Adam Pritchard wrote:
I would advise against getting too comfortable/confident/hubristic... One might not want to suggest that one is unblockable.
I like Tor a lot, but obviously nothing is "unblockable." Iran's targeting of Tor around the attempted revolution is but one data point -- every kind of circumvention tool is targeted by oppressive regimes. What is more {important|telling} is how well a software community can respond and bounce back from various blocking events.
Part of the issue (as I see it) is that users tend to regard one circumvention method as a panacea. People rely on Tor or Lantern or Psiphon or that really fast VPN on a weird port. And then when their method of choice gets blocked, they are forced to find a replacement. This feels like a user education issue. Users need to know that there are multiple options -- eg when Psiphon works but Lantern doesn't, or when Tor with a bridge doesn't usually work, but with flashproxy does. People need to be prepared to pivot quickly.
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