[tor-bugs] #4243 [Tor Hidden Services]: rend_consider_services_upload waits up to 4 hours to publish the first HS descriptor by default

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#4243: rend_consider_services_upload waits up to 4 hours to publish the first HS
descriptor by default
---------------------------------+------------------------------------------
 Reporter:  rransom              |          Owner:                    
     Type:  defect               |         Status:  new               
 Priority:  normal               |      Milestone:  Tor: 0.2.3.x-final
Component:  Tor Hidden Services  |        Version:                    
 Keywords:                       |         Parent:                    
   Points:                       |   Actualpoints:                    
---------------------------------+------------------------------------------
 From the documentation comment on `rend_consider_services_upload` (in
 src/or/rendservice.c):
 {{{
  * For the first upload, pick a random time between now and two periods
  * from now, and pick it independently for each service.
 }}}

 “first upload” means the first HS descriptor upload after the service is
 configured in the Tor instance (i.e. when Tor is started); the ‘period’
 referred to there is that specified in the `RendPostPeriod` configuration
 option (default 2 hours).

 Users have complained that HSes don't work for a while after they are set
 up.  Now we know why they don't work for a while.

 Should this be changed?  I assume this huge delay was intended to (a)
 conceal associations between different hidden services run on the same Tor
 client, and (b) try a little bit to conceal associations between hidden
 services run on a relay and the relay's uptime.  Do users really gain any
 privacy/security/whatever from this delay?  If so, how much?

 If this shouldn't be changed, we need an FAQ entry about this somewhere.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/4243>
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