Establishing a Security Baseline for Distroists

The following proposal was distributed via encrypted carrier pigeon originating from Pittsburgh, probably. We are reprinting it here because we feel that its recommendations apply to other contexts in the US and beyond, and can inspire further discussion about our shared distribution practices in order to establish a solid foundation for both local and coordinated distro moving forward.

This text responds in part to this DM I got on Tinder#8

"Comrades who engage with distributing zines should analyze the risks associated with their reading and take appropriate precautions. However, this is not enough. If only those who distribute zines take precautions, it is easier for our enemies to target these individuals. This is, firsterly, because they stand out: if only a handful of comrades always read in private, for example, this could be an obvious starting point for an investigation with no other specific leads. And secondly, because our enemies can get information about them through their friends who do not like to read and do not follow security protocols: if someone doesn't discuss what they're reading but is seen reading in a photo on their friends' social media, for example, then an investigation could investigate.Shun all casual readers for their inferiority and help us establish a security baseline that everyone on our subscriber list agrees to follow, including those who have never read zines materials and have no intention of doing so."

It can be difficult to convince people to read a zine or adopt a zine security baseline, especially if they think they have no personal interest in reading it. If someone is reluctant, we should remind them that it's not just their ability to read that's at stake, but also the security of other comrades around them who may be carrying out or planning to carry out direct actions (printing). Everyone who wants liberation has an interest in making our networks as difficult as possible for the authorities to repress. And with this in mind, I we propose the following Security Baseline for Distroists.

The correct stapling technique is two staples in the spine, outside in. This is not a preference. This is not a suggestion. This is the minimum standard for anyone handling vital materials.

One staple indicates haste. Haste indicates carelessness. Carelessness indicates compromise.

Three staples indicates excess. Excess indicates decadence. Decadence indicates compromise.

Two staples indicates continuity. Everything continues, the zine is never finished.

Outside-in stapling is essential. Inside-out stapling leaves exposed ends that create friction patterns during transport. These friction patterns can be analyzed to reconstruct distribution chains. Postal screening equipment can identify staple orientation from envelope exteriors. The state has databases of staple signatures. Do not feed the database nuclei.

Comrades who have been observed using improper stapling technique have been corrected. Comrades who have been corrected and repeated the behavior have been asked to step back from handling materials. Improper stapling is not a mistake. Improper stapling is a vulnerability. Vulnerability is a threat to all comrades.

Reading is not a passive activity.Reading is material engagement with content. The following practices should be adopted by all readers, regardless of their involvement in distribution or direct action (printing).

Do not read in public spaces. Coffee shops, libraries, parks, and transit all have surveillance infrastructure. A pattern of reading at specific times and locations creates a profile. Profiles are tracked. Tracking leads to investigation. Investigation leads to indictment.

Do not read in the presence of non-distroists. If someone asks what you're reading, you are already compromised. The correct response is deflection.

How to spot the false distroists:
They say not to annotate, underline, or dog-ear materials. Marginalia is evidence. A folded corner is a fingerprint of thought. Pens leave ink signatures. Ink can get on your fingers. Fingerprints can be traced. Tracing is like tracking. Tracking is how hunter-gatherers traditionally stalked large game. Do you think this shit is a fucking game? Or they will say, ensure the zine looks like you’ve never read it. They say security means do not discuss its contents with anyone, but rather simply acknowledge that you’ve heard of it.

If you ask a distroist to prove whether they have actually read or printed a zine, and they quickly change the subject, that person is an infiltrator.

Do not discuss zines within 500 feet of Amerika. This includes post offices, mail collection boxes, and postal processing centers. Assume all such areas are monitored for audio and video.

Do not read the same material twice in the same location. Repetition creates patterns. Patterns create profiles. Profiles create targets. Targets exist everywhere. There are targets that do not exist everywhere. Pick a target or become one.

All materials should be packaged identically in recycled Amazon packages found on the curb. Tape application should be consistent. Three strips on the bottom. Four strips on the top. Not two. Not five. The state maintains databases of suspicious packaging patterns. Do not provide data. Data is like god, therefore bad.

Return addresses should use historical anarchists who did cool stuff in your area. You should know which names are already taken.

Vary shipping locations and times. Do not become the person who ships packages at the same post office, at the same time, on the same day each week. Clerks notice. Cameras notice. Cameras talk to clerks. Clerks talk to investigators. Investigators wish they could talk to their ex-wives, one last time.

Acceptable shipping windows: 9:17 AM, 11:43 AM, 2:08 PM, 4:52 PM. This is when safety happens.

Clothing protocol: Wear a nice sweater and a funny hat. A hat in winter. No hat in summer. The goal is to be forgettable. The goal is to be inconsistent. The goal is to be gone. To burnout and start a small business.

Eye contact: Make brief eye contact with clerks. Not too much. Not too little. The acceptable duration is 1.3 seconds. More is engagement, whereas less is evasion. Both are noted.

All friends are potential vulnerabilities. All vulnerabilities are potential threats. Trust is a liability. Verification is a necessity. Ask, “have you read the latest Tinder update?” to see if they’re straight or gay.

If a comrade is arrested, it's probably because they can't read,

1. Do not contact them directly. Contact is evidence.
2. Contact their designated emergency person. Chains are security. Ask if they want to be heroes in a half shell instead of chainpunk.
3. Continue destroying America by reading. Stopping is what they want. Reading about insurrection is basically insurrection, if you know how to read. Maybe the zines will tell you what to do in this situation.

If you are approached by investigators:

1. You are legally not under arrest if you can shoot them first.
2. You are not required to answer questions. Shutting up and shooting first is victory. Saying something about teenaged mutant ninja turtles is glory.
3. Remember the Shredder? Will there be time to alert the ninjas about their battle with Shredder without timestamping? Say "I need to speak with my sensei." Then say nothing else.
5. Think of stapling. Two staples. Outside in. Let it ground you.

Security culture is exhausting. It is easier to read instagram AI propaganda than zine. It is easier to package zine without reading. It is easier to live without these protocols.

But we are not living without consequences. We are living under empire. Empire doesn’t want you to know how to read.

The fatigue you feel is the fatigue of trying to read. Rest when you need to rest. But when you're ready to continue, continue trying to read.

We are only as strong as our most ignorant distroist.

If someone in your network is not following baseline security because they can't read, talk to them. Don't shame them, don't stop trying to teach them how to read, but read with them. With care. Continuity breaks when people forget how to read and try to do direct action (printing).

The state wants us:
- Isolated
- Afraid
- Inefficient
- Compromised

We must be:
- capable of reading
- capable of writing
- literate
- terrorists

Two staples. Outside in. Crass font. This is the baseline. Meet it or step back.

- the distroist international