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在台师大架设Tor Relay：一段与学校沟通、留下可能性的实作经验
前言：为什么在接入谈匿名网路？
在网路高度被监控与集中管理的时代，匿名通讯是安全探索、研究与表达的重要基础。对台湾而言，这个问题尤其现实——我们身处东亚关键位置，网路自由与通讯张力，立即从抽象的价值变成社会承受压力的底层能力。
大学与学术网路，本来就是新技术与公共基础建设初步尝试的地方。接下来的采访，记录了一位台师大资工系学生、也是匿名网路社区成员，如何在校园里，实际走进制度、与学校沟通，尝试把Tor Relay真正搭建起来。
在网路匿名社区里，我们常谈技术、谈理想。真正的困难是「这台机器不能在现实世界活下来」。
这次，我们采访了一位匿名网路社群的伙伴NZ，目前正在读台湾师范大学资工系。他在校内成功搭建了一个Tor中继，并且选择了正面与学校体制沟通，走完整的行政流程。
苏恩立（NZ），现就读于国立台湾师范大学工程学系三年级。对资讯安全与网路治理深感兴趣，目前负责维运台湾学术网路（TANet）首个Tor节点。除技术实作外，亦知识贡献共享，在GDGoC NTNU学校社团担任匿名网路课程讲师，也长期参与台湾开源与资安社群，曾多次参与SITCON、HITCON 及 COSCUP等大型技术年会志工，具备社群服务经验与技术热忱。
为什么想在学校架 Tor Relay？
他的出发点其实很简单：如果匿名网路在台湾永远只于社群、海外VPS，甚至当成为灰色地带的工具，那很难被认真对待。而大学，特别是学术网路（TANet），本来就承载着研究、实验与公共性，理论上应该可以容纳同样存在的基础设施尝试。
他也很明确现实限制：台湾学术网路高度集中，对外连线受教育部控管，匿名网路在这样的结构里，本来就不容易发挥完整效果。
但正因如此，他更想知道：「在这样的限制下，至少能不能先存在？」
跟学校怎么谈？ 重点提出让对方能交代
行政流程时间表
实际行动时，他并没有把Tor包装成什么很酷或者很前卫的东西，而是用学校能理解的语言来说明：
- 这是一个 Tor 中继，不是退出节点
- 它不会直接对外提供内容
- 是网络路基础建设与匿名通讯的实验
在流程上，他与网管、教授、系主任之间有实际的邮件往返，让每个需要签名、需要被「CC」的人，都知道这台主机在做什么。学校不需要完全懂Tor。只要今天教育部来问，他们就能回答出来，这就是沟通的切入点。
行政流程真的很麻烦，但走得通
专案计划说明书
在台师大的情况下，对外连线默认是全部封锁，任何服务都必须申请例外开放，包含IP、用途、说明文件，最后还得能到对应学校反馈教育部的流程。他诉说过程「很麻烦，但可能是预期」。
只要愿意写文件、愿意解释，这条路是存在的。
社团与推广：至少让Tor不再只是标签
社团活动：匿名网路工作坊
除了机器本身，他也曾在校内社团举办匿名网路相关活动，介绍Tor、匿名匿名通讯和背后的设计理念。即使参与志愿者不一定多，但至少让「匿名网路≠犯罪工具」这件事，有机会在校园里好好讲清楚，让只被靠刻板印象不再是大家理解。
这些累积，可能不显眼，但很重要。
给其他大学的行动建议与踩雷提醒
以下整理自本次经验，给未来想在大学校园中推动 Tor Relay 的伙伴参考。
行动建议
- 一开始就走公众路线：不要等出事才解释，先让网管与指导教授知道你在做什么。
- 明确区分 Tor Relay 与 Exit Node：这几乎是沟通成败的关键，务必要讲清楚风险差异。
- 用「学校能交代」的语言说明：不要用激励的语气，而要让他们在被问时能回答得出来。
- 预期文书很多：IP、对外连线、用途说明，这些都是基本交通。
常见的难点
- 以为技术正确就够了：在学术网路里，制度往往比技术更先决定生死。
- 低估教育部管制的影响：大多数学校默认全面封锁，例外开放一定能回复流程。
- 没有想清楚维护与帐号问题：毕业后帐号权限，会直接影响不能长期维运。
结语
这次在台师大的Tor Relay尝试中，没有把最低点终点，也不是唯一的标准答案。但它至少证明了一件事：
- 在台湾的大学里，只要愿意沟通、愿意解释...
