[mirimir]

Tor isn't such a great solution here, because too many sites discriminate against Tor users, in one way or another. Some impose horrible CAPTCHAs. Or block access entirely. Some allow access, and even logins, but don't allow account creation. And maintaining usable Google or Facebook login accounts via Tor is virtually impossible.

Using VPN services would be far more practical. Although some sites do discriminate against VPN users, it's much less common than for Tor users. The EU could of course block access to VPN servers, just as China has done. But some VPN services use obfsproxy, and so can piggyback on obfuscation efforts by the Tor Project.

[craftyguy]

> And maintaining usable Google or Facebook login accounts via Tor is virtually impossible.

Sounds like a feature more than an issue.

[mirimir]

I suppose. It depends on your perspective.

As it is now, only serious criminals can manage it.

[craftyguy]

> only serious criminals can manage it.

Manage what? Not having to use Google and Facebook?

[mirimir]

No, having functional Google and Facebook accounts that they can use to anonymously mess with people.

Basically, you need clean IPs and mobile accounts. Tor and VPN exits don't work so well. Creating your own VPN in a VPS sometimes works. But I gather that the pros use botnet slaves with genuine residential IPs.

[icebraining]

For Facebook you don't need an exit node, they have an official onion address, facebookcorewwwi.onion

[mirimir]

Good point. I bet, though, that creating an account there triggers heavy-duty authentication.

And that reminds me. I recently tried to create a ProtonMail account via Tor. But they wouldn't activate it without mobile and credit/debit card numbers. Ironic, no? And yes, I do get that many jerks have misused ProtonMail accounts.

Edit: I take that back about Facebook. Via the onion, it just wanted an email address to authenticate. I'm impressed.

[Karunamon]

It’s worth mentioning that this discrimination is sadly necessary. Tor amounts to a massive open proxy, and just about any service that requires accounts (and many that don’t, like IRC or image boards) looks down on open proxies as primary abuse sources.

As someone who has run both an image board and a decent IRC server in the past, it’s a choice between heavily scrutinizing tor connections or banning them outright.

[mirimir]

HN allows Tor access. I don't know about account creation, though. I suppose that it might create shadowbanned accounts.

[Jaruzel]

  wx13p 7 hours ago [dead] [-]
  It works.

Apparently not.

[mirimir]

Yes, that account was automatically shadowbanned.

But someone did a manual override.

I am impressed. HN does allow throwaway accounts, when necessary to post anonymously. And making that possible via Tor is admirable. There's certainly potential for abuse. I see occasional spam, and angry insults, but nowhere near as much as one might expect. Which suggests either that shadowbanning works well enough, or efficient moderation.

[wx13p]

It works.

[slipstream-]

I was assuming that a hypothetical increase in Tor use would also increase the number of onion services.