HTTPS in some places vs HTTPS everywhere
Dave Winer has written the best post I’ve ever read on the subject of “HTTPS EVERYWHERE”. You can read it here. Before you comment, please read to the end. 🙏
The word EVERYWHERE has a very specific meaning. You can read about that meaning here.
I’m writing this post as a precursor to writing a post about why I agree with everything Dave has to say on this subject. The purpose of this post is to ask people on both sides of this debate to be more respectful in their communication and approach to this subject — it’s exceptionally important and it has a very serious impact on the web and everyone who uses it longterm.
HTTPS is important. I think everyone agrees with this.
HTTPS is vital for some websites. I think everyone agrees with this.
Some people think HTTPS is vital for every website. I disagree. But let’s set our disagreements aside for now.
I recently wrote an article that was published by the Certificate Authority Security Council. You can read it here. I have never worked for a CA and my company doesn’t sell any type of SSL certificate. They reached out to me after something I wrote on LinkedIn.
After publishing the article, a few people took to Twitter to voice their differences of opinion. My article is more of a thesis or white paper — with 5,000+ words. It’s crammed with data, and I hyperlinked to at least 10 different expert sources.
Everything I published has been published before. But I believe my article is the first of its kind to document everything I covered, in one place — for better context. Context is everything.
Back to the folks on Twitter. They appear to be experts in various aspects of cybersecurity. I suspect they are more experienced than me in many areas. But they were unable, or unwilling to substantiate their opinions with data. And they didn’t take the time to specify what they disagreed with. They just made general observations — sometimes proving that they didn’t read, or at least, consume my thesis. That’s ok. It’s difficult to consume content properly when you think you’re going to disagree with it.
Try watching Fox News with an open mind if you’re a liberal. Or try to watch MSNBC if you’re a conservative. It’s tough.
When both sides of a debate reach stalemate, or should avoid throwing general insults at each other. We should try to reference data to show why we hold a specific opinion. Otherwise it’s just personal opinions.
Moving forward, can we please do the following:
- Listen to opposing views
- Articulate why you agree or disagree with specific view points
- Try to avoid making general remarks based on a gut feeling
- Use research / data to substantiate personal view points
- Don’t assume people who work for a big company are more right
- Be open to changing your position
A strange analogy
HTTPS EVERYWHERE = people who prefer fruit.
HTTPS IN-SOME-PLACES = people who prefer vegetables.
Many HTTPS EVERYWHERE people also like some vegetables.
Many HTTPS IN-SOME-PLACES people also like some fruit.
Some people like equal amounts of fruit and vegetables.
The problem
Some HTTPS EVERYWHERE people and some HTTPS IN-SOME-PLACES people will eat anything that’s sold to them as long as it’s from their favourite store. They will do this even if it’s not good for their health.
There are some extreme HTTPS EVERYWHERE people and there are some extreme HTTPS IN-SOME-PLACES people.
We should never assume that someone hates all fruit or vegetables.
Let’s be openminded, more respectful in our communication and be open to changing our mind. 🙏 ✌️
