[internet_arguer]

I can't believe you put me in the position of defending Comcast from cheap shots.

The open wifi requires you to log in with credentials that are linked to a credit card and name. So any weird activity would be correlated to that login. Of course someone could use a stolen credit card, but at a minimum, "bad" traffic would be correlated to that account, not the open wifi that Comcast is allowing to take up your bandwidth.

[higherpurpose]

Having an open wi-fi shouldn't be a crime, especially when meshnets will become increasingly more popular in the future. I don't think running a relay should be either, however, I'm also of the opinion that this is bad design from the Tor Project. Torrents are good design. They force everyone who downloads to also upload. Tor should force everyone who uses the browser to also be a relay.

Yes, I know what you're going to say - "but then a lot less people will be willing to use it!". Maybe. Or maybe not. Maybe it becomes something that's just "normal" and you don't think about it, just like seeding torrents. Then if it's something people don't think about, and it makes running Tor "more acceptable", I think even more people will use it.

Currently we're in the situation where potentially a large percentage of the relays are run by NSA/FBI. If millions of people would be relays, then that would either be much harder for them to pull off, or much more expensive. Either way, a better outcome.

[icebraining]

Torrents are good design. They force everyone who downloads to also upload.

Nope: http://bitthief.ethz.ch/

Bittorrent is just a good example of the "defaults matter" guideline.

By the way, I don't think relays are the problem. Exit nodes are, and you can't force everyone to run one, since it would literally lead to detentions and even prison sentences.