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Network Working Group S. Crocker Request for Comments: 1776 CyberCash, Inc. Category: Informational 1 April 1995

                     The Address is the Message

Status of this Memo

 This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo
 does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of
 this memo is unlimited.

Discussion

 Declaring that the address is the message, the IPng WG has selected a
 packet format which includes 1696 bytes of address space.  This
 length is a multiple of 53 and is completely compatible with ATM
 architecture.  Observing that it's not what you know but who you
 know, the IPng focused on choosing an addressing scheme that makes it
 possible to talk to everyone while dispensing with the irrelevant
 overhead of actually having to say anything.

 Security experts hailed this as a major breakthrough.  With no
 content left in the packets, all questions of confidentiality and
 integrity are moot.  Intelligence and law enforcement agencies
 immediately refocused their efforts to detect who's talking to whom,
 and are silently thankful they can avoid divisive public debate about
 key escrow, export control and related matters.

 Although the IPng WG declared there should be more than enough
 address space for everyone, service providers immediately began vying
 for reserved portions of the address space.

Security Considerations

 Security issues are not discussed in this memo.

Crocker [Page 1]  RFC 1776 The Address is the Message 1 April 1995

Author's Address

 Steve Crocker
 CyberCash, Inc.
 2086 Hunters Crest Way
 Vienna, VA 22181

 Phone: +1 703 620 1222
 EMail: crocker@cybercash.com

Crocker [Page 2]