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Originally Posted by KenWittlief
I dont see anyone here advocating hacking the files to get an unfair advantage over other teams - what I see is the natural curiosity that all geeks and nerdy people possess - put a challenge infront of them, and the gears start spinning - nobody can stop those gears from spinning
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This is where I disagree with you.
If someone said, "Hey, I wonder what it would take to crack 128-bit encryption", that is one thing, but to say "I wonder what it would take to crack the manual" is different. You've added a target to your ploy, and generally, the people that are targeted will take offense to such statements.
And if you don't think that a target has been put on this initiative, just look at the subject of this thread. The subject is "The MANUAL will be cracked in..." (emphasis added); NOT "128-bit encryption can be cracked in..."
To make an analogy, let's look at the two following statements:
"I wonder if I can make a 500 lb explosive."
and
"I wonder if I can blow up the White House."
Technically, these questions pose the same challenge - making a 500 lb explosive. However, ask the FBI or CIA if they would take these two statements differently, and I bet they would definitely answer "yes". It doesn't matter if the guy is really going to blow up the White House or he is just interested in the technical challenge of building a bomb - by using the 2nd statement, he is sure to be setting himself up for investigation and possible incarceration.
You can argue that the difference is just semantics or perception, which I would agree with. However, it's pretty clear that in the non-geek world, perception is usually more important than reality.
-Chris