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Subject: Re: authorship of Appeal to Authority: a Failure of Trust
To: Homer Thompson <my email address>
References: <trinity-25095120-d52b-41bd-ad98-26bca38fe189-1466542915086 at 3capp-mailcom-bs15>
From: Bill Lindley <bill.lindley at first-response.co.uk>
Message-ID: <b161d9da-7d3d-2628-7d52-35d9d784f133 at first-response.co.uk>
Disposition-Notification-To: Bill Lindley <bill.lindley at first-response.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2016 12:53:18 +0100
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Dear Mr Thompson,

The work we carry out for clients is covered by non disclosure agreements which prevent us from commenting on what work we do and for whom.

However, we can in this instance confirm that no one at First Response wrote the paper "Appeal to Authority: a Failure of Trust".

Regards

Bill Lindley CITP MBCS MAE
Chairman & Managing Director
first response - data investigation & incident response
Office:     +44 (0) 20 7193 4905
Direct:     +44 (0) 13 7281 7299
Email:      bill.lindley at first-response.co.uk
Web:       first-response.co.uk


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On 21/06/2016 22:01, Homer Thompson wrote:
Dear First Response,

The bitcoin core developer, Gregory Maxwell, has claimed in public that First Reponse wrote the entirety of the paper, "Appeal to Authority: a Failure of Trust". He says that he contacted you and that you said that you wrote the entire paper under contract for Dr. Craig Wright.

Part of this paper reads:
"...we have multiple protocol stacks across the Internet that are interacting. This is the plan for Bitcoin and the Blockchain. The bitcoin core protocol was never designed to be a single implementation maintain by a small cabal acting to restrain the heretics. In restricting the Blocksize, the end is the creation of a centralised management body. This can only result in a centralised control function that was never intended for Bitcoin. Satoshi was removed from the community to stop this from occurring. Too many people started to look to Satoshi as a figurehead and controller. Rather than experimenting and creating new systems within Bitcoin, many people started to expect to be led. In the absence, the experiment has not led to an ecosystem of experimentation and research, of trial and failure, but one of dogma and rhetoric."

It is quite surprising to hear that a digital forensics company would make such statements about "the plan for Bitcoin and the Blockchain".

I would be very grateful if you could confirm or deny Maxwell's claim. I would also expect that First Response would not want such writings to be misattributed to you, if Maxwell's claim is incorrect.

Many thanks and best wishes,
H. Thompson.