The Manuall will be cracked in...

[kevinw]

There would be no moral dilemma, given the cracking activity began on Sunday, January 11th. I would be quite interested in seeing how long the cracking activity took, given it did not compromise the integrity of the FIRST robotics competition. This would be an intellectual challenge with no possible unfair advantages or repercussions.

However, this does not seem to be the goal. The explicit goal seems to be cracking the manual in advance of the key being given. There is no moral question about this. It is quite clear.

If anyone succeeds in this activity prior to kick-off, please do not post anything here, so as to not involve the rest of us in your activities.

[FotoPlasma]

Because everyone seems to be putting something in on this conversation...

I think that if anyone is seriously interested in cryptology, cryptography, and cryptanalysis, go pick up a copy of Applied Cryptography, Second Edition
by Bruce Schneier, rather than obviously maliciously trying to crack the encryption of the FIRST manual. Or even, as another alternative, encrypt something yourself, and try to decipher it.

Not that it's realistic for anyone to be able to actually decipher the manual before Saturday, but just realize that just looking at a part of the manual would give you, whether you wanted it or not, a completely unfair advantage over all other teams in FIRST. Some people don't mind taking whatever advantages they can get ahold on, no matter any code of ethics, but I think most people would actually like to have a level playing field for this season.

[Aignam]

Originally Posted by FotoPlasma

I think that if anyone is seriously interested in cryptology, cryptography, and cryptanalysis, go pick up a copy of...

Dan Brown books.

[Brandon Martus]

I think this topic has run its course. I've had a few requests to close it, and there are at least a few of us who feel that everybody has had a chance to chime in at least once with their thoughts.