support issueshttps://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues2024-03-25T15:27:33Zhttps://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/358Add Letterboxing to the glossary2024-03-25T15:27:33ZemmapeelAdd Letterboxing to the glossaryWe need to add Letterboxing to the glossary, as it is a new term that we use on the documentation.We need to add Letterboxing to the glossary, as it is a new term that we use on the documentation.ebanamebanam@torproject.orgebanamebanam@torproject.orghttps://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/355Please add a FAQ to explain users that disabling RFP is very bad2023-11-23T15:32:50ZPier Angelo VendramePlease add a FAQ to explain users that disabling RFP is very badStarting with Tor Browser 13.0, we decided to lock `privacy.resistFingerprinting`.
RFP is a very important setting.
Disabling RFP makes you easily fingerprintable in a lot of ways, including hardware!
Generally speaking, Mozilla is well...Starting with Tor Browser 13.0, we decided to lock `privacy.resistFingerprinting`.
RFP is a very important setting.
Disabling RFP makes you easily fingerprintable in a lot of ways, including hardware!
Generally speaking, Mozilla is well aware of these fingerprinting vectors and continuously add even more.
At the moment, the protection isn't granular, it's all or nothing (and I'm not saying it's bad - quite the opposite - it's the same philosophy of Tor Browser: normalize everything).
Also, when we send patches to Mozilla, we often gate them behind RFP.
Setting RFP to false is like telling that you don't want a bunch of our patches.
RFP has usability issues (e.g., it constantly resets the zoom level, which can be a big accessibility problem).
We're aware of that and it's in our roadmap.
We've received some feedback against our decision after the release, and we still get from time to time.
I think we could have a FAQ about this.ebanamebanam@torproject.orgebanamebanam@torproject.orghttps://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/354Add rendezvous to the glossary2023-11-23T15:32:37ZemmapeelAdd rendezvous to the glossaryWe should add an entry for 'rendezvous' to the glossary at https://support.torproject.org/glossary/We should add an entry for 'rendezvous' to the glossary at https://support.torproject.org/glossary/https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/353Collect and move the support entries that make more sense on a dev faq2023-11-23T15:34:14ZRoger DingledineCollect and move the support entries that make more sense on a dev faqWe have quite a bit of content on the current support site, and more in the queue to be added, that isn't really aimed at supporting users who are trying to use our software.
For examples, I am thinking:
* The alternate Tor design idea...We have quite a bit of content on the current support site, and more in the queue to be added, that isn't really aimed at supporting users who are trying to use our software.
For examples, I am thinking:
* The alternate Tor design ideas, like "You should send padding so it's more secure." (https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/232)
* Tor Browser explanations for power users or other devs, like "Why is Tor Browser built from Firefox and not some other browser?" (https://support.torproject.org/tbb/tbb-4/)
* Instructions for relay operators to help debug and diagnose the network, and generally participate in network health things, like the new details we added to https://support.torproject.org/#relay-operators_why-is-my-relay-slow in #352
We should collect these various support entries, and move them out of the main support portal, so we aren't diluting our actual support entries.
Where should they go?
One simple option would be to put them at the bottom of the support portal, in an 'advanced power user now you're part of tor' section.
Is there some way to fit them onto the dev portal? Like a dev portal faq? After all, each of them is more like a gateway to turning users into developers.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/351Remove "Does Tor remove personal information from the data my application sen...2023-11-23T15:34:14ZRoger DingledineRemove "Does Tor remove personal information from the data my application sends?" entryWe have https://support.torproject.org/about/no-data-scrubbing/ which is left-over from the days when you needed to hook up privoxy to your tor, and we wanted to emphasize that Tor's role was to just pass bytes, not to mess with anything...We have https://support.torproject.org/about/no-data-scrubbing/ which is left-over from the days when you needed to hook up privoxy to your tor, and we wanted to emphasize that Tor's role was to just pass bytes, not to mess with anything at the application layer.
Those days stopped when we integrated Tor into Tor Browser, and I bet by now most users who read this entry think by Tor we mean Tor Browser, which confuses things even further.
We could try to salvage the entry into a "use Tor Browser" pitch, but that's covered already in https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/92 and https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/338. Or we could try to salvage it into a "be careful using strange apps with Tor!" entry, but maybe that's covered in the huge pile of tor browser warnings (https://support.torproject.org/faq/staying-anonymous/). Or we could try to salvage it into explaining that automated looking for private info in your facebook post text is a hard problem, but I don't see that being a good use of our support space.
Any other ideas? I still think 'delete' is the best available option.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/350Decide to say "_model: question" everywhere or nowhere2023-11-19T00:06:55ZRoger DingledineDecide to say "_model: question" everywhere or nowhereSome support entries say
```
_model: question
```
at the top and others just leave it empty, perhaps because whoever added those entries didn't know to include the _model incant.
