Fides

fides

In a previous article, I wrote about the correctly—how its cost should be determined, what you should be looking for, etc.—and the importance of knowing that the auditor you’re working for has the to demonstrate that they’re up to the task. One of the most important indicators that your smart contract auditor is reliable, diligent, effective and honest is their reputation. importance of valuing your smart contract audit bona fides The problem with reputation is that it's kind of a nebulous concept. Consider this: Every so often, the media catches wind of a lesser-known auditor releasing thousands of reports with a very small team. Word spreads, and their client list grows exponentially. Eventually, the demand becomes too much to handle, and the quality of their reports takes a nosedive. Another issue is that there is a slew of auditors, even relatively green ones, who are perfectly content to refer to themselves as a “Top 5 Worldwide Auditor” (or some variation on this theme). In other industries, there are reputable lists produced by outside evaluators, wherein an appearance in the “Top X” is a meaningful designation; however, fewer of these vetted lists exist in our industry, which makes verifying an auditor’s self-proclaimed status somewhat of a challenge. As you can see, it’s important to remember that media coverage does not inherently speak to the quality of an auditor, or to their process. Recognizing A Good Auditor The mark of a high-quality auditor who will do a great job with your project has less to do with the auditor as a solo entity and more to do with the relationship between client and auditor. This is reflected by the client’s involvement in the process. Often, auditors just call the client’s attention to the errors in the code. This is something of a shortcut, and the results are often undesirable. To truly detect any mistakes that affect the business logic of the contract, you have to study the project—the idea, the documents, etc. This requires another level of communication with the client. Often, there are mistakes within the business logic itself: People who create web3 projects don’t really get into new paradigms, so helping them out with building decentralized logic is pretty much a matter of “good manners” for an auditor. So, how do you know if your auditor is someone who exhibits these “good manners?” I sometimes joke that it’s like buying boots. Check the quality. I would read two, three, maybe even five reports from this auditor, studying what they comment and suggest. If the data in the report is superficial, something anyone could obtain, this should raise questions. But admittedly, for this type of evaluation to be effective, you have to have a certain level of expertise with smart contracts. A simpler approach is studying reviews in the community, but it’s important to keep in mind that these can be falsified. So it’s also important to look at the results of their audits. Were these projects successful, or did they run into landmines? The outcomes are the best reflection of the auditor’s work. It might also be useful to look at their training. There are courses and even whole academies dedicated to teaching smart contract auditors. These can be independently run or work with known auditor companies. Lastly, you should also check to see what information the auditor is putting out into the ecosystem. A good auditor is keen to share knowledge and results openly, whether that occurs through a blog, channel, interviews or conference presentations. Quality auditors invest time in spreading awareness and information. They actively work to show potential clients that they have high standards and that they practice what they preach. Looking For ‘Red Flags’ And Learning From Errors Two signs that should concern you, when shopping for an auditor, are low prices and speedy work. As in many industries, when an offer seems too good to be true…it probably is. If the report costs $200 and is ready in a day, what does that tell you about the person behind it? But, occasionally, even the best-trained, most scrupulous auditor can miss something. It’s just a reality of the industry. This can result in reputational damage, even if that’s not an entirely accurate or fair way to evaluate an auditor’s work. Some auditing companies have an insurance fund that is used to compensate clients for lost assets that in some way stem from a failure in the audit. They may also refund the money if it’s demonstrably clear that the job wasn’t done properly—but that’s a sensitive matter, since it’s often not easy to determine whether a job wasn’t “well done.” For instance, if the auditor finds five out of six serious issues, is that good? What if the sixth issue is the one causing all the problems? There’s not always a simple answer to the question of whether the audit is “at fault” when something goes awry. In many ways, auditing is like research—no matter how hard you pore over the text, you always can miss something. Good auditors accept this risk and reality as a part of our business, and do not present themselves as infallible; they learn from their mistakes and use these learnings to improve the quality of their work. Keeping Ethical Norms Top-Of-Mind Lastly, ethical issues are always present in an auditor’s work. Some auditors will look the other way and let an issue through to keep the client happy. And some might even offer bonuses for keeping a vulnerability quiet. These are, for obvious reasons, considered unethical practices in our industry. An auditor with integrity will stand with the users of the project, shining a light on all the issues that could cause problems, even if that isn’t the path that will benefit them personally in money or expedience. Their reputation depends on it. They know that those who choose financial gain over integrity will not have long-lived auditing careers. Siding with and protecting the users is ultimately the imperative. Also published . here

The Importance Of Reputation For Smart Contract Auditors

Reflections on the Decline of Science in England, and on Some of Its Causes by Charles Babbage, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Section 3 here SECTION 3. OF THE SECRETARISHIPS. Whether the present Secretaries are the best qualified to aid in reforming the Society, is a question I shall not discuss. With regard to the senior Secretary, the time of his holding office is perhaps more unfortunate than the circumstance. If I might be permitted to allude for a moment to his personal character, I should say that the mild excellencies of his heart have prevented the Royal Society from deriving the whole of that advantage from his varied knowledge and liberal sentiments which some might perhaps have anticipated; and many will agree with me in regretting that his judgment has not directed a larger portion of the past deeds of the Councils of the Royal Society. Of the junior Secretary I shall only observe, that whilst I admit his industry, his perseverance, and his talents, I regret to see such valuable qualities exerted at a disadvantage, and that I sincerely wish them all the success they merit in situations more adapted for their developement. There are, however, some general principles which it may be important to investigate, which relate to the future as well as to the past state of the office of Secretary of the Royal Society. Inconvenience has already arisen from having had at a former period one of our Secretaries the conductor of a scientific journal; and this is one of the points in which I can agree with those who now manage the affairs of the Society. [These observations were written previous to the late appointment, to which I now devote Section 6. Experience seems to be lost on the Council of the Royal Society.] Perhaps it might be advantageous to extend the same understanding to the other officers of the Society at least, if not to the members of its Council. Another circumstance worthy of the attention of the Society is, to consider whether it is desirable, except in special cases, to have military persons appointed to any of its offices. There are several peculiarities in the military character, which, though they do not absolutely unfit their possessors for the individual prosecution of science, may in some degree disqualify such persons from holding offices in scientific institutions. The habits both of obedience and command, which are essential in military life, are little fitted for that perfect freedom which should reign in the councils of science. If a military chief commit an oversight or an error, it is necessary, in order to retain the confidence of those he commands, to conceal or mask it as much as possible. If an experimentalist make a mistake, his only course to win the confidence of his fellow-labourers in science, and to render his future observations of any use, is to acknowledge it in the most full and explicit manner. The very qualifications which contribute to the professional excellence of the soldier, constitute his defects when he enters the paths of science; and it is only in those rare cases where the force of genius is able to control and surmount these habits, that his admission to the offices of science can be attended with any advantage to it. Another objection deserving notice, although not applying exclusively to the military profession, is, that persons not imbued with the feelings of men of science, when they have published their observations, are too apt to view every criticism upon them as a personal question, and to consider that it is as offensive to doubt the accuracy of their observations as it is to doubt their word. Nothing can be more injurious to science than that such an opinion should be tolerated. The most unreserved criticism is necessary for truth; and those suspicions respecting his own accuracy, which every philosophical experimenter will entertain concerning his own researches, ought never to be considered as a reproach, when they are kept in view in examining the experiments of others. The minute circumstances and apparently trivial causes which lend their influence towards error, even in persons of the most candid judgment, are amongst the most curious phenomena of the human mind. The importance of affording every aid to enable others to try the merits of observations, has been so well expressed by Mayer, that I shall conclude these remarks with an extract from the Preface to his Observations: "Officii enim cujusque observatoris ease reor, de habitu instrumenti sui, de cura ac precautione, qua usus est, ad illud recte tractandum, deque mediis in errores ejus inquirendi rationem reddere publice, ut aliis quoque copia sit judicandi, quanta fides habenda conclusionibus ex nostris observationibus deductis aut deducendis. Hoc cum minus fecissent precedentis saeculi astronomi, praxin nimis secure, nimisque theoretice tractantes, factum inde potissimum est, ut illorum observationes tot vigiliis tantoque labore comparatae tam cito obsoleverint." P. viii. There are certain duties which the Royal Society owes to its own character as well as to the public, which, having been on some occasions apparently neglected, it may be here the proper place to mention, since it is reasonable to suppose that attention to them is within the province of its Secretaries. The first to which I shall allude is the singular circumstances attending the fact of the Royal Society having printed a volume of Astronomical Observations which were made at the Observatory of Paramatta (New South Wales), bearing the title of "The Third Part of the Philosophical Transactions for the Year 1829." Now this Observatory was founded at the private expense of a British officer; the instruments were paid for out of his purse; two observers were brought from Europe, to be employed in making use of those instruments, at salaries defrayed by him. A considerable portion of the observations so printed were made by these astronomers during their employment in his service, and some of them are personally his own. Yet has the Royal Society, in adopting them as part of its Transactions, omitted all mention, either in their title-page, preface, or in any part of the volume, of the FACT that the world owed these valuable observations to the enlightened munificence of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Brisbane; whose ardent zeal in the pursuit of science induced him to found, at his own private expense, an establishment which it has been creditable to the British Government to continue as a national institution. Had any kindred feelings existed in the Council, instead of endeavouring to shift the responsibility, they would have hastened to rectify an omission, less unjust to the individual than it was injurious to English science. Another topic, which concerns most vitally the character and integrity of the Royal Society, I hardly know how to approach. It has been publicly stated that confidence cannot be placed in the written minutes of the Society; and an instance has been adduced, in which an entry has been asserted to have been made, which could not have been the true statement of what actually passed at the Council. The facts on which the specific instance rests are not difficult to verify by members of the Royal Society. I have examined them, and shall state them before I enter on the reasoning which may be founded upon them. In the minutes of the Council, 26th November, 1829, we find— "Resolved, that the following gentlemen be recommended to be put upon the Council for the ensuing year." [Here follows a list of persons, amongst whom the name of Sir John Franklin occurs [Sir John Franklin was absent from London, and altogether unacquainted with this transaction, until he saw it stated in the newspapers some months after it had taken place. That his name was the one substituted for that of Captain Beaufort I know, from other evidence which need not be produced here, as the omission of the latter name is the charge that has been made.], and that of Captain Beaufort is not found. [Any gentleman may satisfy himself that this is not a mistake of the Assistant Secretary's, in copying, by consulting the rough minutes of that meeting of the Council, which it might perhaps be as well to write in a rough minute-book, instead of upon loose sheets of paper; nor can it be attributed to any error arising from accidentally mislaying the real minutes, for in that case the error would have been rectified immediately it was detected; and this has remained uncorrected, although publicly spoken of for months. As there is no erasure in the list, one is reluctantly compelled to conjecture that the real minutes of that meeting have been destroyed.]] Now this could not be the list actually recommended by the Council on the morning of the 26th of November, because the President himself, on the evening of that day, informed Capt. Beaufort that he was placed on the house list; and that officer, with the characteristic openness of his profession, wrote on the next or the following day to the President, declining that situation, and stating his reasons for the step. Upon the fact, therefore, of the suppression of part of a resolution of the Council, on the 26th of November, there can be no doubt; but in order to understand the whole nature of the transaction, other information is necessary. It has been the wish of many members of the Society, that the President should not absolutely name his own Council, but that the subject should be discussed fairly at the meeting previous to the Anniversary—this has always been opposed by Mr. Gilbert, and those who support him. Now, it has been stated, that, at the meeting of the Council on the 26th of November, the President took out of his pocket a bit of paper, from which he read the names of several persons as fit to be on the Council for the ensuing year;—that it was not understood that any motion was made, and it is certain that none was seconded, nor was any ballot taken on such an important question; and it was a matter of considerable surprise to some of those present, to discover afterwards that it was entered on the minutes as a resolution. This statement I have endeavoured to verify, and I believe it to be substantially correct; if it was a resolution, it was dictated, not discussed. It is also important to observe, that no similar resolution stands on the council-books for any previous year. On examining the minutes of the succeeding Council, no notice of the letter of Captain Beaufort to the President is found. Why was it omitted? If the first entry had been truly made, there would have been no necessity for the omission; and after the insertion of that letter, a resolution would naturally have followed, recommending another name instead of the one withdrawn. Such was the natural and open course; but this would have exposed to the Society the weakness of those who manage it. If the rough minutes of each meeting of the Council were read over before it separated, and were copied previously to the next meeting, such a substitution could hardly have occurred; but, unfortunately, this is not the case, and the delay is in some cases considerable. Thus, the minutes of the three Councils, held on February 4, on February 11, and on March 11, were not entered on the minute-books of the Council on Tuesday, the 16th March; nor was this the fault of the Assistant-secretary, for up to that day the rough minutes of no one of those Councils had been transmitted to him. Deeply as every friend to the Royal Society must regret such an occurrence, one slight advantage may accrue. Should that resolution be ever quoted hereafter to prove that the Council of 1829 really discussed the persons to be recommended as their successors, the detection of this suppression of one portion of it, will furnish better means of estimating the confidence due to the whole. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Charles Babbage (1998).Reflections on the Decline of Science in England, and on Some of Its Causes. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1216/pg1216-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

OF THE SECRETARISHIPS.

