Org mailing list

[Anders Bergkvist <abergk AT gmail.com>]

Hi Friends,

Do we have an update on the essay contest idea?

Cheers,

Anders

On Wed, Feb 10, 2016 at 3:38 PM, Thomas Gramstad <thomas AT ifi.uio.no> wrote:

A mailing list/alias for the contest sounds like a good idea.

I'm not an expert on graphics, but A4-format with both logos sounds good.

Thomas

On Wed, 10 Feb 2016, Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

Do we have any volunteers to design posters?

And what would we put on the posters? I propose an A4-format with colour
including logos of our both organisations.

We still need a coordination e-mail. We can set one up at dataskydd.net
with no greater difficulty, unless you have objections?
ethicscontest2016 AT dataskydd.net ?

Essay contest: Ethics of security engineering

FSCONS and Dataskydd.net invite students of technology to participate in an essay contest on the theme of morality in security engineering. Inspired by Philip Rogaway's article on the moral of cryptography from December 2015 we invite students to submit an essay on a similar or related theme of at most 10'000 words before September 1st 2016. A jury consisting of practising engineers, academics and members of our organisations will award the best essay with a prize of 2000 SEK at the annual installation of the FSCONS conference in Göteborg. Runner-up-prizes amounting to 1000 and 500 SEK will also be awarded.

Please submit your contribution to <COORDINATOR EMAIL> at latest September 1st 2016.



On 02/03/16 19:46, Thomas Gramstad wrote:

On Tue, 2 Feb 2016, Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

On 02/02/16 02:04, Thomas Gramstad wrote:

Writing is hard work, and many, even among those who are good at
writing, find the work boring or excruciating. Therefore I believe
that our greatest problem will be to get a non-embarrassing number of
essay submissions. Also, our prizes are not big enough to make people
do the work for the money.

Therefore, I believe exclusivity is bad, and inclusivity is good.

Or to put it differently: Hard work and low pay is exclusive enough.

What about having an unspecified target group, and advertise it in
forums that are mostly read by engineering students? We could make
the criteria "academic-level essay" and leave it open to the
submitter to decide whether they feel comfortable calling their work
academic-level? Because I see what you mean, and you're right.

Yes, I agree with that strategy! :)

On another note, perhaps Amelia should be added as a subscriber to the
org mailing list, so that her postings to the list go right through to
the list, instead of being placed in the moderation queue, waiting for
a moderator.

Thomas

best regards,

Amelia

I do want as high quality as possible on the submissions, so I'm not
suggesting a PR wave targeting high school students. I just don't want
that one bright nerd in high school who happens to hear about the
contest and finds themself writing a raw, but original and good and
thoughtful essay to be excluded by default because the rules say they
are in the wrong school or age group.

Thomas


On Mon, 1 Feb 2016, Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

Hello, sorry this got stuck!

1) Exclusivity is good. I had imagined our target group to be
engineering students, cryptographers, computer scientists. This is the
group that normally lacks opportunity to reflect on these topics,
which
is not true for humanist studies.
2) As for length: I propose no longer than 10000 words - this means
about 30 pages, and people can submit B or C level university theses
should they so desire. It's supposed to be an academic-level essay (in
my opinion).
3) Submission deadline should probably be latest in August. Thorough
jury work requires time.

Do we have any takers on who should be asked to sit in the jury (ref
previous correspondence)?

best regards,

Amelia

On 01/27/16 01:11, Anders Bergkvist wrote:

I don't have much experience running an essay contest. In fact,
none at
all. My naive suggestions as follows:

1) In principle I agree with Thomas that we may want to keep the
competition open for as many as possible. There may also be an
advantage
with *some *restriction, perhaps to elevate the competition to some
sort of
exclusivity and perhaps also to lend some structure to the contest
announcement. Perhaps limit it to university students in the Nordic
countries would make sense? I guess Rogaway's article wouldn't
typically be
read by students below university level anyway?
3) A quick online search for "essay contest" gives the following
sample:
500-1000 words, 600-1200, no more than 750, and 700-1000 words.
Rogaway's
article itself is 16k+ words, excluding notes. Perhaps 500-1000 is
good if
we want to prioritize short and succinct and 600-1200 if we want to
allow
for more elaborate texts?
4) A submission deadline last of September would give the jury
about a
month to reach decisions. That should be enough, what do you think?

Best wishes,
Anders



On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 10:09 PM, Thomas Gramstad
<thomas AT ifi.uio.no> wrote:

Why not make the competition open to all students or school pupils
located
anywhere in one of the Nordic countries?