Does it matter? Should we try to unify so all of the entr...Some support entries say
```
_model: question
```
at the top and others just leave it empty, perhaps because whoever added those entries didn't know to include the _model incant.
Does it matter? Should we try to unify so all of the entries say "_model: question"? Or, should we remove it from them all? It seems not-best to have a mixture of present and not-present.
I spent a bit of time looking and I did not find any actual differences in behavior, but that doesn't mean there aren't any, or that there won't be differences in the future after some lektor upgrade.
At first I thought the "question" template was for FAQ entries that are phrased as a question, and there would be some other template for FAQ entries that are phrased as statements. But I no longer think this is so.
For more context, the question model template lives in support git here: <br> https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/tree/main/templates <br>
and lavamind was kind enough to point me at <br>
https://www.getlektor.com/docs/models/selection/ <br>
for documentation of how the template inheritance process works.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/349Can get rid of "default exit ports" faq entry?2023-11-23T15:34:14ZRoger DingledineCan get rid of "default exit ports" faq entry?In https://support.torproject.org/relay-operators/default-exit-ports/ we try to document the default exit policy that Tor uses.
(A) This is already in the man page, under ExitPolicy.
(B) There is a ReducedExitPolicy option that lets yo...In https://support.torproject.org/relay-operators/default-exit-ports/ we try to document the default exit policy that Tor uses.
(A) This is already in the man page, under ExitPolicy.
(B) There is a ReducedExitPolicy option that lets you pick a different set (also documented in the man page).
(C) 'exit ports' isn't really the right phrase here, and the explanation "The default open ports are listed below but keep in mind that, any port or ports can be opened by the relay operator by configuring it in torrc or modifying the source code." in the text makes it worse. These aren't ports that relay operators 'open'.
(D) Nearly all users don't need this entry. If you're going to run an exit relay, you should be able to know what a man page is, and if you're not running an exit relay, you don't need to know the info here.
Shall we delete?https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/348Improve search feature on Support Portal2023-11-17T00:08:11Zebanamebanam@torproject.orgImprove search feature on Support PortalDuring the [hackweek](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/community/hackweek/-/issues/17), we discussed that there is scope to improve the search feature on our Support Portal. Currently we have search bar on the top of Support Portal (pow...During the [hackweek](https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/community/hackweek/-/issues/17), we discussed that there is scope to improve the search feature on our Support Portal. Currently we have search bar on the top of Support Portal (powered by DuckDuckGo) and searching through entries after clicking on the 'Expand' button is a very good option.
For some history, please refer to https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/284
I'd also invite the UX team for their thoughts on this.
Thanks!https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/346"How often does Tor change its paths?" entry is wrong2023-11-23T15:34:15ZRoger Dingledine"How often does Tor change its paths?" entry is wronghttps://support.torproject.org/about/change-paths/
says
"Tor will reuse the same circuit for new TCP streams for 10 minutes, as long as the circuit is working fine."
and that is true for little-t-tor but it stopped being true for Tor ...https://support.torproject.org/about/change-paths/
says
"Tor will reuse the same circuit for new TCP streams for 10 minutes, as long as the circuit is working fine."
and that is true for little-t-tor but it stopped being true for Tor Browser some years ago when Tor Browser switched to configuring its tor with the KeepAliveIsolateSOCKSAuth isolation flag.
After that point, the way Tor Browser works is that it keeps the same path for a given first party domain (think "domain in url bar") so long as you have an active stream on it within the past ten minutes. This is also the same behavior Tor already had for connections to onion services (since onion service circuits are expensive to rotate).
The reasoning for sticking to the same path for a given destination is that rotating only increases the surface area, exposing information to new relays and new pieces of the internet.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/345Support entries in some categories don't have keys so they are sorted poorly2023-11-23T15:34:14ZRoger DingledineSupport entries in some categories don't have keys so they are sorted poorlyWe have <br>
https://support.torproject.org/#about_attacks-on-onion-routing <br>
and <br>
https://support.torproject.org/#about_protections
which are sorted at the top of the 'About Tor' category, and come in a newly random order each t...We have <br>
https://support.torproject.org/#about_attacks-on-onion-routing <br>
and <br>
https://support.torproject.org/#about_protections
which are sorted at the top of the 'About Tor' category, and come in a newly random order each time the site builds.
This is especially confusing because one of them says at the end "see the entry below on remaining attacks." and the other starts with "As mentioned above" but I typically see them in reverse order on the page.
