Messages is, simply put, a tool. A tool based in the concept of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The goal of m.essag.es is to enable and facilitate free and unrestricted speech in any way possible.
Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right. It is not given to us by the 1st Amendment of the United States constitution; it is an inherent right of all mankind. Messages is firmly based in the belief that all speech must be protected, including unpopular speech. We believe this because it has been shown repeatedly that any restriction placed on a right will expand gradually until the right is no longer a right, but a privilege.
We believe that anonymous communication provides a fair and level field for all ideas to be expressed and received without any bias as frequently happens in online communities where the posts are identified with user accounts. In an anonymous forum, you cannot judge a post by the poster's previous posts, name, signature, or other identifying information. Similarly, a person may post ideas that are controversial and unpopular without fear of persecution. We believe that this leads to a more frank and honest environment for the expression of ideas.
There are no rules on m.essag.es. Your topic may not be popular, but you are allowed to discuss it regardless of popularity, legality etc. The only activities which may be regulated are activities which attempt to disrupt usage of the service (repeatedly posting the same message or gibberish). Posts will never be removed for content as long as they are in a legible human-readable language.
Messages enables private communication via encrypted threads, which are not listed in any directory. Encrypted threads are encrypted via the RASCAL encryption method with one or two keys of the user's choosing, which are never stored or transmitted to the server. The only thing stored on the m.essag.es server is the cypher-text of the thread, along with posting times. No IP addresses or identifiers are recorded on encrypted threads. Threads and new posts are transmitted fully encrypted and without keys.