On 10/27/2013 06:42 PM, Daniel Kahn Gillmor wrote:
On 10/27/2013 01:26 PM, Bill Cox wrote:
Here's the problem: Tor has little public support, because most Tor
traffic is wasted on supporting bad behavior.
I don't think that's the main reason Tor has little public support. I
think Tor has little public support because using Tor is slower and
less convenient than not using Tor, and people (at least in the USA)
seem to value convenience above most other things.
Yes, "people" value convenience above protecting themselves against the
risks of wide-net surveillance from both the private and public sector.
But "people" remain relatively ignorant of the moral hazards they are
creating for themselves and future generations. Security experts,
however, are quick to write how the revelations of the Snowden leaks
have been (more or less) known in the security community for some time.
So which is more of a bummer-- that busy people who don't have time to
do year-long research projects in a new field remain ignorant of
wide-net surveillance risks, or that a small community of people whose
specialty is computer security have not valued the sharing of knowledge
and doing journalism highly enough?
Also, keep in mind that the most direct way to show public support for
Tor would be to run an exit-node. If every interested party with a fast
internet connection did that it would help alleviate the speed problem.
But running an exit-node is nothing to take lightly, both in technical
and legal terms. Some potential users might know about this difficulty,
but more to the point Tor devs and advocates definitely know about it.
That takes off the table the most effective way to educate many
potential supporters about value things other than convenience.
Best,
Jonathan
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