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Chapter VI CHAPTER VI I went home with a feeling of exultation. My scheme had succeeded far better than I could possibly have hoped. Lord Nasby had been positively genial. It only now remained for me to “Make good,” as he expressed it. Once locked in my own room, I took out my precious piece of paper and studied it attentively. Here was the clue to the mystery. To begin with, what did the figures represent? There were five of them, and a dot after the first two. “Seventeen—one hundred and twenty-two,” I murmured. That did not seem to lead to anything. Next I added them up. That is often done in works of fiction and leads to surprising deductions. “One and seven make eight and one is nine and two are eleven and two are thirteen.” Thirteen! Fateful number! Was this a warning to me to leave the whole thing alone? Very possibly. Anyway, except as a warning, it seemed to be singularly useless. I declined to believe that any conspirator would take that way of writing thirteen in real life. If he meant thirteen, he would write thirteen. “13”—like that. There was a space between the one and the two. I accordingly subtracted twenty-two from a hundred and seventy-one. The result was a hundred and fifty-nine. I did it again and made it a hundred and forty-nine. These arithmetical exercises were doubtless excellent practice, but as regarded the solution of the mystery, they seemed totally ineffectual. I left arithmetic alone, not attempting fancy division or multiplication, and went on to the words. Kilmorden Castle. That was something definite. A place. Probably the cradle of an aristocratic family. (Missing heir? Claimant to title?) Or possibly a picturesque ruin. (Buried treasure?) Yes, on the whole I inclined to the theory of buried treasure. Figures always go with buried treasure. One pace to the right, seven paces to the left, dig one foot, descend twenty-two steps. That sort of idea. I could work out that later. The thing was to get to Kilmorden Castle as quickly as possible. I made a strategic sally from my room and returned laden with books of reference. Who’s Who, Whitaker, a Gazetteer, a History of Scotch Ancestral Homes, and Somebody or other’s British Isles. Time passed. I searched diligently, but with growing annoyance. Finally, I shut the last book with a bang. There appeared to be no such place as Kilmorden Castle. Here was an unexpected check. There must be such a place. Why should any one invent a name like that and write it down on a piece of paper? Absurd! Another idea occurred to me. Possibly it was a castellated abomination in the suburbs with a high-sounding name invented by its owner. But if so, it was going to be extraordinarily hard to find. I sat back gloomily on my heels (I always sit on the floor to do anything really important) and wondered how on earth I was to set about it. Was there any other line I could follow? I reflected earnestly and then sprang to my feet delightedly. Of course! I must visit the “scene of the crime.” Always done by the best sleuths! And no matter how long afterwards it may be, they always find something that the police have overlooked. My course was clear. I must go to Marlow. But how was I to get into the house? I discarded several adventurous methods, and plumped for stern simplicity. The house had been to let—presumably was still to let. I would be a prospective tenant. I also decided on attacking the local house-agents, as having fewer houses on their books. Here, however, I reckoned without my host. A pleasant clerk produced particulars of about half a dozen desirable properties. It took all my ingenuity to find objections to them. In the end I feared I had drawn a blank. “And you’ve really nothing else?” I asked, gazing pathetically into the clerk’s eyes. “Something right on the river, and with a fair amount of garden and a small lodge,” I added, summing up the main points of the Mill House, as I had gathered them from the papers. “Well, of course there’s Sir Eustace Pedler’s place,” said the man doubtfully. “The Mill House, you know.” “Not—not where——” I faltered. (Really, faltering is getting to be my strong point.) “That’s it! Where the murder took place. But perhaps you wouldn’t like——” “Oh, I don’t think I should mind,” I said with an appearance of rallying. I felt my bona fides was now quite established. “And perhaps I might get it cheap—in the circumstances.” A master touch that, I thought. “Well, it’s possible. There’s no pretending that it will be easy to let now—servants and all that, you know. If you like the place after you’ve seen it, I should advise you to make an offer. Shall I write you out an order?” “If you please.” A quarter of an hour later I was at the lodge of the Mill House. In answer to my knock, the door flew open and a tall middle-aged woman literally bounced out. “Nobody can go into the house, do you hear that? Fairly sick of you reporters, I am. Sir Eustace’s orders are——” “I understood the house was to let,” I said freezingly, holding out my order. “Of course, if it’s already taken——” “Oh, I’m sure I beg your pardon, miss. I’ve been fairly pestered with these newspaper people. Not a minute’s peace. No, the house isn’t let—nor likely to be now.” “Are the drains wrong?” I asked in an anxious whisper. “Oh, Lord, miss, the drains is all right! But surely you’ve heard about that foreign lady as was done to death here?” “I believe I did read something about it in the papers,” I said carelessly. My indifference piqued the good woman. If I had betrayed any interest, she would probably have closed up like an oyster. As it was, she positively bridled. “I should say you did, miss! It’s been in all the newspapers. The Daily Budget’s out still to catch the man who did it. It seems, according to them, as our police are no good at all. Well, I hope they’ll get him—although a nice-looking young fellow he was and no mistake. A kind of soldierly look about him—ah, well, I dare say he’d been wounded in the war, and sometimes they go a bit queer afterwards, my sister’s boy did. Perhaps she’d used him bad—they’re a bad lot, those foreigners. Though she was a fine-looking woman. Stood there where you’re standing now.” “Was she dark or fair?” I ventured. “You can’t tell from these newspaper portraits.” “Dark hair, and a very white face—too white for nature, I thought, and her lips reddened something cruel. I don’t like to see it—a little powder now and then is quite another thing.” We were conversing like old friends now. I put another question. “Did she seem nervous or upset at all?” “Not a bit. She was smiling to herself, quiet like, as though she was amused at something. That’s why you could have knocked me down with a feather when, the next afternoon, those people came running out calling for the police and saying there’d been murder done. I shall never get over it, and as for setting foot in that house after dark I wouldn’t do it, not if it was ever so. Why, I wouldn’t even stay here at the lodge, if Sir Eustace hadn’t been down on his bended knees to me.” “I thought Sir Eustace Pedler was at Cannes?” “So he was, miss. He come back to England when he heard the news, and, as to the bended knees, that was a figure of speech, his secretary, Mr. Pagett, having offered us double pay to stay on, and, as my John says, money is money nowadays.” I concurred heartily with John’s by no means original remarks. “The young man now,” said Mrs. James, reverting suddenly to a former point in the conversation. “He was upset. His eyes, light eyes, they were, I noticed them particular, was all shining. Excited, I thought. But I never dreamt of anything being wrong. Not even when he came out again looking all queer.” “How long was he in the house?” “Oh, not long, a matter of five minutes maybe.” “How tall was he, do you think? About six foot?” “I should say so maybe.” “He was clean-shaven, you say?” “Yes, miss—not even one of these toothbrush moustaches.” “Was his chin at all shiny?” I asked on a sudden impulse. Mrs. James stared at me with awe. “Well, now you come to mention it, miss, it was. However did you know?” “It’s a curious thing, but murderers often have shiny chins,” I explained wildly. Mrs. James accepted the statement in all good faith. “Really, now, miss. I never heard that before.” “You didn’t notice what kind of a head he had, I suppose?” “Just the ordinary kind, miss. I’ll fetch you the keys, shall I?” I accepted them, and went on my way to the Mill House. My reconstructions so far I considered good. All along I had realized that the differences between the man Mrs. James had described and my Tube “doctor” were those of non-essentials. An overcoat, a beard, gold-rimmed eyeglasses. The “doctor” had appeared middle-aged, but I remembered that he had stooped over the body like a comparatively young man. There had been a suppleness which told of young joints. The victim of the accident (the Moth Ball man, as I called him to myself) and the foreign woman, Mrs. de Castina, or whatever her real name was, had had an assignation to meet at the Mill House. That was how I pieced the thing together. Either because they feared they were being watched or for some other reason, they chose the rather ingenious method of both getting an order to view the same house. Thus their meeting there might have the appearance of pure chance. That the Moth Ball man had suddenly caught sight of the “doctor,” and that the meeting was totally unexpected and alarming to him, was another fact of which I was fairly sure. What had happened next? The “doctor” had removed his disguise and followed the woman to Marlow. But it was possible that had he removed it rather hastily traces of spirit-gum might still linger on his chin. Hence my question to Mrs. James. Whilst occupied with my thoughts I had arrived at the low old-fashioned door of the Mill House. Unlocking it with the key, I passed inside. The hall was low and dark, the place smelt forlorn and mildewy. In spite of myself, I shivered. Did the woman who had come here “smiling to herself” a few days ago feel no chill of premonition as she entered this house? I wondered. Did the smile fade from her lips, and did a nameless dread close round her heart? Or had she gone upstairs, smiling still, unconscious of the doom that was so soon to overtake her? My heart beat a little faster. Was the house really empty? Was doom waiting for me in it also? For the first time, I understood the meaning of the much-used word, “atmosphere.” There was an atmosphere in this house, an atmosphere of cruelty, of menace, of evil. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Agatha Christie (2020). The Man in the Brown Suit. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/61168/pg61168-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

Here was the clue to the mystery

Of the power of the eleventh horn of Daniel's fourth Beast, to change times and laws

In this article, I will give my views on the prospects for the Aleo blockchain and its possible successors. Aleo is a PoS blockchain that ensures complete anonymity of transactions. The main feature of the blockchain is the ability to create private applications using the native Leo programming language. Thus, if we make an analogy with public blockchains, Aleo is as different from Zcash as Ethereum is from Bitcoin. I have never used Bitcoin, although I have been actively using all the popular EVM blockchains for two years now. Obviously, the idea of programmable self-executable contracts has noticeably advanced the web3 direction (thanks to Vitalik Buterin). And if you used Zcash, Monero, or Tornado Cash, you know that Aleo can do with them what Ethereum did with Bitcoin, Litecoin, and the like. The advent of smart contracts has opened up a huge amount of possibilities for users. Now we can build our own DAOs, create Multisig safes, create ERC-20 tokens, and ERC-721 (NFTs), develop decentralized exchanges, and so on. Let's think about how Aleo can impact the private blockchain sphere. A little commentary on anonymization In public blockchains, it is still possible to anonymize your identity, but you have to resort to complicated manipulations to do it: to anonymize via Tornado Cash, you have to wait for time, and you risk being blacklisted by the US and all the legally regulated exchanges. In the case of Aleo, you won't have to worry about that, because no one sees your transactions, and in case your address is blacklisted, you can calmly transfer funds to a new one without the risk of being deanonymized. Private DAOs Now that DAOs are built in a private ecosystem, users can choose their degree of anonymity. They can also undergo KYC if required by DAO rules or if there is such a desire. It is possible to organize DAOs with partial anonymity, where, for example, only performers have to undergo KYC, while ordinary users can remain anonymous. It is important to understand that Aleo provides an opportunity for de-anonymization if you have such a desire: you can provide your transaction history. In the case of DAO anonymization, there will be no possibility to track the bona fides of voting participants, who, for example, can buy DAO tokens shortly before the vote. Of course, it's possible to think of some workarounds: for example, preliminary snapshot, but the such procedure can be initiated only by the user himself. That is, the user himself must provide data about his balance, independently initiating the transaction. There is an opportunity to hide the intermediate results of the vote, thereby creating an incentive for the holders to keep as many tokens as possible. At the same time, it will be impossible to trace whales, which may have a weight of 51% or more. In public blockchains, though, whales can simply participate in votes via alt-accounts, so there won't be much change. Private DEXs. Aleo could give birth to a fundamentally new structure — private decentralized exchanges. The user will be able to purchase tokens absolutely anonymously, and the exchange can decide for itself whether to disclose its list of accounts that provide liquidity. Whether to disclose the volume of trades, the amount of liquidity, and so on. Of course, the most transparent exchanges will be trusted by users and have demand. However, this opens the possibility for hackers - in the case of a hack, as was recently the case with GALA, the hacker can avoid all possible sanctions. In the case of public blockchains, hackers' accounts are usually blocked by Circle and Tether, thereby preventing them from taking, often, half of all liquidity. So... Aleo will be a brand new ecosystem where everyone can choose their degree of anonymity. And as we know for sure, anonymity opens up opportunities for both bad and good people. But I firmly believe in the laws of karma and that decentralization promotes the greatest honesty and that privatization serves only as a catalyst.

My Take on Decentralized Government on the Aleo Blockchain

An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding, Volume II: Book III, Chapter VI.