We should give them keys, but then of course the follow-up question is, which ones? That is, where on the page should these questions go.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/344Get rid of "Can I browse normal HTTPS sites with Tor?" support entry2023-11-23T15:34:15ZRoger DingledineGet rid of "Can I browse normal HTTPS sites with Tor?" support entryhttps://support.torproject.org/https/https-2/ is short and not all that enlightening.
```
The short answer is: Yes, you can browse normal HTTPS sites using Tor.
HTTPS Connections are used to secure communications over computer networks...https://support.torproject.org/https/https-2/ is short and not all that enlightening.
```
The short answer is: Yes, you can browse normal HTTPS sites using Tor.
HTTPS Connections are used to secure communications over computer networks. You can read
more about HTTPS here. Tor Browser's HTTPS-Only mode automatically switches thousands of
sites from unencrypted "HTTP" to more private "HTTPS".
```
I mean, of course you can browse https sites with Tor. In fact, that's basically all you should browse with Tor Browser.
What is a "normal" https site? Are we trying to mean "not .onion"?
What are we trying to answer here? Are we trying to teach people what https is?
I see that this entry maybe came to be based on common questions Gus got during trainings: https://github.com/torproject/support/pull/29#issuecomment-529112053
and it would be good to learn what the actual question was, to figure out if we already answer it elsewhere or what.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/343Slim down the "How to help running Snowflake proxies" entry2023-11-23T15:34:15ZRoger DingledineSlim down the "How to help running Snowflake proxies" entryOn https://support.torproject.org/censorship/how-to-help-running-snowflake/ we have instructions for how to volunteer to be a snowflake, but they are incomplete and out of date compared to the instructions on https://snowflake.torproject...On https://support.torproject.org/censorship/how-to-help-running-snowflake/ we have instructions for how to volunteer to be a snowflake, but they are incomplete and out of date compared to the instructions on https://snowflake.torproject.org/#extension
I have opened https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/anti-censorship/pluggable-transports/snowflake-webext/-/issues/87 for the snowflake.tpo page to add the two pieces of info that are currently only on the support entry ("enable webrtc" and "not on a VPN please"), and then when that is done we should remove all the instructions from the support entry.
Though that said, we could also just remove them from the support entry right now, and point to the snowflake.tpo page, and then we won't add a dependency step that doesn't really need to be a dependency. :)https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/342How much do we want to highlight the apple monopoly problems re tor browser o...2023-11-23T15:34:14ZRoger DingledineHow much do we want to highlight the apple monopoly problems re tor browser on iOS?I am updating the "Which platforms is Tor Browser available for?" support entry, and I find myself wanting to say something like
"There is no official version of Tor Browser for iOS yet, because [Apple won't allow any underlying browser...I am updating the "Which platforms is Tor Browser available for?" support entry, and I find myself wanting to say something like
"There is no official version of Tor Browser for iOS yet, because [Apple won't allow any underlying browser framework besides its own](https://blog.torproject.org/tor-heart-onion-browser-and-more-ios-tor/). Our best available recommendation is [Onion Browser](https://onionbrowser.com/)."
The more conservative (less confrontational) version might be
"There is no official version of Tor Browser for iOS yet, as explained in [this blog post](https://blog.torproject.org/tor-heart-onion-browser-and-more-ios-tor/). Our best available recommendation is [Onion Browser](https://onionbrowser.com/)."https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/341"the Tor Browser" -> "Tor Browser"2023-11-23T15:34:14ZRoger Dingledine"the Tor Browser" -> "Tor Browser"There are still some cases where we say "the Tor Browser" on the support portal.
I checked with Richard and they are fine with unifying our language into calling it Tor Browser.
I think I am just unifying everything to how people talk ...There are still some cases where we say "the Tor Browser" on the support portal.
I checked with Richard and they are fine with unifying our language into calling it Tor Browser.
I think I am just unifying everything to how people talk this year, that is, I am hoping this change surprises nobody.
Example fix, on mullvad-browser/does-this-mean-tor-browser-will-get-less-attention:
```
-We are also working hard on bringing the Tor Browser for Android up to par
+We are also working hard on bringing Tor Browser for Android up to par
```
This naming convention topic is also a candidate for a new section in the https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/team/-/wikis/Tor-User-Documentation-Style-Guide. (Is there already a naming style guide? I searched around on google for a while and only found https://styleguide.torproject.org/ so either no there isn't one or yes there is but it is well hidden which is not good news for a style guide. :)https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/340"I'm behind a NAT/Firewall" needs updating2023-11-23T15:34:14ZRoger Dingledine"I'm behind a NAT/Firewall" needs updatingFirst, it points to portforward.com, which we learn from https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/332 is now an ad parking lot.
Second, it points to https://support.torproject.org/tbb/tbb-firewall-ports/ which suggests set...First, it points to portforward.com, which we learn from https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/332 is now an ad parking lot.
