Mesh/16 October 2014

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Attendees

  • Jenny - research, partnerships, community outreach, net neutrality
  • Jehan - service browser, voting/reputation, working on secure scuttlebutt
  • Sam - interested in secure mesh networks, works on software & statistics
  • Alex - works on firmware bits and node monitoring
  • Laurel - curious
  • Kareb - interested in alts to comcast
  • Matt - can give a walkthrough to newbies on basic bits
  • Marc - firmware, low-level stuff, did some testing w/ iOS & Windows, looking into MTU issues
  • Camille - friend of Mitar's, here to learn
  • AJ - first time!
  • Dan's nodes are working well! Wants to try it on a TP-Link WDR3600 (similar to Western Digital)

Updates

  • peoplesopen.net.gamma is working well in the basement!
  • Marc thinks we have solutions to all the problems (that we know of)!
  • Still looking for a place that has gigabit!
  • We have ~$4K and are making $95/wk
  • MonkeyBrains
  • Updated website w/ v1 of the video Noemie put together - she'd like to finish next week. Feedback on the script welcome (relevant to discussion below): https://pad.riseup.net/p/mesh-promotion

Discussion on security & privacy framing

  • See http://techpresident.com/news/25200/oakland-sudo-mesh-counter-censorship-digital-divide-mesh-net
  • via Einstein campaign: "I don't know how familiar you are with the Einstein campaign for Mayor of Oakland, but, being sudoers, you probably know Ed and his dog Einstein, as well as ***, whose idea this campaign was in the first place. The amount of publicity Einstein's getting suggests that other candidates may be looking at his platform to see what they can glom onto, and, in fact, we know that two of the candidates have done so already.

We've already made mention on Facebook and Twitter of the need to protect the privacy of Oakland resident's communications and to make phone and internet access more affordable, but I'd like to do more to publicize the vision of the People's Open Network. Unfortunately, I'm not tech-savvy, so I've had a hard time understanding - much less expressing - the long-range view or your efforts in lay-person's language. The excellent video Noemie sent me about the PON helps a lot, and with the permission of all of you, I could simply paraphrase it's script. But, if possible, I think it would be great if - using the Einstein campaign - we could get people thinking about the possibility of building an Oakland municipal wi-fi, of lowering the cost of internet access significantly, and of making encrypted communication available for everyone. I know this is more than the PON is ready to promise right now, but if we can put these ideas before Oaklanders, and they show enthusiastic support, I think we may be able to do a bit to stimulate popular demand. It seems like a good idea to me, because I think most folks aren't hearing much of anything about alternatives to paying the big ISPs and giving away their privacy to the NSA. Sorry to go on so long, but I see three alternatives: 1. to use Einstein's campaign to share a simply-expressed version of PON's short-range plans; 2. express a more long-range vision of what the PON could be with the support of Oakland City government; or 3. keep the PON out of politics."

  • publicity is good
  • could backfire, we can't ensure people's privacy
    • Neither can the current Internet. - that's the point!
    • Compare and contrast privacy related measures and countermeasures on both.
  • be clear what the network can and can't do
    • Can't stress this enough.
    • Manage expectations clearly and concisely.
  • what about just wearing a tshirt advocating us?
    • Doesn't work. T-shirts advertising one thing or another are background noise in the Bay Area.
  • OpenVPN provides some level of security
  • Advocate for monthly cryptoparties and end-user security
    • Don't just advocate for it, say what you're going to do. Make me trust you, or I won't.
  • Make a gimmick of the kinds of information made available when people connect to the network
    • Talk about the services people set up.
      • this was an idea to make a gimmick / display of
    • Mirrors of the Khan Academy, for example.
  • Differentiate sudo mesh and PON - sudo mesh is an educational nonprofit that can educate around encryption, security tools, networking- the PON is not run by sudo mesh, but by the community
  • need more people to run exit nodes - simplify this process -
    • Set up more services that we can use. People are more comfortable doing that.
  • Virtual Public Network pun
  • The network itself is as secure as any other network - NEVER TRU, but there are free cryptoparties every month offered by members of the community.
    • It's up to YOU! the end user, to ensure the security of your communications, and to learn good security hygiene.

Internet Archive

  • More planning would be good - need to solidify some things such as:
   ** Clarify Max's experience in Richmond
   ** Ensure Ralf will be there
   ** Check in with PLACE folks on their relationship to a link being shot to Oakland

Action Items

  • Order routers (juul fail) and CAT6 for Omni
  • Get into dev summit
  • Inventory Assesment
  • Check in with people who've checked out equipment
  • Update FAQ
  • 501c3 followups
  • Forward latest version of the Free Network License
  • Business cards! Maybe the print collective can help. Should we all be CEOs/CAOs?
  • Best practices guide for public outreach