As I walked along the park on a crisp winter day I spotted a most curious sight. A small bird perched upon a stone bench, pecking away at its laptop, with an equally small cup of coffee next to it. You must think this is not that unusual, birds must earn a living after all. The peculiarity of this situation laid on the fact that the little bird, who turned out to be a black-capped chickadee upon further inspection, beeped incessantly. He beeped with a language so coarse, it would put hair on a baby's chin. Intrigued by the exasperated little bird and seeing as how my code was currently compiling back at the office, I decided to approach it. “Morning, little bird. You seem to be awfully frustrated, why is that?” I asked. The little bird stopped typing on its keyboard and looked back up at me. “Oh, I’m sorry, was I swearing too loudly?” “Just a tad,” I said bringing my index and thumb together for emphasis. The raised black feathers on its head smoothed out, “I’m dreadfully sorry.” “Is there any way I could help?” “I don’t believe so. I’m an engineer you see.” “But that’s perfect,” I exclaimed, “I’m an engineer as well.” I pulled out the giffin that all true engineers are given upon graduation and performed a simple coding cantrip on it to show my bona fides. The little bird’s feathers puffed, “You’re an engineer indeed,” it said, “and by the notches on your giffin, an experienced one at that.” “I’ve been around for a while,” I said, trying not to blush, “what would this problem be then?” “Well, I recently graduated from TU,” it said. “Tweeting University?" “Torquay University,” it said, somewhat reproachfully. “Pardon me, please continue.” “I recently graduated and I’ve been applying to jobs but I feel that my current programming languages are not enough.” “I see, which ones do you know?” “The ones they taught me at uni. C++, Java and Python” “That’s not a bad combo, you’ve got something for systems, a general purpose language and a nice scripting one for web dev, tools and such.” “Yes, but is it enough? I was reading the TIOBE index…” I raised my hand in objection, “Ahhhh see, there’s your problem.” The little bird tilted its head in confusion. “But how else can I know which language should I learn next?” “Perhaps this might be better illustrated by a story. But I grow thirsty, so let’s go over to that coffee shop and I’ll tell you on the way.” The little bird sighed, “Fine,” it said, “I guess I’m also a bit thirsty”. It picked up his laptop, mug and bag, then perched on my shoulder. “About oh say, 14 years ago or so, before Acid 3 or the Chromium project. There was a piece of rather popular technology called Macromedia Flash. Actually, around that time it was acquired by Adobe if I recall correctly. “Now, Flash was rather useful in a time before standards. You could develop a web application and have it run consistently across browsers and operating systems. It was prettier than the brutalist aesthetic of JSF, and easier to use than Javascript. The tapping on my shoulder indicated that the little bird was jumping around on my shoulder, “Easier to use than Javascript? Really?” it tweeted incredulously. I laughed, “Yes, Javascript used to be a wretched, poor thing. Often misused, rarely appreciated and blamed for all sorts of problems, kind of like Horrorcore hip-hop. But now, it’s quite popular, well established, harshly criticised by some, and perhaps the source of some significant problems, kind of like Mumble rap. “But this is not the story of Javascript, that can come at another time. This is the story of the language that gave life to Flash. Actionscript. For many years, you couldn’t go through a job board without seeing postings for ‘Flash Developer’, ‘Multimedia Programmer’, or in the latter days ‘Flex Developer’. It was an interesting time. HTML was a matchstick castle, held by spit and fate. VLC rose further up to liberate us from under the boot of Windows Media Player, QuickTime and RealPlayer. In the middle of all of this, there was ActionScript powering ‘rich’ websites, games and even the early version of YouTube. “Then, things changed. Too many security scandals, the birth of new standards, old tyrants fell, just to be replaced by new ones. During all of this, Flash and therefore ActionScript suffered. “There were no more job postings. Flash became an Instrumentum Non Grato and Actionscript plummeted into obscurity to where it’s standing right now, around the 47th position in the index.” The little bird and I were now sitting at the coffee shop. “What happened to all those developers?” the little bird asked. I took a sip of tea, “We moved on, some of us earlier than others, some others held on, unto the direst of consequences.” The little bird’s head sank into its body as it gave a swift shake. “That is sad. But I don’t understand. In that case, the TIOBE index would have helped, they could have looked at it, seen the decrease in ActionScript’s popularity and switched.” “Ahhh,” I said, “that is exactly the point. Those old ActionScript developers are still around, their knowledge has been recycled and reapplied, their principles brought to other platforms, languages, and frameworks. Many programmers were introduced to the concept of frames and tweening through Flash and ActionScript, then they took those concepts to other animation libraries. If they had just jumped incessantly from technology to technology, they would have accomplished nothing. “By Ritchie’s beard! OpenFL and Haxe, descendants of Flash and AS were used to make the magnificent ‘Papers, Please’.” The little bird’s beak swung in confusion from one side to the other, “So, you’re saying the technology is still good, that we should have stuck with it?” “No. Languages languish, frameworks fade, this is inevitable. What I’m saying is that the tools do not matter as much as what is produced by them.” “I’m sorry,” the little bird said, “that doesn’t help my situation, not really. I’m still not sure which programming language to pick from TIOBE.” “Fine,” I sighed, “try something for me will you?” “Ok, what?” “I want you to say ‘Fuck TIOBE’” “Eh, what?” “As loud as possible please, I’ll start.” “No, please don’t,” the little bird said. But it was too late, I stood up. The little bird put its wings over its ears. “FUCK TIOBE!”, I roared inside the coffee shop. Several patrons looked up at us, concern written on their faces, but I just pulled out my giffin and flashed it. “Engineering business. No need for concern,” I said and they promptly returned to their coffees and conversations. I turned back towards the little bird, “Now you try it.” “Do I have to?” “It will help, I assure you.” The little bird looked around shifting from foot to foot. “Fucktiobe,” it said softly in a single breath. “Louder” “FUCK TIOBE!” it tweeted. The little bird looked up, its little black eyes shimmered. It took flight and flew above in circles, lemniscates, and other assorted geometric shapes, all the while tweeting loudly. From dark corners inside the coffee shop, tired eyes were raised from laptops plastered with stickers, with a half dozen different operating systems installed in them and joined the chorus. Cries of “Fuck TIOBE!”, “PYPL is better!”, “Fuck PYPL too!”, “Stroopwafels aren’t even that great!” erupted from inside the shop. The chorus died down and the little bird landed back on our table. It breathed quickly, its feathers ruffled. “That was fun,” it tweeted happily. “Right?”, I asked, “Do you understand now?” “I think I do,” it said, “I shouldn’t fret so much about what programming language I’m using, as long as I’m building something worthwhile. So I should just build things in whatever I deem appropriate.” “Precisely,” I said, “there are obviously concerns about maintainability, good documentation, community support, and project requirements of course. “Those decisions should be made based on the needs of what you’re building, not upon some beauty contest.” “Today’s Javascript is tomorrow’s ActionScript?” it said. “Exactly, and imagine how much knowledge we’ve gained from Javascript that we can apply to future projects.” The little bird looked off into the distance, flashes of custom APIs, parsers, and package managers swarmed in his head. “Right,” I said as I got up from my chair, “my code must have finished compiling by now, so I should head back.” “Ok,” said the little bird, “what if I need to contact you again?” “You won’t need to,” I replied, “you’ve got the knowledge now. Now go out there and build something.” Addenda The previous text was written with tongue firmly in cheek. Stroopwafels are actually delicious.

The Fable of the Little Chickadee

If you want to go to the Moon, you have to follow some ground rules. Or do you? Whatever brought you here, your last click was your first as a CryptoLawyer. Welcome aboard! We’re glad you’re here. We need all the help we can get. Let’s get started. What is CryptoLaw? CryptoLaw is a big deal. Here’s one way to define CryptoLaw: CryptoLaw: a cloud of legal norms, processes, institutions, and vocabularies for governing inter-crypto ( .), intra-crypto (ETC v. ETH), and all other legal relations concerning crypto instruments, institutions, and markets (public legislative/regulatory oversight of crypto; enterprise-crypto integration; intersection of private contract law with private so-called “smart contract” #CodeIsLaw; etc.) Ethereum Foundation vis-a-vis OmiseGO, etc This is just the tip of the iceberg in our conception of . But it’s a good start. CryptoLaw CryptoLaw structures our imaginations of what’s possible in the crypto-economy. It gives us certain operational logics and vocabularies for resolving crypto-legal disputes. It defines what’s possible and impossible and the costs of blurring the line between the two. CryptoLaw Strategies CryptoLaw doesn’t just exist. It’s not just a thing that sits there and governs. It’s an experimental system of governing human relations. And it’s got a LOT of problems. If you want proof, here’s our list of . Crypto’s Biggest Legal Problems A CryptoLaw strategy could mean anything from coalition or cartel-building (such as ), direct regulatory engagement (IOTA), , or something else. Stanford & E+5 impact litigation Over at we are continuing work on an analytical piece called that maps out the crypto legal landscape, from theoretical all the way down to the most seemingly mundane and “technical” things like … oh, you know, jurisdiction: . , Crypto Law Review CryptoLaw can do , and who what where In order to do this well, we need to open up a bigger runway so we can spread our wings a bit further. For instance, we’re learning things in our research that expose the “personal factor” — individuals’ ideological leanings that might have steered a particular project in this direction or that direction. As relative outsiders to the crypto development space, we have no particular need or desire to make our analysis “personal.” Nor do we technically have a need to talk about particular projects, like Bitcoin, or Ethereum, or Ethereum Classic. We can generalize and make the arguments abstract. But as arguments get more abstract, they become less compelling and less immediately relevant. So, in order to strike the right balance and develop the broader CryptoLaw arguments that we need to develop, we offer these contextual notes — basic explainers on why we’re doing what we’re doing with CryptoLaw — in the off-chance that these notes might be useful to you in formulating your own CryptoLaw strategies. Our Bona Fides Before we get further into CryptoLaw arguments, we need to introduce ourselves and build a little trust. We do this so you see that (a) ; that (b) (c) we appreciate ; and, that (d) instead of FUD, intended to put crypto on much stronger footing. we have no conflicts we genuinely respect crypto developers’ efforts; divergence of views within crypto this is constructive critique For some time now, we’ve been exploring these themes in different forums and from various perspectives, including (a) (b) , (c) , (d) , and so on — analysis that is being continuously refined and expanded at , which we also started. Against “Smart Contracts ,” #CodeIsLaw … Maybe Crypto Needs Better Lawyers ASAP Crypto Scaling is a Legal Problem Crypto Law Review Suffice it to say, we’ve sunk a lot of resources and time into developing these arguments because we think they are of existential importance to crypto. It’s important to lay this groundwork so that we — (we+you) — resist the urge to generalize “ ” as this or that, good or bad. CryptoLaw CryptoLaw arguments can’t be reduced to a meme or a blurb, just like inner workings of Bitcoin can’t be reduced to a gif. In order to reach you, we’ve written in different genres, registers, and tones (from abstract and theoretical to concrete and practice-oriented). “CryptoLaw” is our most eclectic analysis of the true costs of misunderstanding how Law structures social order and economic exchange — in both material and so-called “cyber” realms. — mapping the — is a complex analytical project that defies easy categorization. If you prefer bite-sized nuggets instead, the list of ingredients that went into this stew is up above. CryptoLaw Crypto Legal Matrix If this approach speaks to you, great. If not, please tell us how you would sharpen this analysis. One way or another, if you care about “crypto,” you’ll need to work through the themes raised here — the issues are just too foundational to ignore. In our view, the sooner this is done, the better. Time is of the essence. Your Bona Fides & Alliances While some of the themes thus far may seem theoretical and abstract, we must be clear that — with real-life consequences for billions of people. CryptoLaw is war We’re all combatants in a major fight for control over the conceptual architecture of the 21st century. Control over CryptoLaw = control over the 21st century economy. We’ll illustrate this with concrete examples and illustrations. But bigger picture, here’s our position in this war: (1) Crypto never should have positioned Law as its enemy. (2) By now, the “CryptoLaw Bar” should be should be smart enough to realize the futility and real costs of that approach. (3) It’s not too late to adopt different CryptoLaw strategies with much higher probabilities of better outcomes than the current adversarial model of engagement with Law. Phrased differently: If you cling to the framework like you cling to your Ledger Nano, then you don’t understand law and you don’t appreciate crypto’s potential. You may think you’re winning big battles, but you’re actually losing the war. Crypto v. Law If these sound like fighting words, please remember, we in the midst of a war. If you need proof, search for “crypto” and “law” in your favorite news engine. Scan the results. Exactly. are You, Esquire By “CryptoLaw Bar” and “CryptoLawyers,” we don’t just mean “lawyers” in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, the growing CryptoLaw Bar includes CryptoCats like , & everyone who has ever used Legalese (such as the term “smart contract”) — including Gavin Wood Vitalik Buterin YOU — irrespective of educational or professional background. If you’re a crypto dev, you might never have seen yourself as a CryptoLawyer. You might mistrust or even despise lawyers. You might have thought that Law and Lawyers were part of “the problem” for which Crypto was “the solution.” If you thought that, you were wrong. Not trying to be mean; just stating the truth. Don’t Take Our Word For It, Read Yellowpaper.io Please understand that it’s not little ol’ CleanApp that’s calling you out, saying you’re wrong to fight quixotic legal windmills, and tagging you into the CryptoLaw Bar. It’s the law firm of (founders of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic & CryptoLaw) who opened the CryptoLaw Bar, threw you in it, and then locked the door on their way out. Nakamoto, Wood, Szabo, Buterin, Hoskinson & Associates, PLLC Here’s Gavin Wood , telling us we were all crypto-lawyers who were now finally free to play with our magical crypto-legal “building blocks” to construct whatever shady legal things we wanted to construct: at the end of 2015 While contracts that provide pure services concerning each one of these pillars [(1) Identity; (2) Assets; (3) Data] will be extremely useful, these should be considered merely appropriate shades. building blocks from which a crypto-lawyer (or crypto-lawmaker?) may construct It was all fun and metaphor when we were imagining what it’d be like to be “crypto-lawyers” and “crypto-lawmakers.” But now that , now that the “shitcoins” are ricocheting off the SEC’s long-arm fanblades, people should realize that not everyone’s a “crypto-lawmaker” in Cryptopia. we’ve started being called to account Everyone Wins v. Winners & Losers There are winners and losers under any set of rules. Winners understand the rules better … because they write them. CryptoLaw’s (and crypto’s?) biggest failure thus far is the self-delusion that everyone’s a winner because everyone is free to write the rules of their own game, and, crucially, everyone is free to either play a given crypto game or not. The dominant crypto paradigm today is: everyone wins. If you HODL, you win. If you sell and profit, you win. Heck, even if you sell , you win. and lose How so? Even though you’ve lost big today, you’re really winning because you’re learning . how to win even bigger … tomorrow It’s gambler “logic.” Returning from Vegas after losing everything, you brag about how much fun you had, how many buffets and show tickets you were “comped,” and how you’ll “get” the Circus Circus next time. Gamblers know better than anyone that, statistically, “the house always wins” & “the rules are rigged.” Yet despite this knowledge, gamblers, by and large, follow the rules. Why? Because (a) everyone does it; (b) there are a lot of those damn rules, with lots of different costs for transgression; (c) there never seems to be enough time to learn “all the rules;” (d) [ “X” ]. So, better be safe than sorry. Better luck next time. In today’s Circus Crypto, the logic is the same. Even if you lose your fortune, you’re a winner in “experience points,” “dignity points” and “Liberty tokens.” Your Liberty & Dignity are preserved because you had the crypto-legal right to “inspect the code,” to familiarize yourself with “the rules,” and so on. This applies beyond just “trading,” to encompass virtually every aspect of today’s crypto economy: (a) investor v. ICO disputes; (b) trader v. exchange disputes (easy to put money into Gox, Coinbase, etc., not as easy to take it out); (c) CryptoDev v. CryptoDev disputes (ex: ETC v. ETH); (d) crypto mining disputes (ex: intra-pool disputes; Bitmain v. Obelisk; algo v. ASIC; etc.); (e) “smart contract” disputes; (f) and so on. However you may be losing your coin, don’t question the rules of the game. If you do, you’re sowing FUD, which is penalized with the ultimate legal sanction — banishment. Instead, even if you’re losing, you’re getting “rich” in experience points, which “feels” valuable because next time, you’ll know the rules better — greatly boosting your chances of winning. Never mind the fact that next time’s rules are already different (the “X” in the list of ‘Gambler Logics’ above). Again, we’re not talking about just cryptocurrency trading markets and rules, or the governing rules of this or that crypto instrument. The lessons above apply more broadly. Crypto-Casino-Capitalism Law Already, everyone should see remarkable ideological and functional parallels between , , and approaches to rules: Capitalist Casino Crypto (1) Transparency/Open Law: everyone can inspect & learn “the rules,” even though few do (due to, say, information overload from open access to so many rules); (2) Equality of Opportunity: rules are “set” so that everyone can win, even though few do; (3) Clarity: ambiguity is bad; clarity is good. Who decides? The “rules” — ! And if the rules are ambiguous? See #5. (4) Immutability: rules are rules; contracts must be enforced; pacta sunt servanda; (5) Expertise: if changes to #1 — #4 need to be made, trust the “experts” and “rule technicians” to do their thing — you just do you, stay focused on winning. In this regime, it’s clear that you don’t become a winner by following the rules; you become a real winner by understanding the rules. Do you want to know why next time’s crypto rules are already different, even though the “game” is being played on “immutable” code? We thought so. Let’s go on. Don’t Trust Us: Question Everything, Assume Nothing We don’t know what your institutional alliances or ideological beliefs are, but we promise this: . the payoff of working through this argument is a much more solid conceptual and institutional framework for crypto — not just CryptoLaw Don’t “trust” us. Instead, assume nothing; question everything. You don’t need to “trust” these arguments, or adopt any of the constituent premises. Take the questions we raise here and run them through your own logics, or world views. The most important takeaway thus far is to start questioning the . Crypto Legal Matrix Start with the basics: the who, what, when, where, how. Unwillingness to work through this argument and these questions because of Law FUD, or a short attention span — tl;dr — means continuing to labor under irrational and misplaced fear of the legal atmosphere. That means remaining stuck in a that continues to refine , without your consent. Crypto Legal Matrix ways to control you “Law ghosts” pose as much threat to crypto as oxygen — but it’s up to crypto to understand why that’s so. We are making this as clear as we can, including literary parallels to The Matrix, which we hope serves as a common metaphorical point of reference. You are the one who must want a better understanding of the . From there, everything becomes progressively easier. Crypto Legal Matrix It’s Time to Decide So, do you want to stress test your understanding of the world (and crypto’s place in it)? Do you have the intellectual courage to even ask this question — or are you so deeply your “anarcho-crypto-libertarian” or “crypto-liberal” or “crypto-radical” (or whatever other ideology) that your very mind has become … immutable? bound by We know you’re a free thinker at heart. So let’s enter the . Crypto Legal Matrix

