[tor-project] The Tor Project Social Contract

[Paul Syverson]

On Wed, Aug 03, 2016 at 07:34:03PM +0200, Lunar wrote:
> Paul Syverson:
> > On Wed, Aug 03, 2016 at 04:49:00PM +0000, Alison wrote:
> > > The added line is "we will make most of our tools free of cost". Is that
> > > descriptive enough?
> 
> I'm not sure it covers the intent that (at least for me) came with this
> discussion. I'd like us to state we don't want cost to be a barrier to
> access our tools, rather than just a half-statement.
> 
> > "Most" might invite people to contemplate what fraction of the tools are
> > free of cost: Is it 51%, three-quarters, all but a few exceptions, etc.?
> > This is a distraction from the point being made.
> > 
> > How about, "We will generally make our "
> 
> I like the long list, but it might be too long…
> 
> Anyway, another angle:
> 
>     3. Our tools are universally available to access, use, adapt, and
>        distribute
> 
>     The more diverse our users, the less simply being a user of Tor
>     implies about any user, so we aim to create tools that anyone can
>     access and use. We do not restrict access to our tools unless it is
>     for the security of all users. {+Wealth should not be a determining
>     factor to access our tools, and we do our best to distributed them
>     free of charge or at a fair price.+} We design, build, and deploy
>     our tools without collecting identifiable information about our
>     users.  We expect the code and research we publish to be improved by
>     many different people, and that is only possible if everyone has the
>     ability to use, copy, modify, and redistribute our tools.
> 
> I'm glad we're trying to improve this.

Me too. I don't like "fair price" though, since it is already
contentious in many cases (As an example that sometimes surfaces in
public: is including the cost of development of a drug or disease
treatment a determiner of the fair price for the patient?)

Also, sometimes it's not the price per se but the need for
an economic transaction that can be a barrier to access.

Here's another refinement on yours that maybe does what both
of us want. (I also added back 'services' to 'tools' rather than give the
whole list. Please object if you think even that is too much.)

>     3. Our tools are universally available to access, use, adapt, and
>        distribute
> 
>     The more diverse our users, the less simply being a user of Tor
>     implies about any user, so we aim to create tools that anyone can
>     access and use. 

Ability to pay should not be a determining factor in access to our
tools or services, and we do our best to make these available to all
users without restriction. More generally, we do not restrict access
to our tools unless it is for the security of all users.

>     We design, build, and deploy our tools without collecting
>     identifiable information about our users.  We expect the code
>     and research we publish to be improved by many different people,
>     and that is only possible if everyone has the ability to use,
>     copy, modify, and redistribute our tools.

aloha,
Paul