I see no reason to accept only a few cities, a few studies or even
only
Sweden.

We don't have to publish or market the competition everywhere in the
Nordic countries, we focus on our respective locations, and let
word of
mouth (crowd mouthing) do the rest.

We might also require that the prize winners must meet up in person
or by
agreed upon representative to accept the prize, or the prize will be
forfeit and will pass on to the runner(s) up.

Thomas



On Mon, 25 Jan 2016, Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

Hi all! :-)

If Vetenskapsfestivalen is in April it's clearly too early, so
then I
propose we go for Stian's idea and assume there will be an FSCONS
sometime in November.

So I will reinitiate my previous proposal. We need to decide

1) For whom is the contest open?
2) Who will be the jury?
3) How long must the essays be?
4) When do we open and, primarily, close the competition?
5) Award-sums (2000,1000,1000 are acceptable award sums to me -
I can
chip in for this).
6) Is anyone savvy on making posters?

best regards,

Amelia

Sketch for advertisement:

=====
Essay contest: Ethics of security engineering

FSCONS and Dataskydd.net invite students of technology to
participate in
an essay contest on the theme of morals in security engineering.
Inspired by Philip Rogaway's article on the moral of cryptography
from
December 2015 we invite anyone who is 1) currently enrolled in an
engineering studies program in (<LOCATION: Göteborg, Lund,
others?>) 2)
<ANY OTHER GROUP?> to submit an essay on a similar or related
theme of
at most <XXXX CHARACTERS/PAGES> before <DATE>. A jury consisting of
<THESE PEOPLE> will award the best essay with a prize of <X SEK>
at the
occasion of FSCONS <DATE> 2016 in Göteborg. Runner-up-prizes
amounting
to <Y> and <Z SEK> will also be awarded.

Please submit your contribution to <EMAIL-ADRESS> before <SOME
DATE>.
======

Probably we need print-outs to put up at universities whose
students we
target (like Chalmers, LTH). I am naturally focused on
universities to
which I know I have physical access. My time-plan would be:

February-August: Contest running.
September-October: Jury deliberations.
November: Price ceremony at FSCONS.



On 01/25/16 01:46, Anders Bergkvist wrote:

Hi Amelia, Stian, Thomas and others, > > Thanks Amelia for
inviting me
to the discussion. > > Allow me to

introduce myself: I have a university background in engineering >
physics and I have since then moved between many scientific
disciplines.
I > currently work for a chemistry and life science company. I
only have
basic > knowledge about cryptography and I am limited in how much
time I
can/want > to devote to learn more about technical aspects of it.
It is
easier for me > to engage, and I recognize the importance of, the
political and > philosophical tensions between privacy and
transparency.
This is something > that interests me a lot. > > I am happy to
support
the essay competition Amelia proposed, with a modest > prize
contribution, and by being a local contact person in Goteborg. I
have >
many contacts at Chalmers and elsewhere in Goteborg, although
regarding

mathematics and computational sciences mostly on subjects of >

bioinformatics, statistics, machine learning, etc. and not on
cryptography. > I can explore for more contacts, if desired. > >
Vetenskapsfestivalen is scheduled for April 11-22. I expect the
program

will be set very soon. The program is scheduled to be open for
school
bookings from February 23. If we wait to commit until after FSCONS

yearly > meeting in April I would expect it would be too late to
participate at > Vetenskapsfestivalen. The theme of
Vetenskapsfestivalen
this year is "Same > but different". If we contact them, what
would be
our level of ambition? > > Thomas, you are welcome to stay at my
place
in Goteborg when you need. > > Anders > > > > On Sun, Jan 24,
2016 at
7:45 PM, Stian Rødven Eide <stian AT fripost.org> > wrote: >

Hi Amelia,

My initial impression was that the award ceremony would take
place at
FSCONS proper. I think that should be fine. Are you looking for a
backup plan in case FSCONS doesn't happen? I suggest we go ahead
under
the assumption that FSCONS will take place in November as
usual, and
find another venue only if we need to.

Also, I'm not entirely sure about how to integrate this into
Vetenskapsfestivalen. Are you suggesting that FSCONS should get a
place in the programme for the festival and have the ceremony
there?
I'm really not averse to that either, but I'm afraid I can't
offer to
help out with organising that.

/Stian

On 2016-01-24 19:05, Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

Dear all,

First things first:

- We agree the contest needs to start. - We agree(?) there
needs to
be an award ceremony. Can we have focused proposals on an award
ceremony?

