Re: What is a (sci.crypt expert) ?

<david.florman@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:dc198be9-74bd-4f9c-948c-919bc0726488@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Well, what is it? A salaried position? A skill ranking? A
contrivance to get Smug Doug's name in the Beale cipher faq?

Basically it works like becoming an expert elsewhere. Keep showing up, keep being the best, keep getting better, keep pushing further, and eventually you are recognised as a respected expert. Generally though there are certain things that seem to help. As Dave noted there is a correlation between education and respect. There also seems to be a roughly inverse correlation between frequency and respect, for example Coppersmith (aka God) posted once, Austin Osbyrne (or however you spell it) won't shut up, there are exceptions, but more respected people tend to only speak when they have something to genuinely say and contribute. There is also a strong correlation between time the person has been around and respect. The last one that immediately comes to mind is mental flexibility, someone who can only discuss one narrow aspect is generally not widely respected. Of course correctness also helps.
Joe

.