[tor-mirrors] Outdated mirrors hide / Link to the 'Mirrors' at title page

[Taiga-san]

> It will run on user's computer and will try to access the other mirrors'
timestamps and if it will discover, that the current mirror (on which script
is executed) is definitely outdated, the warning and some links to
up-to-date mirrors will appear. Maybe even automatic redirect.
In other words you want some JavaScript code on the TOR page contacting a
lot of different pages from an eventually outdated list silently in the
background and additionally change the page wether the user wants it or not.

JavaScript can compromise your privacy which is exactly why it's disabled in
the TOR Browser. I'm not paranoid, however, if I'm looking for some strong
privacy/anonymity proxy like TOR, there are some things I don't want so see
like some JS contacting other sites, ads, lots of cookies etc.

 > that the current mirror (on which script is executed)
Well, you didn't mean server-side, still: I'm against server-side scripts.
The PHP engine is disabled for the TOR mirror on my server and anything else
like CGI, Perl, SSI etc. is globally disabled (module not loaded) and I
won't change that.

While I agree that there's the need of making it better, I can't imagine a
good technical way to do it. That's probably why the things are like they
are at the moment.

PS: Sorry for any mistakes made.

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: tor-mirrors [mailto:tor-mirrors-bounces at lists.torproject.org] Im
Auftrag von Thwarth Wrhalthssen
Gesendet: Freitag, 21. Juni 2013 13:22
An: mirroring the tor website and distribution directory
Betreff: Re: [tor-mirrors] Outdated mirrors hide / Link to the 'Mirrors' at
title page

> Mostly because people find the mirrors in search engine results, and 
> when it links to our page, they find they're out of date. This is a 
> hint to not use them.
People, who should probably use a mirror, will not access the TorProject.org
with actual statuses of mirrors. Instead, they will access some random
mirror, possibly outdated, with the outdated mirror list. So, the
information about a status of any particular mirror which they will gather
from it, will be unuseful. So, I think there is no actually need in keeping
outdated mirrors in the list non-hidden.

> If torproject.org is blocked, finding the mirrors page isn't going to 
> help you.

If TorProject.org is blocked, it will be a small chance to find an
up-to-date mirror on the net. For now, if you find some mirror, you never
know if it is updated or not. Apparently, there need to be a method to
display the mirror status, maybe on the title page.

Some script on the title page can be implemented, that will gather
information from all known updated mirrors about latest actual timestamp. It
will run on user's computer and will try to access the other mirrors'
timestamps and if it will discover, that the current mirror (on which script
is executed) is definitely outdated, the warning and some links to
up-to-date mirrors will appear. Maybe even automatic redirect. I think it
can be implemented easily and will add a plenty of accessibility and
popularity to the mirrors.
	
Suggestions from all the operators concerned are very welcome.

On 06/20/2013 01:54 AM, Andrew Lewman wrote:
> On Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:27:47 +0400
> Thwarth Wrhalthssen<wrhalthssen at ya.ru>  wrote:
>
>> I think the mirrors page should be redesigned a little. What is the 
>> purpose of displaying all outdated and non-accessible mirrors? The 
>> owners of such mirrors are barely interested in maintaining them, so, 
>> I think, the best option is just to remove or hide them from the 
>> list. If owner of such mirror is interested in running it updated, 
>> he'll notice, that his site isn't listed anymore, he'll update it and 
>> his mirror will show up again in the list. Additionaly, it would be 
>> great to add a Javascript code to the list to make it possible to 
>> filter mirrors by country and services accessible (and a tiny country 
>> flags, just for lucidity).
> Mostly because people find the mirrors in search engine results, and 
> when it links to our page, they find they're out of date. This is a 
> hint to not use them.
>
> Frankly, the whole mirroring system needs a rewrite and update.
>
>> The second issue is the access to the mirrors page. For now you need 
>> to scroll down to the bottom page and find a tiny 'Mirrors' link in 
>> the 'Get Involved' section. Isn't it difficult enough? The Tor 
>> software is blocked in variety of countries and the mirrors are 
>> essential part of maintaining Tor website accessible, so isn't it 
>> right to make a link to the mirrors list somehow more accessible? I 
>> mean, for example, put 'Mirrors' list in the top navigation section 
>> ('Home', 'About Tor' etc). I believe lot of people failed to find 
>> this list just because it's location on the site is non-obvious.
>> Maybe a crucial part of them are simply don't know the mirrors list 
>> exist.
> Mostly because we know people find the mirrors via search engines, not 
> linking to our site. If torproject.org is blocked, finding the mirrors 
> page isn't going to help you.
>
> We're open to ideas here.
>
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