Building a CryptoLaw Strategy

By Joseph Flaherty In my role at a I have the good fortune to see a few dozen pitch decks a month. Some are brilliant, and others require more time to bake, but almost all of them waste the first slide. venture capital firm The modal pitch deck cover slide features the company’s logo, a tagline, and sometimes, a cliched clip-art pattern in the background. Like adding two spaces after a period or indenting a new paragraph, this convention is a holdover from an earlier era. Don’t think of the first slide as a cover sheet on a fax, but rather, as a billboard to sell your company. Why should you care about this slide? It’s often on screen longer than any other. Here’s How VC Meetings Often Play Out: The entrepreneur arrives at the VC’s office. An admin helps set up the computer to present. ( .) You should always have a deck An associate/principal joins you and makes small talk until the VC arrives. When the VC arrives you kibbitz for a few minutes about the mutual contact that introduced you, or some shared interest to break the ice. Someone else from the firm will join the meeting at the last minute with no prior briefing on the company. Then, the entrepreneur starts the presentation by laying out a vision. While all of this is happening, minutes pass, and it’s just your logo sitting in the background. Why? Highlight Your Product On Slide 1 The VC knows your company name; it’s likely been on their calendar for a week or more. They’re probably less familiar with your client list or the nuances of your product. You’ve got a captive audience, so use this period of time to advertise your impressive progress. Do you have great design or an interesting UX? Flaunt it! If your product is a SaaS tool with a boring looking product, feature the logos of big-time clients to establish credibility. Here’s an example: Imagine a startup trying to enter the by productizing the concept of “ ” In most cases, the cover of the slide deck would look something like this: multi-billion dollar weight loss market mindful eating. Maybe there would be some generic photoshopped in the background. An ambitious variant might overlay the logo on a stock photo of some . Still, most decks start off with a comically oversized logo and an anodyne tagline, not far off this purposefully bad example. tech/mandala pattern overnight oats Would you want to join this team? Do you have any interest in the next slide? We can do better. A Better Example: This app does not exist, has no relationships to these institutions, and is for illustrative purposes only. App design by Julie Kim & Ashley Engelhardt. This version of the slide won’t win any design awards, but it adds a few important elements to the experience beyond the logo. Viewers get a rough idea of how the product works and the brand ethos. The viewer may think it is too cutesy, or not fully grok the user interface, but there’s a real product to contend with. App Screens: Note: There are dozens of inexpensive smartphone templates that non-designers can leverage to show off screenshots that make apps look so much more professional. Use them! The addition of brand logos brings 3rd party validation to the project. Even if the logos are just for pilot customers, it demonstrates commercial acumen. If you have a boring or functionally invisible product, don’t be afraid to highlight more customer logos. Logos: For example, venture capital is a product that’s hard to visualize, so at Founder Collective we show off the logos of some of our portfolio companies: The product is in the market, and this company can ship on multiple platforms. These tell the VC they’re not funding a vision, but a viable product. Badges may not be the right solution for all services, but something that quickly signals commercial availability is valuable. App Store Badges: Often you’ll be pitching more people than you expect. Graphics like these help them quickly establish a frame of reference for what you are building. What About REALLY Early-Stage Startups? Early-stage startups may not yet have many markers of success to showcase, but 3rd party validation comes in many forms. Companies that are just getting off the ground can use other proof points (and these aren’t bad for larger companies either): Even someone famous in a niche technical area would carry a lot of weight. A positive tweet from a celebrity user: Whether it’s TechCrunch or a trade rag, a pull quote followed by the publication’s logo demonstrates an ability to drum up press. A quote from a review in a publication: Quotes from anonymous users can be a great way to highlight what customers value in your product. A five-star rating on the app store: Unless your logo was designed by a + hybrid, there is almost certainly a higher value image to feature on your first slide. Paul Rand Ivan Chermayeff Think of Your First Slide Like Your Homepage Most startups would be well-served by scrapping their first slide and replacing it with a screen-cap of their website homepage. Take advantage of all the messaging effort you’ve already done for your site and apply to your sales deck. Some founders will argue that they want to establish a vision before they jump into the grubby realities of product and sales. Fair enough, but aren’t people more likely to trust your bold vision if you’ve built a foundation that establishes your bona fides? Like a great movie poster, the goal isn’t to give away the plot, but you should try to pique interest from the first moment. I don’t want to overstate the benefits of a well-crafted slide in the funding process. If you don’t have an impressive product or market traction, you can’t bling yourself into a Series B. However, if you’ve good news, like runaway user growth or a $20M run rate, don’t wait for the final third of the deck to tell people. The effect size of a slick starter slide is relatively small, but so is the effort required to benefit from it!

Don’t Waste Your First Slide

Demystifying public relations and making it work , all around great guy and product master at , did a mini-tweetstorm about PR from the perspective of a non-marketing person. Craig Kerstiens Citus Data 1/ One of the most foreign things for me to learn coming from working with engineers was how to interact with media As an engineer who eventually found my way to , let’s talk about this. marketing Programming notes: this post is n in a series of indeterminate length on GTM topics mainly for startup people, mainly leadership, mainly coming from non-GTM backgrounds. There’s a list at the end. Being in the media is a job 2/ Speaking with press/media is a very different skill than you’d think, it’s not just tell your message and answer questions The press have agendas. They need to tell stories, with points of view, that generate interest (and eyeballs) than their competition. Consider their incentives. Like everyone else doing a job, they have incentives. better unique more Give them reasons to listen to you. Establish your bona fides. Help them accomplish their goals. Are you advancing their cause? If not, why do you expect them to advance yours? Help the press do their jobs better 3/ Lots of things felt really foreign, but it’s a matter of them being under time constraint and the medium that make it what it is They do better when they’re with a story. Or the one with a story. Or both. A good, story is the best outcome for a journalist of any stripe. first only exclusive Attention spans being what they are, there’s a limit to how much detail and depth they can either consume or write with. Unless you’re a name brand in and of yourself, your airtime will be limited to one or two quotes — so make them good. Long form stories, should you be lucky enough to be the focus of, are a different experience altogether. And finally, most tech press want to be smarter about whatever topic they’re writing about. They’re interested and enjoy learning about technology, decoding the industry, etc. They want to provide more than just facts; going to levels of depth and analysis that make readers smarter. their All under severe time pressure. So make yourself useful and trust-able: Help them get smarter Do it neutrally so they can trust you Be willing to take the time to do that instead of pitch your agenda Tell them something they don’t know, or that no one else knows, without taking credit Know your message 4/ Ignoring the question is never something you want to do, but bridging to the narrative you care about AND that’s relevant is important Media training. Get some. Or the poor man’s version: find your friendly marketer and have them role play interviews so you can get practice. Know the 1–3 points you want to get across Find ways to connect the conversations to your points But don’t derail or ignore the questions Be open about not being able to answer a question, if you can’t or won’t If it’s clearly a pitch/briefing meeting, at the outset, then at the end, and email with them state your points repeat them send a follow up Try not to make assertions. If you’re a brand name, you can get away with it. Otherwise, have reasons grounded in some reality. Practice. Find someone who’s done it before to role play. Focus on being able to direct the conversation, responding without agitation to tough or critical questions, and reading when the other person is/isn’t interested. If you’re cited or quoted in a way that’s not accurate, send polite clarifications afterwards 5/ There’s a lot of small things which are key: know your numbers, know your customers (ones you can talk about), know your product launches Know your numbers Yes please. Know your data well and have it down. Be able to answer questions about your company and market off the top of your head accurately. Things to be armed with: Founding story Problem solved Who the problem is solved for Real life stories (naming names if possible) of your product solving that problem Growth numbers or percentages Market size What factors in the industry, or wider world, create your opportunity Point of view on industry trends relevant to your space, the more iconoclastic the better Market landscape, who your competitors are, where you fit Answer to “what do you do if Amazon/Google/BigCo starts competing with you?” Know your sound bites 6/ Oh, and sound bites! Plan them in your head… what makes sense to quote? Over time this comes more naturally but takes attention early Better yet, have sound bites and quotes from multiple sources, including yourself, that support your points. Our founder always says.. Customer X said.. So and so at Gartner says.. Adrian Cockcroft says in his presentations that.. Such and such VC says.. Know your audience Figure out who the specific, important press and outlets are for you. Which ones cover your space? Which ones have the attention of the same people you want attention from? Read their work, learn their beat. Find mutual ground. Target your pitches, briefings, and commentary to their areas of interest specifically. Build relationships. Be intentional. Treat them like people. Be useful Make yourself available to provide background info and color commentary for their articles, even if they have nothing to do with you, and even if you aren’t cited. Point to useful resources like industry reports, analysts and other people who might provide insight. Pass along leads to stories to them. But don’t break any laws. :) For example, notice something obscure or buried change on someone’s website which suggests they’ve had a legal event of some kind? Point it out. Have a human touch If you don’t know how to treat people like people, learn. If you’re a sociopath, develop the mannerisms. If you’re a severe introvert, get someone else to do it. Find a face for your company that can be the press face. If you’ve got no one, get outside professionals. Agencies and freelancers are aplenty. A word on agencies They mostly suck. Good ones for you will have a few common features: with the press you care about Relationships to other companies, execs, analysts that might be useful Relationships Ability to articulate as well as, or better than, you can — meaning they demonstrably can and will learn your product/technology/language your story Willingness to do the labor of your story into a journalist’s agenda translating Can for increasing your visibility — placement, bylines, content, speaking, and more create opportunities Posts in this series (and templates) Marketing 101 for Engineers: A Functional Introduction Marketing 102 for Engineers: Roughing Out a Funnel Marketing 201 for Engineers: Messaging & Positioning Marketing 202 for Engineers: Launching Marketing 203 for Engineers: Sales Enablement Marketing 204 for Engineers: Generating Demand Marketing 301 for Engineers: Strategy & Planning Sales 101 for Engineers: A Functional Introduction PR 101 for Engineers Analyst Relations 101 for Engineers Basic Messaging Template [Google Doc] Basic Funnel Metrics Template [Google Sheet] Basic Launch Timeline Template [Google Doc] Basic Battlecard Template [Google Doc] Detailed Battlecard Template [Google Doc] Basic Marketing Calendar Template [Google Sheet] Reading List Craig Kerstien’s Guide to PR for Startups First Round Capital’s Why Most Startups Don’t Get Press Mike Maney’s The Case Against Hiring a PR Agency Jason Lemkin’s A SaaS Founder’s Guide to PR Matt Web’s Here’s my PR tip for people (like me) who are terrible at PR a.k.a. the Tick-Tock List Onboardly’s: Weighing the Merits of Embargo vs. Exclusive Thanks to Craig Kerstiens , Mike Maney , and Pam S. Njissang for their feedback!

