On 17/03/2015 12:53 pm, Wyllys Ingersoll wrote:
On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 3:03 AM Tim Bray <tbray(_at_)textuality(_dot_)com
<mailto:tbray(_at_)textuality(_dot_)com>> wrote:
I have repeatedly found it useful, even in recent times, to
cut/paste ASCII-armored messages on my mobile. Am I a Neanderthal?
No! This was exactly my first thought also. ASCII Armor format is
extremely useful for passing the messages from app-to-app via the system
clipboard using copy-and-paste. As a mobile PGP developer, there are
situations where this is the most convenient way to move the PGP
message/key from a non-PGP enabled app (like most standard mobile mail
clients) and into an app that can decode/decrypt it correctly.
If ASCII Armor is to be deprecated, I would hope that we at least
replace it with something else that can be easily copied-and-pasted.
Ascii armour is also very useful for plaintext keys, which make an
appearance in contracts that distribute their own PKI. Which also get
signed inline with an ascii-armoured signature. Also very useful.
Now, these things don't get cut&pasted much, if at all, although to be
fair that was an expectation when I designed them.
But they do get printed out; the contracts have been in court (twice to
my knowledge) and their ability to be printed out and looked at by
judges has been critical to their acceptance as contracts.
In short my 'requirement' would be printable keys and sigs. I don't so
much care if it is 'ascii-armoured' in the current form or not, but ...
something would be nice.
iang
(For those unsure what I'm talking about, there is a form of legal
contract called the Ricardian Contract which I wrote about here a long
long time ago: http://iang.org/papers/ricardian_contract.html This is
now having a bit of a renaissance in Bitcoin / crypto-currency scenes as
various businesses are discovering they want to couple legal prose into
transactions and blockchains and whathaveyou. End of obligatory plug.)
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