I propose we get in touch with Vetenskapsfestivalen. Another
route
would be to have a mini-FSCONS only for the award ceremony.

best regards,

Amelia

On 01/24/16 16:47, Thomas Gramstad wrote:

Hi all,

On Fri, 15 Jan 2016, Stian Rødven Eide wrote:

Hi Amelia, and sorry for the hold-up. Your e-mails were all

stuck in the moderation queue.

I volunteer to co-moderate or co-admin the org list. I already
have 40-50 lists on 4 other mailman installations from
before, so
one more will not be a big difference or impact on me.

In short, I think the essay contest is a wonderful idea. The

only if is whether there will be another FSCONS. It is
likely,
but not guaranteed, and we'll know for sure after the yearly
meeting (which probably will take place in April).

Could this meeting take place on a thursday evening? In that
case
I might be able to attend, assuming I can couch surf in
Gothenburg from thursday to friday, going back to Oslo friday
morning. Because thursday I finish early at work, while
friday I
start work at 15:00. :-)

If that is too late to start the contest, feel free to proceed

already now and we'll find some kind of forum to present the
winners in any case.

Yes, the contest needs to start now.

Also, I think we need to raise another SEK 1000 for the
contest,
so that second place and third place can each be awarded SEK
1000.

Thomas




all the best, Stian

On 2016-01-15 15:19, Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

Reminder ping with Anders (a Gothenburg man!) included in
the sending list (check CC).

On 01/05/16 15:34, Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

Dear all,

Happy new Year! To business:

I would be partisan to starting out "small" in terms of
money.

With 3000 kronor we could have 1 first price (2000 SEK) and
2 runner-ups (500 each), for instance? Or a 1st/2nd/3rd
place according to 1500/1000/500SEK award.

Sketch for advertisement:

===== Essay contest: Ethics of security engineering

FSCONS and Dataskydd.net invite students of technology to
participate in an essay contest on the theme of morals in
security engineering. Inspired by Philip Rogaway's article
on the moral of cryptography from December 2015 we invite
anyone who is 1) currently enrolled in an engineering
studies program in (<LOCATION: Göteborg, Lund, others?>) 2)
<ANY OTHER GROUP?> to submit an essay on a similar or
related theme of at most <XXXX CHARACTERS/PAGES> before
<DATE>. A jury consisting of <THESE PEOPLE> will award the
best essay with a prize of <X SEK> at the occasion of
FSCONS <DATE> 2016 in Göteborg. Runner-up-prizes amounting
to <Y> and <Z SEK> will also be awarded.

Please submit your contribution to <EMAIL-ADRESS> before
<SOME DATE>. ======

Probably we need print-outs to put up at universities
whose students we target (like Chalmers, LTH). I am
naturally focused on universities to which I know I have
physical access. My time-plan would be:

February-August: Contest running. September-October: Jury
deliberations. November: Price ceremony at FSCONS.

Jury members will need to be assigned. Someone from Kirei
perhaps (security firm in Göteborg - or some other security
firm? Assured?), from Dataskydd and from FSCONS and FFKP
(Jonas Öberg)? That'd make four people with varying
backgrounds. It'd be good to have someone with academic
qualifications as well, since we're targetting people from
academic environments (with only a bachelor I don't count
:-().

best regards,

Amelia

On 12/29/15 06:51, Thomas Gramstad wrote:

PS: If this is included in FSCONS 2016 as suggested, I
too pledge to donate SEK 1000 to the prize, bringing the
award up to a total of SEK 3000.

Perhaps we should try to get even more funding, so we can
also have 2nd and 3rd place awards. Maybe we could use
one of the crowdfunding sites?

(PPS: Sorry for an irrelevant Subject:-header the first
time.)

Thomas


On Tue, 29 Dec 2015, Thomas Gramstad wrote:

Hi,

I've been e-mailing with Amelia about an interesting
idea for next year's FSCONS. Summary of the idea: To
have an essay contest about political, sosial and
ethical aspects and obligations of cryptography,
running in 2016, and with the prize winner being
announced and delivered at FSCONS 2016. Amelia and
friend provide the prize money (SEK 2000).

How does this sound to you? Amelia also suggests
organizing a committee for the prize.

Below is a copy of what I and Amelia have been
discussing so far (in Scandinavian, sorry about that to
those who cannot read Scandinavian -- we can discuss it
in English from now on).

