All right guys, we finally have the final list of entries for the “2009 in Review” group writing project. we had 90 participants in all sorts of niches, and it was interesting to compile the list of entries. I am sure you will have fun reading them as …

It’s unfortunate, because like most folks I have a deep respect for the leading role The Pirate Bay has played in the past – they deserve full credit for that. Perhaps that’s why I am so disappointed by the less than forthright way they’ve handled Ipredator. I wished them nothing but success, when the project was announced – the whole idea of “competitors” is a bit silly, in our market. We see the market so limited by good providers that ANY genuine effort to provide privacy service is absolutely to be applauded.

But, when someone starts “cutting corners” in the honest department, it threatens to make the entire market seem shady and unreliable. That isn’t acceptable – it absolutely serves the interests of the censors and state eavesdroppers. That baseline of honest should be absolutely fundamental to our industry – whatever other things we may agree or disagree on, operationally.

Being the one to “blow the whistle” on the Relakks rebranding brought me no satisfaction, nor made us many friends – it’s still the right thing to do. If we hold each other to good standards of conduct, we will have better success in reaching more folks with crypto privacy service. For me, anyway, that’s the real goal of the work itself.

Regards,

Fausty