Fellow Code4Libbers,


As promised on Slack, here are the outcomes our the Tor exit node 
breakout session at Code4Lib 2016 in Philadelphia.

Running a Tor exit node is a great way to support freedom of speech and 
the right to privacy, but many institutions are reluctant to do so 
because of the Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt surrounding doing so.  Our 
breakout identified two key strategies for making the case to those in 
your institution who are in a position to make this kind of decision:  
forming partnerships, and having ready answers prepared for common 
questions.

Partnerships
	•	Library Freedom Project - they've done this before!
	•	Local law enforcement - better to get them involved early, so they're 
not surprised
	•	Computer Science, Political Science, Social Sciences, 
Communications/Journalism departments on your campus (where applicable)
	•	Social Justice institutions (on campus and in your community) - free 
speech and privacy are social justice issues
	•	Local libraries around academic institutions - cross the 
public/academic divide
	•	State consortia - leverage those networks we already have in place
	•	Cryptoparties of local community members - get the community 
interested in and supportive of preserving their rights by giving them 
the knowledge and tools they need to get started themselves

Answers to have ready to give
	•	What’s Tor?
	•	Why should I be involved?
	•	What’s my risk?
	•	How much does it cost?
	•	Who else is doing this?

Open Questions
	•	What will it cost to run an exit node, both in terms of $$ and 
bandwidth?
	•	List of names of institutional peers to point to.


I hope by broadcasting this to our community, we can start to form a 
pool of those libraries who have interested libtech workers, so when we 
go to our directors/deans/boards, we can point to peers/aspirational 
peers and say "see, we're not alone!".

Thanks,


Ian Walls