Subject: Re: bug#13551: acknowledged by developer (control message for bug #13551)

From: Richard Stallman <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 21:32:21 -0400

[[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
[[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
[[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]

  > I'm not sure I understand.  I think it does do something completely
  > predictable -- choose the key ring entry that matches what's in your
  > "From" header.

We seem to be failing to commnuicate.  My From header always says
"[email-masked]", but we're talking about the address I am sending to --
in the To field.  Is that what you mean?

The behavior that you describe is totally unpredictable for me because
it depends on data I don't know, and have no other reason to know.
When [email-masked] sends me a key, I don't notice what other addresses
that key covers.  There is no reason to.  And those alternate short
addresses are not listed by epa-list-keys.

If I have a key for [email-masked]' and another for
[email-masked]', it is a nuisice for me to check which one, if
either, lists just 'arthur' as an address.  Especially since when I
send mail to [email-masked]' I may not even remember I know
[email-masked]'.

When I send mail to just 'arthur', that is equivalent by default to
[email-masked]'.  I often omit [email-masked]' knowing this.

Encryption should do the same thing: treat 'arthur' as short for
[email-masked]'.  That way it will always encrypt for the person that
the mail is going to.

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman
Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://gnu.org, https://fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)