p2p, anonymity and security

[steve at cyberianhamster.com (Steve)]

I think that I remember the the author of BitTorrent saying that
anonymity not only hurts the accountability and value of the nodes of a
network (which in turn has a geometric effect on the network as a whole)
but also can result in design and performance overhead. If you want to
be anonymous, use something else. The author is interested in a fast way
of taking advantage of unused capacity, not a way to do something
illegal, and it shows in the design. Great example of solving a problem
with laserlike focus and simplicity.

Cohen has been pretty clear that it would be stupid to do illegal
activity with BitTorrent as tracking you down would be easier than with
other forms of file sharing. 

Steve