PR 101 for Engineers

Tiktok Inc., and ByteDance LTD., v. Merrick B. Garland Update Court Filing, retrieved on May 7, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 1 of 11. 1. Congress has taken the unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning TikTok: a vibrant online forum for protected speech and expression used by 170 million Americans to create, share, and view videos over the Internet. For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide. 2. That law — the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (the “Act”) — is unconstitutional. Banning TikTok is so obviously unconstitutional, in fact, that even the Act’s sponsors recognized that reality, and therefore have tried mightily to depict the law not as a ban at all, but merely a regulation of TikTok’s ownership. According to its sponsors, the Act responds to TikTok’s ultimate ownership by ByteDance Ltd., a company with Chinese subsidiaries whose employees support various ByteDance businesses, including TikTok. They claim that the Act is not a ban because it offers ByteDance a choice: divest TikTok’s U.S. business or be shut down.[1] 3. But in reality, there is no choice. The “qualified divestiture” demanded by the Act to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally. And certainly not on the 270-day timeline required by the Act. Petitioners have repeatedly explained this to the U.S. government, and sponsors of the Act were aware that divestment is not possible. There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere. 4. Of course, even if a “qualified divestiture” were feasible, the Act would still be an extraordinary and unconstitutional assertion of power. If upheld, it would allow the government to decide that a company may no longer own and publish the innovative and unique speech platform it created. If Congress can do this, it can circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security and ordering the publisher of any individual newspaper or website to sell to avoid being shut down. And for TikTok, any such divestiture would disconnect Americans from the rest of the global community on a platform devoted to shared content — an outcome fundamentally at odds with the Constitution’s commitment to both free speech and individual liberty. 5. There are good reasons why Congress has never before enacted a law like this. Consistent with the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression, the United States has long championed a free and open Internet — and the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that speech “conveyed over the Internet” fully qualifies for “the First Amendment’s protections.” 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 600 U.S. 570, 587 (2023). And consistent with the fundamental principles of fairness and equal treatment rooted in the Bill of Attainder Clause and the Fifth Amendment, Congress has never before crafted a two-tiered speech regime with one set of rules for one named platform, and another set of rules for everyone else 6. In dramatic contrast with past enactments that sought to regulate constitutionally protected activity, Congress enacted these extreme measures without a single legislative finding. The Act does not articulate any threat posed by TikTok nor explain why TikTok should be excluded from evaluation under the standards Congress concurrently imposed on every other platform. Even the statements by individual Members of Congress and a congressional committee report merely indicate concern about the hypothetical possibility that TikTok could be misused in the future, without citing specific evidence — even though the platform has operated prominently in the United States since it was first launched in 2017. Those speculative concerns fall far short of what is required when First Amendment rights are at stake. 7. Nor is there any indication that Congress considered any number of less restrictive alternatives, such as those that Petitioners developed with the Executive Branch after government agencies began evaluating the security of U.S. user data and the risk of foreign government influence over the platform’s content as far back as 2019. While such concerns were never substantiated, Petitioners nevertheless worked with the government for four years on a voluntary basis to develop a framework to address the government’s concerns. 8. As part of this engagement, Petitioners have voluntarily invested more than $2 billion to build a system of technological and governance protections — sometimes referred to as “Project Texas” — to help safeguard U.S. user data and the integrity of the U.S. TikTok platform against foreign government influence. Petitioners have also made extraordinary, additional commitments in a 90-page draft National Security Agreement developed through negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), including agreeing to a “shut-down option” that would give the government the authority to suspend TikTok in the United States if Petitioners violate certain obligations under the agreement. 9. Congress tossed this tailored agreement aside, in favor of the politically expedient and punitive approach of targeting for disfavor one publisher and speaker (TikTok Inc.), one speech forum (TikTok), and that forum’s ultimate owner (ByteDance Ltd.). Through the Act’s two-tiered structure, Congress consciously eschewed responsible industry-wide regulation and betrayed its punitive and discriminatory purpose. Congress provided every other company — however serious a threat to national security it might pose — paths to avoiding a ban, excluding only TikTok Inc. and ByteDance Ltd. Indeed, for any other company’s application to be banned, Congress mandated notice and a “public report” describing “the specific national security” concern, accompanied by supporting classified evidence. For Petitioners only, however, there is no statement of reasons and no supporting evidence, with any discussion of the justifications for a ban occurring only behind closed doors. 10. Congress must abide by the dictates of the Constitution even when it claims to be protecting against national security risks: “against [those] dangers . . . as against others, the principle of the right to free speech is always the same.” Abrams v. United States, 250 U.S. 616, 628 (1919) (Holmes, J., dissenting). Congress failed to do so here, and the Act should be enjoined. Jurisdictional Statement 11. Pursuant to Sections 3(a) and 3(b) of the Act, H.R. 815, div. H, 118th Cong., Pub. L. No. 118-50 (April 24, 2024), this Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over this challenge to the constitutionality of the Act.[2] Continue Reading Here. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings.
This court case retrieved on May 7, 2024, from sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. [1] References to “TikTok Inc.” are to the specific U.S. corporate entity that is a Petitioner in this lawsuit and publishes the TikTok platform in the United States. References to “TikTok” are to the online platform, which includes both the TikTok mobile application and web browser experience. References to “ByteDance Ltd.” are to the specific Cayman Islandsincorporated holding company that is identified in the Act and is a Petitioner in this lawsuit. References to “ByteDance” are to the ByteDance group, inclusive of ByteDance Ltd. and relevant operating subsidiaries. TikTok Inc. and ByteDance. Ltd. are together referred to as “Petitioners. [2] A copy of the Act is attached to this Petition as Exhibit A. Because this Petition does not involve a challenge to any agency action, it is not governed by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 15(a). Petitioners intend to file a separate motion regarding the procedures governing this original proceeding. Petitioners summarize the pertinent facts and claims below to facilitate this Court’s review consistent with the practice of a case-initiating pleading in a court of original jurisdiction, but reserve their rights to present additional facts and arguments in due course. Lead image by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash Tiktok Inc., and ByteDance LTD., v. Merrick B. Garland Update Court Filing, retrieved on May 7, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series. You can jump to any part in this filing here. This part is 1 of 11. Tiktok Inc., and ByteDance LTD., v. Merrick B. Garland Update Court Filing, retrieved on May 7, 2024, is part of HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series . You can jump to any part in this filing here . This part is 1 of 11. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here 1. Congress has taken the unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning TikTok: a vibrant online forum for protected speech and expression used by 170 million Americans to create, share, and view videos over the Internet. For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than 1 billion people worldwide. 2. That law — the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (the “Act”) — is unconstitutional. Banning TikTok is so obviously unconstitutional, in fact, that even the Act’s sponsors recognized that reality, and therefore have tried mightily to depict the law not as a ban at all, but merely a regulation of TikTok’s ownership. According to its sponsors, the Act responds to TikTok’s ultimate ownership by ByteDance Ltd., a company with Chinese subsidiaries whose employees support various ByteDance businesses, including TikTok. They claim that the Act is not a ban because it offers ByteDance a choice: divest TikTok’s U.S. business or be shut down.[1] 3. But in reality, there is no choice. The “qualified divestiture” demanded by the Act to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States is simply not possible: not commercially, not technologically, not legally. And certainly not on the 270-day timeline required by the Act. Petitioners have repeatedly explained this to the U.S. government, and sponsors of the Act were aware that divestment is not possible. There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025, silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere. 4. Of course, even if a “qualified divestiture” were feasible, the Act would still be an extraordinary and unconstitutional assertion of power. If upheld, it would allow the government to decide that a company may no longer own and publish the innovative and unique speech platform it created. If Congress can do this, it can circumvent the First Amendment by invoking national security and ordering the publisher of any individual newspaper or website to sell to avoid being shut down. And for TikTok, any such divestiture would disconnect Americans from the rest of the global community on a platform devoted to shared content — an outcome fundamentally at odds with the Constitution’s commitment to both free speech and individual liberty. 5. There are good reasons why Congress has never before enacted a law like this. Consistent with the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expression, the United States has long championed a free and open Internet — and the Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that speech “conveyed over the Internet” fully qualifies for “the First Amendment’s protections.” 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 600 U.S. 570, 587 (2023). And consistent with the fundamental principles of fairness and equal treatment rooted in the Bill of Attainder Clause and the Fifth Amendment, Congress has never before crafted a two-tiered speech regime with one set of rules for one named platform, and another set of rules for everyone else 6. In dramatic contrast with past enactments that sought to regulate constitutionally protected activity, Congress enacted these extreme measures without a single legislative finding. The Act does not articulate any threat posed by TikTok nor explain why TikTok should be excluded from evaluation under the standards Congress concurrently imposed on every other platform. Even the statements by individual Members of Congress and a congressional committee report merely indicate concern about the hypothetical possibility that TikTok could be misused in the future, without citing specific evidence — even though the platform has operated prominently in the United States since it was first launched in 2017. Those speculative concerns fall far short of what is required when First Amendment rights are at stake. 7. Nor is there any indication that Congress considered any number of less restrictive alternatives, such as those that Petitioners developed with the Executive Branch after government agencies began evaluating the security of U.S. user data and the risk of foreign government influence over the platform’s content as far back as 2019. While such concerns were never substantiated, Petitioners nevertheless worked with the government for four years on a voluntary basis to develop a framework to address the government’s concerns. 8. As part of this engagement, Petitioners have voluntarily invested more than $2 billion to build a system of technological and governance protections — sometimes referred to as “Project Texas” — to help safeguard U.S. user data and the integrity of the U.S. TikTok platform against foreign government influence. Petitioners have also made extraordinary, additional commitments in a 90-page draft National Security Agreement developed through negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), including agreeing to a “shut-down option” that would give the government the authority to suspend TikTok in the United States if Petitioners violate certain obligations under the agreement. 9. Congress tossed this tailored agreement aside, in favor of the politically expedient and punitive approach of targeting for disfavor one publisher and speaker (TikTok Inc.), one speech forum (TikTok), and that forum’s ultimate owner (ByteDance Ltd.). Through the Act’s two-tiered structure, Congress consciously eschewed responsible industry-wide regulation and betrayed its punitive and discriminatory purpose. Congress provided every other company — however serious a threat to national security it might pose — paths to avoiding a ban, excluding only TikTok Inc. and ByteDance Ltd. Indeed, for any other company’s application to be banned, Congress mandated notice and a “public report” describing “the specific national security” concern, accompanied by supporting classified evidence. For Petitioners only, however, there is no statement of reasons and no supporting evidence, with any discussion of the justifications for a ban occurring only behind closed doors. 10. Congress must abide by the dictates of the Constitution even when it claims to be protecting against national security risks: “against [those] dangers . . . as against others, the principle of the right to free speech is always the same.” Abrams v. United States, 250 U.S. 616, 628 (1919) (Holmes, J., dissenting). Congress failed to do so here, and the Act should be enjoined. Jurisdictional Statement 11. Pursuant to Sections 3(a) and 3(b) of the Act, H.R. 815, div. H, 118th Cong., Pub. L. No. 118-50 (April 24, 2024), this Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over this challenge to the constitutionality of the Act.[2] Continue Reading Here. Continue Reading Here . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on May 7, 2024, from sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on May 7, 2024, from sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. sf16-va.tiktokcdn.com [1] References to “TikTok Inc.” are to the specific U.S. corporate entity that is a Petitioner in this lawsuit and publishes the TikTok platform in the United States. References to “TikTok” are to the online platform, which includes both the TikTok mobile application and web browser experience. References to “ByteDance Ltd.” are to the specific Cayman Islandsincorporated holding company that is identified in the Act and is a Petitioner in this lawsuit. References to “ByteDance” are to the ByteDance group, inclusive of ByteDance Ltd. and relevant operating subsidiaries. TikTok Inc. and ByteDance. Ltd. are together referred to as “Petitioners. [2] A copy of the Act is attached to this Petition as Exhibit A. Because this Petition does not involve a challenge to any agency action, it is not governed by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 15(a). Petitioners intend to file a separate motion regarding the procedures governing this original proceeding. Petitioners summarize the pertinent facts and claims below to facilitate this Court’s review consistent with the practice of a case-initiating pleading in a court of original jurisdiction, but reserve their rights to present additional facts and arguments in due course. Lead image by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash Lead image by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

TikTok Fires Back at Congress, Calls U.S. Ban Unconstitutional 

TikTok কংগ্রেসে পাল্টা আক্রমণ, মার্কিন নিষেধাজ্ঞাকে অসাংবিধানিক বলে

TikTok schießt zurück auf den Kongress und bezeichnet US-Verbot als verfassungswidrig

TikTok responde al Congreso y califica de inconstitucional la prohibición de Estados Unidos

TikTok riposte au Congrès et qualifie l'interdiction américaine d'inconstitutionnelle

टिकटॉक ने कांग्रेस पर पलटवार करते हुए अमेरिकी प्रतिबंध को असंवैधानिक बताया

TikTokが議会に反撃、米国の禁止は違憲と主張

TikTok, 의회에서 반격하고 미국 금지령이 위헌이라고 주장

TikTok dispara de volta ao Congresso e considera a proibição dos EUA inconstitucional

TikTok ответил Конгрессу и назвал запрет США неконституционным

TikTok Kongre'ye Cevap Verdi ve ABD Yasağının Anayasaya Aykırı Olduğunu Söyledi

TikTok phản đối Quốc hội, gọi lệnh cấm của Hoa Kỳ là vi hiến

TikTok 回击国会，称美国禁令违宪

Do you own an Android phone but feel restricted when compared to iOS devices? Have you ever wished there was a way to access specific apps without having to jump through hoops? Learning how to handle APK files will empower you and bring added flexibility to your Android device. Let us take a closer look at what APK files are and discover how managing them can change your mobile life forever. What Is An APK File? An APK (Android Package Kit) file functions similarly to an executable program (EXE) on Windows systems. It comprises all the elements needed to launch and execute an application on an Android platform. When you download an app via the Google Play Store, an APK file gets silently installed on your device. Yet, sometimes circumstances arise where we may prefer direct involvement with APK files. Why Should You Know About APK Files? Here are four convincing reasons why being familiar with APK files can elevate your Android experience: Early Access
Oftentimes, developers release newer versions of their apps before their appearance on the Google Play Store. Direct interaction with APK files allows you to indulge in fresh features ahead of everyone else.


Regional Restrictions
Residing in particular regions may prevent instant access to worldwide releases. Through manual manipulation of APK files, one can circumvent localized barriers effortlessly.


Version Selection
Perhaps you crave older iterations of an app no longer maintained by the creator. Or maybe you seek exclusive modifications that are only attainable outside conventional avenues. Either scenario becomes feasible once you grasp APK files.


