Hi All,

I am an undergraduate researcher at the University of Virginia looking into the Tor Incentives Problem. I recently started running an exit-relay and plan on finding effective ways of encouraging others to do so as well!

As a student of Computer Science and Anthropology, I am prioritizing both the technical and social angles of Tor's ecosystem in my approach to this problem. Thus far, many of the unanswered social questions regarding motivation and Tor have barred progress in efforts to scale the relay community. It is my objective to move this issue forward by conducting systematic research on the human-systems underlying Tor while developing proposals grounded in these socio-technical realities.

One idea I’ve had is to discuss these issues and potential approaches one-on-one with some of the individuals currently operating relays. I think it would be really helpful to hear your ideas, questions, and personal insights on relay-volunteering and its future.

If you are interested please email me at os7hf@virginia.edu with dates/times that would be convenient for a Skype or phone call. For general questions, comments, concerns, etc. feel free to respond on the mailing list as well.

Thanks, Ori