Thomas


---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 29
Dec 2015 01:54:24 +0100 From: Thomas Gramstad
<thomas AT gramstad.no> To: Amelia Andersdotter
<amelia AT andersdotter.cc> Subject: Re: Åpent brev til
justisminister Anders Anundsen Resent-From:
<thomas AT ifi.uio.no>

Hej Amelia,

Det høres flott ut! Jeg kan promotere tevlingen i Oslo.
Jeg sjekker inn med resten av FSCONS-komiteen. :)

Thomas


On Mon, 28 Dec 2015, Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

Hej Thomas,

Prispengarna är en donation från mig som matchas av
killen i Göteborg som ville hjälpa till. Så vi pytsar
personligen in 1000 kronor var.

Svenska, norska och engelska kanske? För mig spelar
inte språket roll.

Problemet är marknadsföring av att tävlingen finns -
jag kan marknadsföra tävlingen i Lund, enbart. Anders
i Gbg kan marknadsföra i Gbg. Utan att ha ännu mer
pengar kommer vi ju inte kunna betala reseersättning
för pristagaren.

Om resten av er org.kommittee tycker det är kul
kanske vi ska sätta upp en liten arbetsgrupp?

hälsar,

Amelia

On 12/28/15 18:43, Thomas Gramstad wrote:

Hei Amelia,

Ja, jeg er fortsatt med i org.komiteen for FSCONS.
Jeg synes det er en veldig spennende ide med
essaykonkurranse så jeg videresender forslaget til
resten av komiteen! :)

Et par spørsmål:

Må essay være skrevet på svensk eller på engelsk,
kan evt. den som skriver velge mellom de to
språkene?

Hvem betaler prispengene SEK 2000? (FSCONS har
lite penger og gikk med underskudd i år.)

Thomas


Hej Thomas,

Om du ändå är med i organisationskommittéen för
FSCONS har jag ett förslag!

Philip Rogaway skrev en uppsats om moral och
kryptografi i december 2015:
http://web.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/papers/moral.pdf



Jag funderade på om Dataskydd.net (min NGO i Sverige

som också deltog på FSCONS) och FSCONS skulle

kunna göra en gemensam uppsatstävling för
teknologstudenter kring temat som Rogaway tar
upp, med prisutdelning på FSCONS 2016?

Jag har en annan person (boendes i Göteborg) som
vill hjälpa till och tillsammans kan han och jag
bidra med marknadsföringsteam (vi har inte
funderat på utformningen av affischer än, dock)
och prissumma på 2000 kronor (Anders Bergkvist
heter han).

Tävlingen skulle löpa nu under våren eller fram
till hösten, tänker jag. Juryn utser sedan bästa
uppsats under hösten.

Vad tror du?

Hare så bra på Kanarieöarna :-)

hälsar,

Amelia

On 12/28/15 16:30, Thomas Gramstad wrote:

Hej Amelia,

Ja, selvsagt husker jeg deg. :-)

Jeg var forresten på FSCONS, men visste ikke at
du var der før etterpå

-- jeg var opptatt med å organisere/være
konferansier på to av de andre sporene.

Enig i at vi bør samarbeide mot denne dumheten
over grensene --

dumheten er jo
grenseoverskridende/overnasjonal...

Takk for lenkene, skal sjekke dem. Har også
gått gjennom deres slides

fra FSCONS, spennende tema. Har ikke fått sett
videoen av foredraget ennå, men snart :-)

Jeg er på Gran Canaria 1.-19. januar, og er
lite tilgjengelig i den

perioden. (Er med og arrangerer Gran Canaria
Business Week, et treffpunkt for digitale nomader
og entreprenører.)

Thomas


On Mon, 28 Dec 2015, Amelia Andersdotter
wrote:

Hej Thomas,

Jag hoppas du minns mig :-)

Angående er korkade Justitieminister är
Sveriges justitieminister

minst lika dum. Vi borde samarbeta mot dumheten

över gränserna!

Ett problem är att Europarådet i och för sig

verkar godta hemlig

dataavläsning ("riktad övervakning").Så

människorättsargumentet är svårare att
framhålla. Hemlig dataavläsning är dock urkorkat
från ett allmänt säkerhetsperspektiv. Jag och
några till har försökt lyfta det i Sverige:

https://www.gp.se/nyheter/debatt/1.2931257-statliga-trojaner-

hin

drar-ett-sakrare-internet

http://www.dagenssamhalle.se/debatt/foerslag-om-dataintrang-och-sign

alsp

aning-duger-inte-20518?pack=20142

vänliga hälsningar,

Amelia