Cost Considerations
Sometimes, price discrepancies exist across different markets for identical products. Acquiring an international version via APK files can result in cost savings. How To Deal With APK Files Let us now delve into straightforward procedures involved in safely and productively managing APK files. Downloaded APK Files Locating dependable repositories for acquiring APK files represents step zero. Regrettably, numerous online portals lack stringent verification processes. Renowned websites such as Apk.ortweb3.tools guarantee credibility and legitimacy. Refrain from visiting sketchy domains peddling dubious offers disguised as tempting lures. After identifying a legitimate website, browse the catalog employing any internet browser. Identify preferred programs, hit 'download', and preserve the APK file on your device. Installed APK Files Before continuing further, activate the 'Unknown Sources' setting nestled under Settings > Security. Note activating unknown sources entails embracing inherent dangers linked to external applications. Allow only established entities meeting high-quality assurance criteria. Having made adjustments, track down the stored APK file and tap it to commence installation. Adhere to subsequent directions, concluding successfully. Upon wrapping things up, remember to deactivate 'Unknown Sources.’ Managed APK Files Implement dedicated file supervisors to streamline organization tasks involving APK files. ES File Explorer, Total Commander, and Solid Explorer serve as exemplary specimens facilitating seamless browsing, classification, renaming, distribution, backup creation, and elimination of APK files. Moreover, contemplate utilizing cloud storage providers like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box to safeguard crucial APK files. Merely transfer vital APK files to protected vaults, ensuring resilience against mishaps that result in unwanted deletions. Tips And Tricks Below are additional recommendations for enhancing proficiency levels regarding APK files: Verify Integrity
Before integrating APK files, scrutinize digital signatures confirming genuine origins and preventing tampering attempts. Most authenticated vendors exhibit transparency, ensuring enduring peace of mind during transactions.


Update Regularly
Periodically review archived APK files, updating obsolete entries and maintaining optimal functionality. Neglecting routine maintenance invites unnecessary complications, ultimately undermining efficiency goals.


Remain Vigilant
Never overlook potentially hazardous consequences lurking beneath attractive veneers, concealing latent threats lying dormant until activated unexpectedly. Practice discretion when venturing off beaten paths traversed less frequently. Conclusion Understanding APK files brings substantial command over your Android device, transforming it into a personalized tool that is tailored explicitly according to individual preferences. Granted, exercising prudence remains paramount, particularly when interacting with foreign content. Nevertheless, armed with proper knowledge, APK files unlock untapped potential heretofore unexplored. Go forth, embrace the challenge, and watch your Android thrive! Do you own an Android phone but feel restricted when compared to iOS devices? Have you ever wished there was a way to access specific apps without having to jump through hoops? Learning how to handle APK files will empower you and bring added flexibility to your Android device. Let us take a closer look at what APK files are and discover how managing them can change your mobile life forever. What Is An APK File? An APK ( Android Package Kit ) file functions similarly to an executable program (EXE) on Windows systems. It comprises all the elements needed to launch and execute an application on an Android platform . Android Package Kit Android Package Kit application on an Android platform When you download an app via the Google Play Store, an APK file gets silently installed on your device. Yet, sometimes circumstances arise where we may prefer direct involvement with APK files. Why Should You Know About APK Files? Here are four convincing reasons why being familiar with APK files can elevate your Android experience: Here are four convincing reasons why being familiar with APK files can elevate your Android experience : elevate your Android experience Early Access
Oftentimes, developers release newer versions of their apps before their appearance on the Google Play Store. Direct interaction with APK files allows you to indulge in fresh features ahead of everyone else. Regional Restrictions
Residing in particular regions may prevent instant access to worldwide releases. Through manual manipulation of APK files, one can circumvent localized barriers effortlessly. Version Selection
Perhaps you crave older iterations of an app no longer maintained by the creator. Or maybe you seek exclusive modifications that are only attainable outside conventional avenues. Either scenario becomes feasible once you grasp APK files. Cost Considerations
Sometimes, price discrepancies exist across different markets for identical products. Acquiring an international version via APK files can result in cost savings. Early Access
Oftentimes, developers release newer versions of their apps before their appearance on the Google Play Store. Direct interaction with APK files allows you to indulge in fresh features ahead of everyone else. Early Access Oftentimes, developers release newer versions of their apps before their appearance on the Google Play Store. Direct interaction with APK files allows you to indulge in fresh features ahead of everyone else. Early Access Regional Restrictions
Residing in particular regions may prevent instant access to worldwide releases. Through manual manipulation of APK files, one can circumvent localized barriers effortlessly. Regional Restrictions Residing in particular regions may prevent instant access to worldwide releases. Through manual manipulation of APK files, one can circumvent localized barriers effortlessly. Regional Restrictions Version Selection Perhaps you crave older iterations of an app no longer maintained by the creator. Or maybe you seek exclusive modifications that are only attainable outside conventional avenues. Either scenario becomes feasible once you grasp APK files. Version Selection Version Selection Perhaps you crave older iterations of an app no longer maintained by the creator. Or maybe you seek exclusive modifications that are only attainable outside conventional avenues. Either scenario becomes feasible once you grasp APK files. Cost Considerations
Sometimes, price discrepancies exist across different markets for identical products. Acquiring an international version via APK files can result in cost savings. Cost Considerations Sometimes, price discrepancies exist across different markets for identical products. Acquiring an international version via APK files can result in cost savings. Cost Considerations How To Deal With APK Files Let us now delve into straightforward procedures involved in safely and productively managing APK files. safely and productively managing APK files. Downloaded APK Files Downloaded APK Files Locating dependable repositories for acquiring APK files represents step zero. Regrettably, numerous online portals lack stringent verification processes. Renowned websites such as Apk.ortweb3.tools guarantee credibility and legitimacy. Refrain from visiting sketchy domains peddling dubious offers disguised as tempting lures. Apk.ortweb3.tools After identifying a legitimate website, browse the catalog employing any internet browser. Identify preferred programs, hit 'download', and preserve the APK file on your device. Installed APK Files Installed APK Files Before continuing further, activate the 'Unknown Sources' setting nestled under Settings > Security. Note activating unknown sources entails embracing inherent dangers linked to external applications. Allow only established entities meeting high-quality assurance criteria . high-quality assurance criteria Having made adjustments, track down the stored APK file and tap it to commence installation. Adhere to subsequent directions, concluding successfully. Upon wrapping things up, remember to deactivate 'Unknown Sources.’ Managed APK Files Managed APK Files Implement dedicated file supervisors to streamline organization tasks involving APK files. ES File Explorer, Total Commander, and Solid Explorer serve as exemplary specimens facilitating seamless browsing, classification, renaming, distribution, backup creation, and elimination of APK files. Moreover, contemplate utilizing cloud storage providers like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box to safeguard crucial APK files. Merely transfer vital APK files to protected vaults, ensuring resilience against mishaps that result in unwanted deletions. Tips And Tricks Below are additional recommendations for enhancing proficiency levels regarding APK files: Verify Integrity
Before integrating APK files, scrutinize digital signatures confirming genuine origins and preventing tampering attempts. Most authenticated vendors exhibit transparency, ensuring enduring peace of mind during transactions. Update Regularly
Periodically review archived APK files, updating obsolete entries and maintaining optimal functionality. Neglecting routine maintenance invites unnecessary complications, ultimately undermining efficiency goals. Remain Vigilant
Never overlook potentially hazardous consequences lurking beneath attractive veneers, concealing latent threats lying dormant until activated unexpectedly. Practice discretion when venturing off beaten paths traversed less frequently. Verify Integrity
Before integrating APK files, scrutinize digital signatures confirming genuine origins and preventing tampering attempts. Most authenticated vendors exhibit transparency, ensuring enduring peace of mind during transactions. Verify Integrity Before integrating APK files, scrutinize digital signatures confirming genuine origins and preventing tampering attempts. Most authenticated vendors exhibit transparency, ensuring enduring peace of mind during transactions. Verify Integrity digital signatures Update Regularly Periodically review archived APK files, updating obsolete entries and maintaining optimal functionality. Neglecting routine maintenance invites unnecessary complications, ultimately undermining efficiency goals. Update Regularly Update Regularly Periodically review archived APK files, updating obsolete entries and maintaining optimal functionality. Neglecting routine maintenance invites unnecessary complications, ultimately undermining efficiency goals . efficiency goals Remain Vigilant Never overlook potentially hazardous consequences lurking beneath attractive veneers, concealing latent threats lying dormant until activated unexpectedly. Practice discretion when venturing off beaten paths traversed less frequently. Remain Vigilant Remain Vigilant Never overlook potentially hazardous consequences lurking beneath attractive veneers, concealing latent threats lying dormant until activated unexpectedly. Practice discretion when venturing off beaten paths traversed less frequently. Conclusion Understanding APK files brings substantial command over your Android device, transforming it into a personalized tool that is tailored explicitly according to individual preferences. Granted, exercising prudence remains paramount, particularly when interacting with foreign content. Nevertheless, armed with proper knowledge, APK files unlock untapped potential heretofore unexplored. Go forth, embrace the challenge, and watch your Android thrive!

