Ethics: Codes

[VisMaior]

I think codes are a valid strategy. Sometimes codes are best play, (like, for instance, masons clearing each other) sometimes not (doc roleencoding or somesuch). I think mods should not discoursge players doing it if they wish. I compare it to any other strategy they do. like, one might think scum lynching each other might be a bad strategy, or suboptimal play, yet, the actual scum players have to decide if they do it or not (noone wuold even think about disallowing that one). I would feel disallowing codeing would place an unnatural and unnecessary limit on the players.

[VisMaior]

Not really. I have yet to see a game that got broken because of a code.

[VisMaior]

I dont really see how it is game-breaking tough. I think if it would people would use it extensively. And if they would, mafia would look for the clues. And then it would be like a massclaim, with no ordering. and that favors the mafia...

[VisMaior]

You assume people use RSA in a forum game. Good luck with your sanity check.

[VisMaior]

I guess if an RSA program would be widely available just for this, yea. But as is, I dont think this is a real problem.

[VisMaior]

Well, you dont need RSA either, some simple XOR would work just as well.

[VisMaior]

I mean you dont need public keyt encription, a ymmetric encription will do just as well. XOR beeing the most simple and also the most effective (unbreakable by any means, no less), It never occured to me I should mention other ones...

I agree that if this arises, it should be banned. Or, alternatively, scum should get some indication as to what kind of flavor they should claim. Or something. Safeclaims even.

[VisMaior]

If I modded a game where this would come up, Id just delete/alter the encrypted post to some gibberish. Heh, thatd be some bastardy
cop:"here is the key, just decrypt to see Im the cop"
people:*decryptdecrypt* Err, no, its still gibberish.
cop: "wha? WTF? OMGHAX!"
people: "ORLY?" *lynchlynch*

[VisMaior]

If I'm not mistaken, with XOR encryption, you can make up a key afterward that turns the encrypted post into absolutely any message you want.

Right, but not if you have a password of minimal length (like, 8 chars or so) and repeat the word over and over. No real problem, people using a key as long as the messge iotself are claiming false.

[VisMaior]

Vigenère, no, I dont mean that. Exclusive-OR, thats what I mean.

For every bit in the encrypted data we take the appropriate bit in the ley. If Keybit(n)==1, we invert the textbit. Otherwise we do nothing.

Basically, its a bitwise XOR operation between the text and the key. Unbreakable without the key, as the information in every bit of the text is exactly half a bit. No correlatiopn whatsoever with the next bit. With short keys repetitively added it shows some degree of vulnerability, wich is actually dispatched quiet easily, but for the purposes of a forum game, it should proove unbreakable even so.