Second, it points to https://support.torproject.org/tbb/tbb-firewall-ports/ which suggests setting FascistFirewall, but that is a client-only setting and relays can't usefully set it.
We should put together some new instructions for relay operators behind firewalls.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/339"I can’t connect to Tor Browser. Is my network censored?" entry is redundant?2023-11-23T15:34:14Zshelikhoo"I can’t connect to Tor Browser. Is my network censored?" entry is redundant?Please have a review of grammar:
In the sentence: "I can’t connect to Tor Browser, is my network censored?" in the [article with same name](https://support.torproject.org/censorship/censorship-4/) does not sound nature, as it is the Tor...Please have a review of grammar:
In the sentence: "I can’t connect to Tor Browser, is my network censored?" in the [article with same name](https://support.torproject.org/censorship/censorship-4/) does not sound nature, as it is the Tor Browser connect to the Tor network, not user connect to the Tor Browser.
[Edit from Roger: more broadly, this whole entry is redundant with https://tb-manual.torproject.org/circumvention/, which does it better. Can we just remove this entry? Or do we need a tiny placeholder to steer people to the tb-manual page?]https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/337FAQ or exonerator should mention DNSel2023-11-23T15:34:14ZanarcatFAQ or exonerator should mention DNSelI've been wondering "how do i check if a batch of IPs is a tor exit node" quite a few times in my life, but not often enough to just remember it. plus, it keeps changing. :smile:
This FAQ entry is a good start:
https://support.torproj...I've been wondering "how do i check if a batch of IPs is a tor exit node" quite a few times in my life, but not often enough to just remember it. plus, it keeps changing. :smile:
This FAQ entry is a good start:
https://support.torproject.org/#relay-operators_facing-legal-trouble
It points at https://exonerator.torproject.org/ which goes to https://metrics.torproject.org/exonerator.html which does provide a way to check a single IP. But I have 70 of them here!
Startpage sends me to this Stack Exchange question:
https://serverfault.com/questions/874327/how-can-i-check-if-ip-is-a-tor-exit-node
... which, unsurprisingly, sends us to our old website:
https://www.torproject.org/projects/tordnsel.html.en
... which points at `exitlist.torproject.org` which doesn't work anymore:
```
anarcat@angela:~$ dig +short 81.167.67.80.exitlist.torproject.org
anarcat@angela:~$
```
the proper record is dnsel.tpo:
```
anarcat@angela:~$ dig +short 81.167.67.80.dnsel.torproject.org
127.0.0.2
```
This answer gets it better:
https://serverfault.com/a/1081354/153231
... and also mentions the [bulk exit list](https://check.torproject.org/torbulkexitlist) which is way easier than bouncing around DNS...
So I think the FAQ should be expanded. In fact, there should be a "how do I tell if an IP is a Tor exit relay" question altogether, not just "i'm in legal trouble", which seems like a dubious way to approach the problem, and a separate question.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/336Add a FAQ on how users can check their version of Tor Browser on all platforms2024-03-28T15:24:28Zebanamebanam@torproject.orgAdd a FAQ on how users can check their version of Tor Browser on all platformsAs part of our user support work and for troubleshooting in general, we fairly regularly ask users about the version of Tor Browser they are using. I think we should add some steps on how users can check their version of Tor Browser.
Fo...As part of our user support work and for troubleshooting in general, we fairly regularly ask users about the version of Tor Browser they are using. I think we should add some steps on how users can check their version of Tor Browser.
For Tor Browser on desktop we can create a entry in https://support.torproject.org/tbb/
and for Tor Browser for Android in https://support.torproject.org/tormobile/
/cc @ninaebanamebanam@torproject.orgebanamebanam@torproject.orghttps://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/334Add onion services PoW to the glossary and other parts of the docs2023-11-06T19:44:05ZemmapeelAdd onion services PoW to the glossary and other parts of the docswe can use https://blog.torproject.org/introducing-proof-of-work-defense-for-onion-services/ as a base to add Onion Services PoW to the docs.we can use https://blog.torproject.org/introducing-proof-of-work-defense-for-onion-services/ as a base to add Onion Services PoW to the docs.https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/web/support/-/issues/326Explain why/how metrics is reporting that a bridge was blocked in a country2023-11-13T10:21:05ZGusExplain why/how metrics is reporting that a bridge was blocked in a countrySome operators were confused with "blocked in" field in Metrics portal about their bridges (see this thread for example - https://forum.torproject.net/t/bridge-blocklist-ru/2989/3?u=gus). It would be nice to have a support entry explaini...Some operators were confused with "blocked in" field in Metrics portal about their bridges (see this thread for example - https://forum.torproject.net/t/bridge-blocklist-ru/2989/3?u=gus). It would be nice to have a support entry explaining what it means.GusGus