[tor-relays] Is there any reason to keep the default exit policy?

[Paritesh Boyeyoko]

On Monday 04 Nov 2013 04:10:55 Roger Dingledine wrote:

> Today's interactions with ISPs influence Tor's future viability. So if
> people are accidentally exit relays without knowing it, I worry as much
> about the damage to the ISP's view of Tor as I do about the temporary
> hassle for the operator.

Exactly this.  I recently made a list of Tor-tolerant VPS hosters, based on 
the offers available on Low End Box.  Out of the 14 I found, three in their AUP 
stipulated "no exit" and one would allow Tor relays of any kind on their US 
servers only.

So out of all of the companies I found on LEB, only 11 allowed "full" Tor 
support, with the others permitting "partial" support. I think more and more 
hosting and service providers are seeing Tor as a source of legal hassle and 
don't want to be bothered with it.

If Tor is made non-exit by default, it can be explained to the hosters that 
Tor out-of-the box will not bring any legal stress their way.  It may even 
encourage them to run a few relays themselves. :)

Best,
-- 
Parity
parity.boy at gmail.com