Simple Steps To Handle APK Files Like A Pro

X Corp. v. Center for Countering Digital Hate, INC. Court Filing, retrieved on March 25, 2024 is part of . You can jump to any part in this filing . This part is 8 of 19. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here 2. “Arising from” In addition, X Corp.’s claims arise from protected conduct. To determine whether a claim or claims arise from protected activity, courts are to look to “the conduct that constitutes the specific act of wrongdoing challenged by the plaintiff.” Jordan-Benel v. Universal City Studios, Inc., 859 F.3d 1184, 1190 (9th Cir. 2017). “A defendant in an ordinary private dispute cannot take advantage of the antiSLAPP statute simply because the complaint contains some references to speech or petitioning activity by the defendant.” Sansoe v. Ford Motor Co., 668 Fed. Appx. 718, 719 (9th Cir. 2016) (quoting People ex rel. Fire Ins. Exch. v. Anapol, 211 Cal. App. 4th 809 (2012)). In addition, “the mere fact an action was filed after protected activity took place does not mean it arose from that activity.” City of Cotati v. Cashman, 29 Cal. 4th 69, 76– 77 (2002). In Jordan-Benel, the plaintiff was a screenwriter who alleged that defendant production companies’ failure to compensate and credit him for a script constituted a breach of contract. Id. at 1187, 1189. The defendants brought an anti-SLAPP motion, arguing that the contract claim arose from their free-speech activity of producing a film. Id. at 1190. The Ninth Circuit agreed with the plaintiff, concluding that the specific wrongful act that gave rise to the claim was the failure to pay. Id. The court explained that even if the cause of action was triggered by protected activity—the release of the film—that does not mean that the action arose from it: “even if a defendant engages in free speech activity that is relevant to a claim, that does not necessarily mean such activity is the basis for the claim.” Id.; see also Martinez v. Metabolife Internat., Inc., 113 Cal. App. 4th 181, 187 (2003) (“[W]hen the allegations referring to arguably protected activity are only incidental to a cause of action based essentially on nonprotected activity, collateral allusions to protected activity should not subject the cause of action to the anti-SLAPP statute.”). X Corp. argues that just as the production of the film was not the specific act that gave rise to the claim in Jordan-Benel, CCDH’s publication of its articles and reports is not the specific act of wrongdoing at issue here. See Opp’n at 10–11 (“CCDH’s alleged ‘speech’ is not the wrong complained of—its wanton breach of contract and illegal access of data are.”). But even accepting that the conduct that forms the specific wrongdoing in the state law claims is CCDH’s illegal access of X Corp. data, that conduct (scraping the X platform and accessing the Brandwatch data using ECF’s login credentials) is newsgathering—and claims based on newsgathering arise from protected activity. See Iloh, 94 Cal. App. 5th at 956–57. It is also just not true that the complaint is only about data collection. See Reply at 3 (arguing that X Corp.’s contention that its “claims arise from ‘illegal access of data,’ as opposed to speech,” is the “artifice” at “the foundation of [this] whole case.”) (quoting Opp’n at 10). It is impossible to read the complaint and not conclude that X Corp. is far more concerned about CCDH’s speech than it is its data collection methods. In its first breath, the complaint alleges that CCDH cherry-picks data in order to produce reports and articles as part of a “scare campaign” in which it falsely claims statistical support for the position that the X platform “is overwhelmed with harmful content” in order “to drive advertisers from the X platform.” See FAC ¶ 1. Of course, there can be no false claim without communication. Indeed, the complaint is littered with allegations emphasizing CCDH’s communicative use of the acquired data. See, e.g., id. ¶¶ 17–20 (reports/articles are based on “flawed ‘research’ methodologies,” which “present an extremely distorted picture of what is actually being discussed and debated” on the X platform, in order to “silence” speech with which CCDH disagrees); id. ¶ 43 (CCDH “used limited, selective, and incomplete data from that source . . . that CCDH then presented out of context in a false and misleading manner in purported ‘research’ reports and articles.”), id. ¶ 56 (“CCDH’s reports and articles . . . have attracted attention in the press, with media outlets repeating CCDH’s incorrect assertions that hate speech is increasing on X.”). X Corp. is correct that it has not brought a claim for defamation. See Opp’n at 10; FAC. It insists that that choice demonstrates that it is not really complaining about CCDH’s speech. Opp’n at 10. CCDH argues that X Corp.’s decision not to include a defamation claim is evidence that X Corp. “cannot allege that the CCDH Defendants said anything knowingly false, nor does it wish to invite discovery on the truth about the content on its platform.” MTD&S at 2; see also ACLU Br. at 1 (“X Corp. attempts to disguise a nonviable defamation claim as a breach of contract claim to retaliate against a nonprofit that provided the public with information critical of X Corp.”). Whatever X Corp. could or could not allege, it plainly chose not to bring a defamation claim.[10] As the Court commented at the motion hearing, that choice was significant. Tr. of 2/29/24 Hearing at 62:6–10. It is apparent to the Court that X Corp. wishes to have it both ways—to be spared the burdens of pleading a defamation claim, while bemoaning the harm to its reputation, and seeking punishing damages[11] based on reputational harm. For the purposes of the anti-SLAPP motion, what X Corp. calls its claims is not actually important. The California Supreme Court has held “that the anti-SLAPP statute should be broadly construed.” Martinez, 113 Cal. App. 4th at 187 (citing Equilon Enters. v. Consumer Cause, Inc., 29 Cal. 4th 53, 60 n.3 (2002)). Critically, “a plaintiff cannot avoid operation of the anti-SLAPP statute by attempting, through artifices of pleading, to characterize an action as a ‘garden variety breach of contract [or] fraud claim’ when in fact the liability claim is based on protected speech or conduct.” Id. at 188 (quoting Navellier, 29 Cal. 4th at 90–92); see also Baral v. Schnitt, 1 Cal. 5th 376, 393 (2016) (“courts may rule on plaintiffs’ specific claims of protected activity, rather than reward artful pleading”); Navellier, 29 Cal. 4th at 92 (“conduct alleged to constitute breach of contract may also come within constitutionally protected speech or petitioning. The anti-SLAPP statute’s definitional focus in not the form of the plaintiff’s cause of action[.]”) Collondrez v. City of Rio Vista, 61 Cal. App. 5th 1039 (2021), is a recent example of a court disregarding the name of a claim to assess its content. In that case, a former police officer brought suit for breach of contract and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage because his former employer disclosed information from his personnel file without giving him notice as required by contract. Id. at 1044–46. The court held that the claims nonetheless arose from protected speech, explaining that “we disregard [a claim’s] label and instead examine its gravamen.” Id. at 1051, 1048 (cleaned up). It then concluded that “the harmful act at the heart of the complaint, the act that allegedly cost [the plaintiff] his [new job] and resulted in other economic and emotional harm, is the publication of his personnel information.” Id. at 1049. Here, even though X Corp. did not include a cause of action explicitly premised on CCDH’s speech, as in Collondrez, speech is a harmful act at the heart of the complaint. X Corp. insists that that is not so, arguing that “CCDH’s actions caused harm independent of any alleged protected activities.” Opp’n at 11. It asserts that “[i]f CCDH carried out all the same illegal activities, but stopped just short of publishing the February 9, 2023 report, X Corp. would maintain the very same valid claims against it.” Opp’n at 11; see also id. at 11–12 (citing Kovalenko v. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, No. 22-cv-5990-HSG, 2023 WL 5444728, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 23, 2023) (“The question is whether the challenged allegations ‘supply a necessary element’ of a claim.”)). The Court disagrees— and not because it is impossible to imagine that X Corp. would have been motivated to bring suit had CCDH not spoken. Each of the state law causes of action—breach of contract, intentional interference with contractual relations, and inducing breach of contract—require as an element a showing of damages. See Oasis W. Realty, LLC v. Goldman, 250 P.3d 1115, 1121 (Cal. 2011) (“the elements of a cause of action for breach of contract are (1) the existence of the contract, (2) plaintiff’s performance or excuse for nonperformance, (3) defendant’s breach, and (4) the resulting damages to the plaintiff.”) (citing Reichert v. General Ins. Co., 68 Cal. 2d 822, 830 (1968)); United Nat’l Maint., Inc. v. San Diego Convention Ctr., Inc., 766 F.3d 1002, 1006 (9th Cir. 2014) (“the elements for the tort of intentional interference with contractual relations are ‘(1) a valid contract between plaintiff and a third party; (2) defendant’s knowledge of this contract; (3) defendant’s intentional acts designed to induce a breach or disruption of the contractual relationship; (4) actual breach or disruption of the contractual relationship; and (5) resulting damage.’”) (quoting Pac. Gas & Elec. Co. v. Bear Stearns & Co., 50 Cal.3d 1118 (1990)); Shamblin v. Berge, 166 Cal. App. 3d 118, 122–23 (1985) (inducement to breach a contract “requires that a plaintiff prove: ‘(1) he had a valid and existing contract [with a third party]; (2) . . . defendant had knowledge of the contract and intended to induce its breach; (3) the contract was in fact breached by the contracting party; (4) the breach was caused by . . . defendant’s unjustified or wrongful conduct; and (5) . . . damage[s] [were suffered as a result].’”) (quoting Dryden v. TriValley Growers, 65 Cal. App. 3d 990, 995 (1977)). X Corp.’s many allegations about CCDH’s speech do more than add color to a complaint about data collection—they are not “incidental to a cause of action based essentially on nonprotected activity.” See Martinez, 113 Cal. App. 4th at 187. Instead, the allegations about CCDH’s misleading publications provide the only support for X Corp.’s contention that it has been harmed. See FAC ¶ 78 (breach of contract claim: alleging that CCDH “mischaracterized the data . . . in efforts to claim X is overwhelmed with harmful conduct, and support CCDH’s call to companies to stop advertising on X. . . . As a direct and proximate result of CCDH’s breaches of the ToS in scraping X, X has suffered monetary and other damages in the amount of at least tens of millions of dollars”); ¶¶ 92– 93 (intentional interference claim: alleging that Defendants “intended for CCDH to mischaracterize the data regarding X in the various reports and articles . . . to support Defendants’ demands for companies to stop advertising on X” and that “[a]s a direct and proximate result of Defendants intentionally interfering with the Brandwatch Agreements . . . X Corp. has suffered monetary and other damages of at least tens of millions of dollars”); ¶¶ 98–99 (inducing breach of contract claim: alleging that “X Corp. was harmed and suffered damages as a result of Defendants’ conduct when companies paused or refrained from advertising on X, in direct response to CCDH’s reports and articles” and that “[a]s a direct and proximate result of Defendants inducing Brandwatch to breach the Brandwatch Agreements . . . X Corp. has suffered monetary and other damages in the amount of at least tens of millions of dollars.”). The “at least tens of millions of dollars” that X Corp. seeks as damages in each of those claims is entirely based on the allegation that companies paused paid advertising on the X platform in response to CCDH’s “allegations against X Corp. and X regarding hate speech and other types of content on X.” See id. ¶ 70. As CCDH says, “X Corp. alleges no damages that it could possibly trace to the CCDH Defendants if they had never spoken at all.” Reply at 3. Indeed, X Corp. even conceded at the motion hearing that it had not alleged damages that would have been incurred if CCDH “had scraped and discarded the information,” or scraped “and never issued a report, or scraped and never told anybody about it.” See Tr. of 2/29/24 Hearing at 7:22–8:3. The element of damages in each state law claim therefore arises entirely from CCDH’s speech. See Bonni v. St. Joseph Health Sys., 491 P.3d 1058, 1069–70 (Cal. 2021) (“a claim is subject to an anti-SLAPP motion to strike if its elements arise from protected activity.”). Accordingly, the state law claims arise from CCDH’s actions—its newsgathering and writing of reports/articles—in furtherance of CCDH’s free speech rights. Continue Reading . Here [10] At the motion hearing, X Corp. asserted that it was “not trying to avoid defamation” and claimed to have “pleaded falsity” in paragraph 50 of the complaint. Tr. of 2/29/24 Hearing at 59:20–23. In fact, paragraph 50 did not allege falsity, or actual malice, though it used the word “incorrect.” See FAC ¶ 50 (“incorrect implications . . . that hate speech viewed on X is on the rise” and “incorrect assertions that X Corp. ‘doesn’t care about hate speech’”). When the Court asked X Corp. why it had not brought a defamation claim, it responded rather weakly that “to us, this is a contract and intentional tort case,” and “we simply did not bring it.” Tr. of 2/29/24 Hearing at 60:1–12; see also id. at 60:21–22 (“That’s not necessarily to say we would want to amend to bring a defamation claim.”). [11] If there is any question about the “punishing” part, X Corp. filed a similar suit, not before this Court, in November of 2023 against Media Matters, another non-profit media watchdog, for “reporting on ads from major brands appearing next to neo-Nazi content.” PPP Br. at 10. Prior to doing so, Musk threatened a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters. Id. (quoting Elon Musk (@elonmusk), X (Nov. 18, 2023, 2:01 AM), https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1725771191644758037 [https://perma.cc/K8SZM33S]). Musk’s post also claimed, remarkably, that the lawsuit was furthering X Corp.’s efforts “to protect[] free speech.” See Elon Musk (@elonmusk), X (Nov. 18, 2023, 2:01 AM), https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1725771191644758037 [https://perma.cc/K8SZM33S]. About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on March 25, 2024, from is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. storage.courtlistener

X Files Lawsuit Against Center for Countering Digital Hate, Alleging Speech Suppression Tactics 

USA v. Samuel Bankman-Fried Court Filing, retrieved on March 15, 2024 is part of . You can jump to any part in this filing . This part is 17 of 33. HackerNoon’s Legal PDF Series here C. The Bankruptcy Fraud Enhancement Is Applicable Bankman-Fried objects to the two-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(9)(B), which applies to an offense that involved “a misrepresentation or other fraudulent action during the course of a bankruptcy proceeding,” id. (See Def. Mem. at 24). Specifically, he claims that because he did not make any false statements in the bankruptcy proceeding, the enhancement does not apply. (Id.). But this enhancement is supported by facts and law. The defendant directed Wang to transfer assets to regulators in The Bahamas, despite the existence of a U.S. bankruptcy and a directive from attorneys not to do so. Specifically, Wang testified that on November 12, 2022—the day after FTX’s bankruptcy—the defendant asked Wang to drive with him to The Bahamas Securities Commission. (Tr. 465). During that drive, the defendant told Wang that “ideally [they] should transfer [customer assets] to the Bahamas liquidators or the Bahamas regulators.” (Id.). The reason the defendant wanted to transfer FTX assets to Bahamas authorities, as opposed to the U.S. bankruptcy, is because “they seemed friendly and seemed willing to let [the defendant] stay in control of the company.” (Tr. 465-66, 471). Once they got to The Bahamas Securities Commission, the defendant, his father, and his attorney met with the Securities Commission, while Wang waited. (Tr. 466). According to the defendant’s attorney, Krystal Rolle, the meeting, which began at noon, went for a little under three hours, and then they left and went back to the FTX offices. (Tr. 2089-90). She did not testify about what was discussed at the meeting. But according to Wang, the defendant said, “the meeting went well,” “the securities commission believed … things he told her,” and “they were going to order us to transfer the assets … to the Bahamas.” (Tr. 466). While the defendant and Wang were driving back to FTX’s offices, the defendant said that the “bankruptcy lawyers that had taken over FTX” in the United States were “asking [him] to finish transferring the remaining assets to the U.S., and [the defendant] told [Wang] that [they] should try to stall them.” (Tr. 467). Once Bankman-Fried and Wang got back to FTX’s offices, they started working on transferring the assets to the Bahamas authorities. (Tr. 467, 2090). According to Rolle, at some point they were shown an order on a laptop that purported to require the transfer of the assets to the Bahamas authorities. (Tr. 2090). Then, over several hours, until approximately 2 a.m., Wang and the defendant transferred the remaining customer assets to the Bahamas authorities. (Tr. 2098). The process took a while because the Bahamian regulators were struggling to figure out how to do a cryptocurrency transfer. (Tr. 467). While Wang and the defendant were transferring the assets, they received instructions from the U.S. bankruptcy attorneys not to transfer assets to the Bahamian regulators. (Id.). Over a Signal chat, the defendant told the U.S. bankruptcy team that The Bahamas Securities Commission was directing them to transfer the assets to them. (GX-543; Tr. 469). Ryne Miller, an attorney for FTX who was working with the U.S. bankruptcy team, instructed Bankman-Fried, who by that time was no longer an executive of FTX, that there was “a significant question of who owns the assets” and that the defendant “cannot transfer any funds that are the subject of the bankruptcy estate.” (GX-543). Miller added, “Before folks transfer to Bahamas, absolutely consult with me and I will bring in the appropriate counsel.” (Id.). The defendant, however, instructed Wang to “ignore the instructions and continue transferring the funds.” (Tr. 470). Ultimately, millions of dollars in assets were transferred. This evidence established the following facts, which are a basis for this enhancement: (1) the defendant knew about the existence of a bankruptcy proceeding in the United States; (2) he came up with the idea to transfer customer assets to the Bahamian regulators before he met with his lawyer or the regulators; (3) his purpose in transferring the assets to them was to curry favor so as to stay in control of the company; (4) he was told by the U.S. bankruptcy team not to transfer assets to the Bahamas without further discussion; and (5) the defendant instructed Wang to ignore the U.S. bankruptcy team and to continue to transfer assets, thereby shielding them from the U.S. bankruptcy process. That is a legally sufficient basis to impose this enhancement. United States v. Simpson, 796 F.3d 548, 555 (5th Cir. 2015) (affirming application of the § 2B1.1(b)(9)(B) enhancement where the defendant “transferred” assets to a third party “with the intent of shielding … assets from creditors”). The enhancement need not be premised exclusively on making a false statement in a bankruptcy proceeding or violating a court order. The defendant has cited no law cabining the enhancement to such a narrow set of facts. Continue Reading . Here About HackerNoon Legal PDF Series: We bring you the most important technical and insightful public domain court case filings. This court case retrieved on March 15, 2024, from is part of the public domain. The court-created documents are works of the federal government, and under copyright law, are automatically placed in the public domain and may be shared without legal restriction. storage.courtlistener Lead image . source

Not So Fast: Court Fires at SBF for Transferring Assets During Bankruptcy Proceedings

Using Python to Read, Write, and Manipulate JSON Files JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a popular data interchange format that is easy for humans to read and write. JSON often comes into play when interacting with web APIs or HTTP requests within the field of programming. provides built-in support for working with JSON files through the module. In this article, we will discuss how to use Python to read, write, and manipulate JSON files. Python json Reading JSON Files To read a JSON file in Python, you can follow these steps: Import the module. json Open the JSON file using Python's function with the mode set to . open() r Use the function to load the contents of the file as a Python dictionary. json.load() Here is an example code snippet that demonstrates how to read a JSON file: import json

# Open the JSON file
with open('data.json') as f:
    data = json.load(f)

# Print the data (it will be stored as a Python dictionary)
print(data) Writing JSON Files To write data to a JSON file in Python, you can use the module as well. Here are the steps to write data to a JSON file: json Define the data that you want to write as a Python dictionary. Open a new file using Python's function. open() Use the function to write the dictionary data to the file in JSON format. json.dump() Here is an example code snippet that demonstrates how to write data to a JSON file: import json

# Define the data as a Python dictionary
data = {
    'name': 'Bob',
    'age': '25',
    'city': 'Los Angeles'
}

# Write data to a JSON file
with open('output.json', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(data, f) You can read the file, modify the data dictionary by adding a new key-value pair, and then save it as another JSON file. Here's an example code snippet to achieve that: output.json # Read the data from the written file and print it
with open('output.json') as f:
    output_data = json.load(f)
    print(output_data)

# Modify the data by adding a new key-value pair
output_data['job'] = 'Engineer'

# Write the modified data to a new JSON file
with open('modified_output.json', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(output_data, f)
    
