2 noob problems

[matthew.east at breathe.com]

> On Tuesday 03 May 2005 4:06 am, Matthew East wrote:
>> First, when searching for keys on keyservers (i've tried the one
>> supplied by default with gpg as well as pgp.mit.edu) using the "gpg
>> --search-keys" command, it just sits there for ages without doing
>> anything.
> 
> What command are you using? Search by keyid where possible or at least by 
> something that's likely to be uncommon, like the email address. Don't 
> underestimate how many keys are out there. 

Yeah that's definitely not the problem, i have tried keyids and exact email 
addresses. 

>> I have the agent enabled via evolution as well and that is 
>> also just sitting there without finding the key. Can anyone help?

> Can you connect to the keyserver at all? This could be a network problem or a 
> firewall problem. 
>
> Try --recv-key with your keyid.

Doesn't work: just sits there. I also think it must be network related. 
AFAIK my firewall doesn't restrict any outgoing packets, could it be my ISP? 
Is there any way I can test? the crazy thing is that in the past sometimes 
it has worked. But I have no idea what has caused it to stop working. 

>> The other thing is that, given that I am a beginner, I have self-signed
>> my key a few times and then deleted the signature, when I was
>> discovering how everything worked. Now I've discovered that my key
>> appears like this (despite the fact that it seems fine if I check it
>> locally):
> 
> Keyservers don't delete signatures so every time you self-sign, it remains on 
> the keyserver. Deleting the signature once a key has been sent to a keyserver 
> is pointless because refreshing the key will always import all the old 
> signatures. 
>
>> Is there anything I can do about this?
> 
> Don't send test keys to keyservers! 
> 
> Revoke this key and start again with a new one. If you want to do more local 
> testing, use a second key that you never send to a keyserver. 
> 
> Keyservers exist for the benefit of others, not for your test purposes. The 
> keys are there to help other people verify and sign your key. 

I understand this: at the same time I did not intend the key to be a test, I 
was just a beginner. 

Matt