[tor-relays] Exit relay funding

[Roger Dingledine]

On Mon, Mar 07, 2016 at 02:34:02PM +0100, renke at mobtm.com wrote:
> Hi Michael,
> 
> > Sadly, I have to shut it down at least temporarily if no one can help me
> > pay for it. Is anyone interested? You can search the mailing lists to
> > see that I've been contributing for a few years, and I can give more
> > verification if you'd like.
> 
> if you're willing to give me a paypal address (or banking account infos if you're within the European SEPA zone) I will chip in three months.
> 
> Thanks for running a fast relay!

Thanks Renke for helping to sustain the relay community!

And thanks Michael for finding and keeping a good US-based exit relay
location.

It's also clear that more mechanisms for sustainability would be helpful
for situations like this.

The Tor Project itself alas doesn't want to get into the business of
operating relays (or paying for them, which is like operating them
if you're into legal metaphors). That's because we are already in an
interesting legal position ("you designed the car that the user drove
away in"), so the EFFs and ACLUs of the world have recommended we not
complicate it with other interesting legal positions.

That said, there are a bunch of umbrella organizations created for the
purpose of operating Tor relays, especially exit relays:
https://www.torservers.net/partners.html
I wonder if there's a good way to get relays in Michael's situation to
"join" one of these umbrellas, for better continuity.

--Roger