RE: [oscfmanual-discuss] OSCFManual sketch release

[Matias B. <mbe...@cy...>]

Hi Matthew,

Nice to see some well-thought comments on the subject.
Here's my personal point of view on the two items you comment about.

> Discussion 1.  The name of the manual: Computer Forensics Vs. Digital
> Forensics (General)

The approach you point out is similar to the one followed by the IOCE "best
practice" guideline.
I agree with this but would like to settle for an intermediate solution.
It's not possible to change the name in Source Forge and would be
complicated to move the 100+ subscribers we have here to a new list. I'd say
we simply change the name on the document itself and leave the rest of the
setup as is. Anyway now-a-days the term "computer forensics" has overgrown
itself to encompass all kinds of digital data. And the truth is that people
seeking such a document will likely input "computer forensics" into google
or elsewhere rather that "digital forensics".

> Discussion 2.  Terms section:  "forensic image, forensic copy, forensic
> acquisition" (page 3)

Once again I agree with it but I must stress the reason behind that Terms
Section.
It's all too easy to enter an endless discussion about terminology and
naming conventions. I've seen quite a few "open source" initiatives starve
to death over terminology discussions dying by exhaustion with no "real"
work done. That's the reason I included the section. On this manual terms
will have the meaning pointed out in the terms sections. The reader is
expected to read that section and interpret the rest of the document bearing
in mind those definitions.
It is not casual this decision has been taken. Before starting out this
initiative I had a very insightful dinner with Pete Herzog from OSSTMM and
this issue was brought to my attention.
I'm not saying everyone must simply agree to the terms thought! I'm open to
discussions about terminology but would rather see them on my personal email
rather than on the list to avoid terminology-email-wars.
Until we have some volunteers I'll be managing this Terms Section so please
do not hesitate to submit your definitions and the reasoning behind them to
me. I'll be issuing emails with "important" changes to the Terms section on
this list or directly to those collaborating on the project as seen fit to
avoid confusions.

>       I have more items to discuss, but wanted to see how much of
> a tempest
> these two discussions would create. Involvement is encouraged.


Please bring them on! Let's get this going...

Sincerely,
Matías Bevilacqua Trabado
CYBEX
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