decrypt the entire message just to show the subject?   * Should we decrypt the entire message just to show the subject?
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 Ending on an advocacy note... The fact that the subject of an encrypted email is unencrypted is not some sort of oversight. It is a simple and reasonable thing to do. Such an unencrypted subject could even be considered an essential feature for a medium like encrypted email. It would certainly be possible to  have some sort of encrypted context/summary but that would be an addition, not a replacement. Ending on an advocacy note... The fact that the subject of an encrypted email is unencrypted is not some sort of oversight. It is a simple and reasonable thing to do. Such an unencrypted subject could even be considered an essential feature for a medium like encrypted email. It would certainly be possible to  have some sort of encrypted context/summary but that would be an addition, not a replacement.
 +
 +[[pgpfan:index|PGP FAN index]]
 +
 +[[em:index|Encrypted Messaging index]]
 +
  
pgpfan/subject.1632319465.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/09/22 14:04 by b.walzer