# Read the modified data from the newly written file and print it
with open('modified_output.json') as f:
    modified_data = json.load(f)
    print('Modified data:', modified_data) In this code snippet: We first read the data from the file. output.json We then modify the dictionary by adding a new key-value pair. output_data The modified data is then written to a new JSON file named . modified_output.json Finally, we read the modified data from and print it. modified_output.json Conclusion In conclusion, Python's module makes it simple to work with JSON files. You can read, write, and manipulate JSON data using Python's built-in functions, making it a powerful tool for handling JSON data in your Python projects. json Thank you for taking the time to explore data-related insights with me. I appreciate your engagement. If you find this information helpful, I invite you to follow me or connect with me on or (@Luca_DataTeam). You can also catch glimpses of my personal life on , Happy exploring!👋 LinkedIn X Instagram

How to read and write JSON files in Python

When working with local files, you might need to open, create, or update Zip files. In this article, we will learn how to work with Zip files in C#. We will learn how to perform basic operations such as opening, extracting, and creating a Zip file. The main class we will use is named and comes from the namespace. It’s been present in since .NET Framework 4.5, so we can say it’s pretty stable 😉 Nevertheless, . Let’s learn! ZipFile System.IO.Compression C# there are some tricky points that you need to know before using this class Using C# to list all items in a Zip file Once you have a Zip file, you can access the internal items without extracting the whole Zip. You can use the method. ZipFile.Open using ZipArchive archive = ZipFile.Open(zipFilePath, ZipArchiveMode.Read);
System.Collections.ObjectModel.ReadOnlyCollection<ZipArchiveEntry> entries = archive.Entries; Notice that I specified the . This is an Enum whose values are , , and . ZipArchiveMode Read Create Update Using the property of the , you can access the whole list of files stored within the Zip folder, each represented by a instance. Entries ZipArchive ZipArchiveEntry The object contains several fields, like the file’s name and the full path from the root archive. ZipArchiveEntry There are a few about the entries listed in the . key points to remember ZipArchiveEntry It is a : it means that even if you find a way to add or update the items in memory, the changes are not applied to the actual files; ReadOnlyCollection<ZipArchiveEntry> , not only those at the root level. As you can see from the image above, it lists both the files at the root level, like , and those in inner folders, such as ; It lists all files and folders File.txt TestZip/InnerFolder/presentation.pptx Each file is characterized by two similar but different properties: is the actual file name (like ), while contains the path from the root of the archive (e.g. ); Name presentation.pptx FullName TestZip/InnerFolder/presentation.pptx It lists : in the image above, you can see . You can recognize them because their property is empty, and their is 0; folders as if they were files TestZip/InnerFolder Name Length Lastly, remember that returns an , so you should place the operations within a statement. ZipFile.Open IDisposable using ❓❓A question for you! Why do we see an item for the folder, but there is no reference to the folder? Drop a comment below 📩 TestZip/InnerFolder TestZip Using C# to extract the Zip to a local path Extracting a Zip folder is easy but not obvious. We have only one way to do that: by calling the method. ZipFile.ExtractToDirectory It accepts as mandatory parameters the path of the Zip file to be extracted and the path to the destination: var zipPath = @"C:\Users\d.bellone\Desktop\TestZip.zip";
var destinationPath = @"C:\Users\d.bellone\Desktop\MyDestination";
ZipFile.ExtractToDirectory(zipPath, destinationPath); Once you run it, you will see the content of the Zip copied and extracted to the folder. MyDestination Note that if it does not exist. this method creates the destination folder This method accepts two more parameters: , by which you can specify the encoding. . entryNameEncoding The default value is UTF-8 allows you to specify whether it must overwrite existing files. The default value is . If set to false and the destination files already exist, this method throws a saying that the file already exists. overwriteFiles false System.IO.IOException Using C# to create a Zip from a folder The key method here is , which allows you to create Zip files in a flexible way. ZipFile.CreateFromDirectory The first mandatory value is, of course, the . source directory path The second mandatory parameter is the destination of the resulting Zip file. It can be the to the file: local path string sourceFolderPath = @"\Desktop\myFolder";
string destinationZipPath = @"\Desktop\destinationFile.zip";

ZipFile.CreateFromDirectory(sourceFolderPath, destinationZipPath); Or it can be a that you can use later for other operations: Stream using (MemoryStream memStream = new MemoryStream())
{
    string sourceFolderPath = @"\Desktop\myFolder";
    ZipFile.CreateFromDirectory(sourceFolderPath, memStream);

    var lenght = memStream.Length;// here the Stream is populated
} You can finally add some optional parameters: , whose values are , , , . compressionLevel Optimal Fastest NoCompression SmallestSize : a flag that defines if you have to copy only the first-level files or also the root folder. includeBaseDirectory A quick comparison of the four Compression Levels As we just saw, we have four compression levels: , , , and . Optimal Fastest NoCompression SmallestSize What happens if I use the different values to zip all the photos and videos of my latest trip? The source folder’s size is 16.2 GB. Let me zip it with the four compression levels: private long CreateAndTrack(string sourcePath, string destinationPath, CompressionLevel compression)
 {
     Stopwatch stopwatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();

     ZipFile.CreateFromDirectory(
         sourceDirectoryName: sourcePath,
         destinationArchiveFileName: destinationPath,
         compressionLevel: compression,
         includeBaseDirectory: true
         );
     stopwatch.Stop();

     return stopwatch.ElapsedMilliseconds;
 }

// in Main...

var smallestTime = CreateAndTrack(sourceFolderPath,
    Path.Combine(rootFolder, "Smallest.zip"),
    CompressionLevel.SmallestSize);

var noCompressionTime = CreateAndTrack(sourceFolderPath,
    Path.Combine(rootFolder, "NoCompression.zip"),
    CompressionLevel.NoCompression);

var fastestTime = CreateAndTrack(sourceFolderPath,
    Path.Combine(rootFolder, "Fastest.zip"),
    CompressionLevel.Fastest);

var optimalTime = CreateAndTrack(sourceFolderPath,
    Path.Combine(rootFolder, "Optimal.zip"),
    CompressionLevel.Optimal); By executing this operation, we have this table: We can see a bunch of weird things: Fastest compression generates a smaller file than Smallest compression. Fastest compression is way slower than Smallest compression. Optimal lies in the middle. This is to say: don’t trust the names; , even with a test as simple as this. remember to benchmark the parts where you need performance Wrapping up This was a quick article about one specific class in the .NET ecosystem. As we saw, even though the class is simple and it’s all about three methods, there are some things you should keep in mind before using this class in your code. I hope you enjoyed this article! Let’s keep in touch on or ! 🤜🤛 Twitter LinkedIn Happy coding! 🐧 Also published . here

Zip Files in C#: How to Extract, Create, or Update Your Archives

Command: $ cat rearrange1.py Code output: #!/usr/bin/env python3

import re

def rearrange_name(name):

    result = re.search(r"^([\w .]*), ([\w .]*)$", name)

    if result == None:

        return name

    return "{} {}".format(result[2], result[1]) Command: $ cat rearrange2.py Code output: #!/usr/bin/env python3

import re

def rearrange_name(name):

    result = re.search(r"^([\w .-]*), ([\w .-]*)$", name)

    if result == None:

        return name


    return "{} {}".format(result[2], result[1]) Command: $ diff rearrange1.py rearrange2.py Code output: 6c6

<     result = re.search(r"^([\w .]*), ([\w .]*)$", name)

---

>     result = re.search(r"^([\w .-]*), ([\w .-]*)$", name) Command: $ diff validations1.py validations2.py Code output: 5c5,6

<	assert (type(username) == str), "username must be a string"

--

>	if type(username) != str: 

> 	    raise TypeError("username must be a string")

11a13,15

>	    return False

>	# Usernames can't begin with a number

>	if username[0].isnumeric(): Command: $ diff -u validations1.py validations2.py Code output: --- validations1.py	2019-06-06 14:28:49.639209499 +0200

+++ validations2.py	2019-06-06 14:30:48.019360890 +0200

@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@

 

 

 def validate_user(username, minlen):

-    assert type(username) == str, "username must be a string"

+    if type(username) != str:

+        raise TypeError("username must be a string")

     if minlen < 1:

         raise ValueError("minlen must be at least 1")

     

@@ -10,5 +11,8 @@

         return False

     if not username.isalnum():

         return False

+    # Usernames can't begin with a number

+    if username[0].isnumeric():

+        return False

     return True

Git Guide 0: How to Diff Files

Have you ever thought about why databases are so complex internally and why we can’t use a text file to store the data? This blog post aims to go from the most basic database that writes data to text files to a more complex setting where we use LSM-tree and B-tree. We will understand why we need these data structures and more. World’s Simplest Key-Value Store What does the world’s simplest key-value store look like? 2 bash functions that write data to a text file and get data from the text file. db_set(){
	echo "$1, $2" >> database
}

db_get(){
	grep "^$1," database | sed -e "s/^$1,//" | tail -n 1
} Let me explain both the functions. The db_set() function appends to the end of the file without any logic. That means if you update the value of a key, it will not overwrite the value but create a new key value at the end of the file. The db_get() function gets the last occurrence of the key. What’s the problem with this implementation? Doesn’t deal with concurrency control, reclaiming disk space, handling errors, and partially written records. db_get() function has terrible performance as it takes O(n) to lookup for a record. To efficiently find the value of a key, we need a different data structure: . The general idea behind indexes is to keep some additional metadata on the side, which acts as a signpost and helps you locate the data you want. But this comes with a tradeoff as it slows down writes but offers fast reads. an index Hash Indexes I am not planning to dive deep into the workings of hash indexes in this particular blog. I plan on covering it in a future blog, but till then, you can refer to to understand more about it. this blog Let’s again go back to our key-value store. The strategy to improve the lookup speed is to keep an in-memory hash map where every key is mapped to a byte offset in the file. Whenever a new key is appended to the file, the hash map is also updated to reflect the offset. How do we avoid running out of disk space as we are only appending to the file? We break the files into smaller segments and perform on each segment. Compaction is throwing away the duplicate keys in the file and keeping only the most recent update for each key. We can perform compaction over multiple segments together at the same time. Segments are never modified, so the merged segment is written to a new file. It is done in the background while we serve read and write requests using the old segment files. But there are some things to take care of with the implementation and limitations of the hash table index: compaction The hash table must fit in memory because, on disk, it is hard to get the same performance We can’t do range queries efficiently If the database is restarted, the in-memory hash maps are lost. We rebuild the index by reading the entire segment file from beginning to end. It will take a lot of time. We can have a snapshot of each segment’s hash map on disk to solve this issue The database may crash halfway through appending a record that can be resolved by including checksums Writes are appended to the file in a strictly sequential order. A common implementation is to have only 1 write thread and multiple read threads When merging segments, the tells the merging process to discard any previous values for the deleted key tombstone SSTables A simple change to our segment files can help us get rid of maintaining the hash index with all keys. We store the key-value pairs in a sorted-by-key order. We call this format SSTable What advantages do we gain over the hash index? Merging the segment files gets simple and efficient even if the files are larger than the available memory. The merge sort algorithm is used to create new merged segment files, also sorted by key. We now don’t need to maintain an index of all keys in memory. We build a sparse index where we get the keys between which our key lies. It saves disk space and I/O bandwidth. How is this SSTable constructed and maintained? When writes come in we add them to the in-memory tree . When it gets bigger than a threshold, we write all the data from the memtable to the SSTable file. The new SSTable file becomes the most recent segment of the database. While we write to SSTable, writes continue to the new memtable instance. When read requests come in we first search for the key in memtable then in the most recent on-disk segment, then in the next older segment, and so on. And from time to time we run compaction in the background. We can also keep a separate log on disk to which every write is immediately appended for durability purposes. memtable LSM Tree Log-structure merge-tree or LSM tree is a clever algorithm based on the above principle of merging and compacting sorted files. LSM is append-only as we only append all the modifications to the SSTable. The LSM tree algorithm can be slow when looking up keys that do not exist in the database. We first check the memtable and then all the segments. Storage engines use to optimize the algorithm. Bloom Filters A bloom filter is a memory-efficient data structure for approximating the contents of a set. It can tell if a key exists in the database and thus save many unnecessary disk reads for keys that don’t exist. B Tree B Tree keeps key-value pairs sorted by keys like SSTable, which allows efficient key lookups and range queries. It breaks down the database into fixed-size blocks or pages, traditionally 4Kb in size, and reads or writes one page at a time. This design corresponds closely to the underlying hardware, as disks are also arranged in fixed-size blocks. An append-only file where we capture all B tree modifications before applying them to the pages of the tree itself. It is a (WAL or redo log) that helps make the database crash-resilient. We use latches (lightweight locks) to protect our B tree when multiple threads try to access the B tree at the same time. write-ahead log Which one is better? LSM Tree vs B Tree B Tree writes every piece of data at least twice: once to the write-ahead log and once to the tree page itself (and sometimes again when the pages split). The log-structure index rewrites data multiple times due to the repeated compaction and merging of SSTable. It results in one write to the database and multitudinous writes to the disk throughout the database’s lifetime - known as . It is a concern on SSDs as a limited number of overwrites can perform before wearing out. write amplification LSM trees can be compressed better, resulting in smaller files on disk than B trees. B tree storage engine leaves some disk space unused due to fragmentation when the page is split or the row cannot fit in an existing table. LSM trees aren’t page-oriented and periodically rewrite SSTables to remove fragmentation. The compaction process can sometimes interfere with the performance of ongoing reads and writes. At high throughput, the disk’s finite bandwidth is shared between the initial write and the compaction threads running in the background. The bigger the database gets, the more disk bandwidth is required for compaction. In B trees, each key only exists in exactly one place in the index, whereas a log-structured storage engine may have multiple copies of the same key in different segments. It makes B trees attractive in databases that want to offer strong transactional semantics. LSM trees are typically able to sustain a higher write throughput than B trees. But B trees are thought to offer faster read throughput. Parting Words There are more data structures that power databases like skiplist, inverted index, R tree, suffix tree, etc. This blog merely introduces the more famous ones and helps you understand the way they work. If you liked the blog don’t forget to share it on , LinkedIn, Peerlist, and other social platforms and tag me. You may also write to me at to share your thoughts about the blog. Twitter guptaamanthan01@gmail.com References Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems by Martin Kleppmann Originally published . here

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