[tor-relays] Reminder: Looking to interview Tor relay operators (online or at FOSDEM)

[Jules Dejaeghere via tor-relays <tor-relays@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

We are still looking for relay operators willing to share their experience on how they install and keep their relays up to date.  We already received a few positive responses (thanks to those who responded), but we still have available time slots.  Available time slots are generally in the morning (at UTC+1) during the week of 2-6 February 2026, but we can adapt to your schedule if needed.

The original call for participants is quoted below.  Here are a few answers to questions we received that might help you decide whether you want to participate.

 - You don't need to operate many relays to participate: a single relay is fine (and we'd like your input); 20+ relays is also interesting to hear about. 
 - We can have the interview over a text only channel if you prefer: Matrix or another service you are comfortable using.
 - The "Full Name" field in the consent form can be filled with any identifier you are comfortable sharing (an email address, for example).  We also had people sign a PGP message stating that they agree with the form, so that might be an option.
 - We do not intend to publish the full transcript of the interview: we will instead quote relevant excerpts when presenting our results.  

To participate:
 - Contact me via email (jules.dejaeghere@xxxxxxxxx, PGP 0xEB4CC38446E3F82F), Signal (@julesd.01), or Matrix (@juliusone:matrix.org)
 - Specify how you want to participate (voice call via Framatalk, text only, or in person at FOSDEM) and what time slots work for you

Attached are the consent forms: consent-form.pdf for voice interviews (online or at FOSDEM) and consent-form-text.pdf for text only interviews.

If you have any additional questions, you can contact me.

Regards,
Jules Dejaeghere

On 20-01-2026 16:05, Jules Dejaeghere wrote:

Hello,

I am a researcher at the University of Namur (Belgium), and some of our research focuses on Tor.  Recently, we started to investigate how Tor relay operators install and keep their relays up to date.  This research was motivated by the (somewhat recent) policy of the Tor Project to exclude outdated relays from the network.

As part of this research, we would like to interview relay operators to understand how they install and keep Tor up to date and what they think of the Tor Project policy. If you run, or used to run, Tor relay(s) and are willing to dedicate ~30 minutes of your time, let us know!

Your participation will inform our current research about how Tor relay operators manage their relay(s).  It will also provide community feedback to the Tor Project about their policy once our results are published.

Interviews can be done either online (during the week of 2-6 February 2026, via Framatalk https://framatalk.org/abc/en/) or in person during FOSDEM in Brussels (31 January & 1 February 2026, https://fosdem.org/2026).

To participate:
 - Contact me via email (jules.dejaeghere@xxxxxxxxx, PGP 0xEB4CC38446E3F82F) or Signal (@julesd.01)
 - Specify how you want to participate (online via Framatalk, or in person at FOSDEM) and what time slots work for you

In practice:
 - The interview will be audio recorded for analysis by the research team
 - You can stop the interview at any time, and your answers will be deleted
 - The interview can be held either in English or in French

You'll find attached the full consent form we will ask participants to sign, which describes how the data collected will be processed.  If you have any additional questions, you can contact me.

Regards,
Jules Dejaeghere

--

Jules DEJAEGHERE
PhD Student · Researcher
Computer Science Faculty

jules.dejaeghere@xxxxxxxxx
https://directory.unamur.be/staff/jdejaegh

Université de Namur ASBL
Rue de Bruxelles 61 - 5000 Namur
Belgium

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Attachment: consent-form.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document

Attachment: consent-form-text.pdf
Description: Adobe PDF document

Attachment: OpenPGP_0xEB4CC38446E3F82F.asc
Description: OpenPGP public key

Attachment: OpenPGP_signature.asc
Description: OpenPGP digital signature

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