In the IPFS forum, a fellow named adin said that topics are not encrypted in the new PubSub thing, but clients can encrypt them. So… I was hoping to talk a little bit about why to encrypt stuff in pubsub.
First off, why hide subscriptions at all? In a word: bullying. When people know what you’re interested in, they can target you, for marketing, for political agendas, or for vulnerable victims. When we cannot be private, we become polarized, shaming our fellows for deviating from the party line, while the other side does the same thing, and we both stampede our herds right off the cliff of crazy.
Second off, why not hide all subscriptions? It’s possible to go too far in the opposite direction I think. Our society has never been more isolated and disconnected, and the idea that you have to protect yourself from all strangers is a huge part of that. You’re safe from your enemies when you’re hidden, but you’re also safe from your potential friends and allies. So we should strive to be as public about our interests/subscriptions as possible, I think, while taking what protections to our privacy are needed.
Is that about right?