Here's my imperfect summary of the person's position (from the above)

• it's not a blocking no
  • it's "because of past negative experiences with journalists, I will personally be avoiding Nathaniel"
• a block on any recording in any full-group activities
  • the guiding feeling being you need to be able to opt out of being recorded, without having to be totally excluded

• have read some of Nathaniel's work, and have some skepticism about some of the angles or approaches they've felt. A couple of examples like:

  • In Opioid Dealers Embrace the Dark Web to Send Deadly Drugs by Mail it was the use of a shock narrative and way that the victims were used to play into that. Also dramatising Tor as a "Dark Web Tech" when it seems likely he knows that the Tor community don't favour that casting.
  • In Decoding the Enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto and the Birth of Bitcoin it was this part when Nathaniel described how he interacted with Mr. Szabo at a Bitcoin event in a vacation home (which sounded confrontational in a not particularly compassionate way):

    "While he kept to himself, I managed to corner him in the kitchen during the cocktail hour. He was notably reserved and deflected questions about where he lived and had worked, but he bristled when I cited what was being said about him on the Internet […]"

Summary : "I’m fine with a journalist being there, think it can be positive, not fine with recording events where everyone is present and I trust your judgement and ability to facilitate."