[tor-bugs] #12193 [Ponies]: Set up a Mozilla Persona testing server

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#12193: Set up a Mozilla Persona testing server
-----------------------+---------------------
 Reporter:  mikeperry  |          Owner:
     Type:  project    |         Status:  new
 Priority:  normal     |      Milestone:
Component:  Ponies     |        Version:
 Keywords:  SponsorP   |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:             |         Points:
-----------------------+---------------------
 An increasingly common problem with Tor usage is that websites often end
 up banning account creation or comment posting via Tor due to spam and
 abuse, either temporarily or permanently. In some cases, websites will
 simply ban all Tor access entirely, preventing Tor users from
 even reading their content.

 To provide websites with a generic, deployable solution to address this
 problem, we should experiment with and, if feasible, improve Mozilla
 Persona to provide websites with an identity provider that can be used to
 facilitate website account creation and rate limit abuse using a number of
 pluggable mechanisms.

 Because Mozilla Persona is a fully federated protocol, the actual Identity
 Provider would be run by us, with our own choice of rate limiting and
 validation policies. It will even enable us to run multiple Identity
 Providers, giving sites the choice of which rate limiting mechanisms work
 best for them.

 To start, we should deploy a test instance of Mozilla Persona that gives
 users credentials in exchange for solving a number of CAPTCHAs.

 If feasible, we should also convert the client-side authentication code to
 submit Chaum-style blinded certificate hashes to our Identity Provider, so
 that it will become possible to experiment with less private proof-of-
 scarcity mechanisms at a later date. This would effectively convert
 Mozilla Persona into the equivalent of BNymble
 (http://freehaven.net/anonbib/#bnymble11).

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/12193>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online