- 匿名网路仍然有位置。
如果未来我们希望在更多校园看到 Tor Relay，那些「不酷、但很花时间」的努力，可能才是最重要的基础。
延伸思考：为什么这样的尝试，值得留下来？
看完访谈，我们很容易把焦点放在「他初始化了什么」上。但对于匿名网路社区而言，更重要的其实是：这件事是怎么被初始化的。
在台湾，匿名网路并不缺技术文件，也不缺理念支持，真正稀少的，是「在现实制度里走过一次」的经验。尤其是在学术网路高度集中、对外连线受控的环境中，Tor Relay这类分散式匿名基础设施，本来就很容易存在。
这次台师大的实践工作，是一次在现实制度中踏出的实践尝试。它不是为了替匿名网路给出答案。它不能立即改变匿名网路的功能或安全性，也不是为了成为一套可直接复制的标准流程，但它成功留下了一条清晰可见、能被理解和参考的实践路径。
路径告诉我们：
- 匿名网路不一定只能在海外、地下或灰色地带运作
- 校园不是只有拒绝一种选择，需要把内容讲清楚
- 行政流程虽然繁琐，但仍有机会走通
- 技术之外、语言、耐心和制度理解同样重要
对台湾来说，匿名网路的推动，很可能从这些缓慢、琐碎、甚至有点笨拙的尝试积累开始。
如果未来，我们希望在更多大学、更多学术网路节点中，看到Tor Relay或其他匿名通讯基础设施，那么这些早期经验（成功或卡关）都值得被记录、被讨论、被传承。
网路的存在，来自社群在长时间的沟通、理解与协作中逐渐形成的成果。通过这样的过程，网路自由得以从概念，转化为可被实践的公共基础。
Tor × EFF 大学挑战计划：让你的学校成为匿名网路的一部分
Tor专案与美国电子前线基金会（EFF）共同推动Tor大学挑战赛（大学挑战计划），邀请全球的大学生在校园内，参与学术网路实际架构设置Tor Relay（中继节点），协助匿名网路的兼容与稳定。只要成功在大学校园中，利用学校网路建立并维运Tor Relay，就可以将学校名称登录到计画官方网站，让看到全世界你的大学，实际参与了匿名通讯与网路自由的基础建设。
这同时是技术挑战，也是一个象征：代表你的学校，愿意在教育与研究的领域中，支持隐私、匿名与开放网络的实践。在这次台湾师范大学的案例中，我们也看到在：只要愿意沟通、愿意理解制度，Tor Relay 就有机会出现台湾的校园。
如果你也在大学就读，对网路、资安、隐私或公共基础建设有兴趣，Tor University Challenge 提供了一个具体而可被记录的起点：让你的行动不再只停留在自己的电脑上，也能被世界看到。
→ 计划网站：https://toruniversity.eff.org
Tor Relay 在学术网路中的角色解说
很多人听过 Tor，但不一定理解它在「学术网路」里的意义。
Tor 中继是什么？
Tor是一个最终层级加密与多个节点转送流量的匿名通讯网路。其中Tor Relay（节点）的功能，是协助传递加密流量，本身看不到用户的来源与目的。
它不提供内容，也不访问出口节点。
为什么学术网路适合讨论 Tor Relay？
- 学术网路本来就承载实验性质
- 大学具有公共性与研究正当性
- 可以在受控环境中积累经验，必要完全仰赖海外资源
但同时，台湾学术网路高度集中、对外受控，这也让Tor在这里是一个「被压缩的实验」。
为什么即使效果有限，仍然值得做？
此次尝试要完成的重点是：
- 留下一条制度上「能走的路」
- 积累与学校沟通的经验
- 让匿名网络进入公众讨论，扩大只是地下技术
by toomore
This is a guest post from our friends at anoni.net. This article was made possible with support from Open Culture Foundation.
Preface: Why Talk About Anonymous Networks on Campus?
In many places, the internet is monitored closely and managed centrally. In that environment, anonymous communication is not just a technical choice. It supports safe exploration, research, and expression. In Taiwan, this matters because we sit in a sensitive part of East Asia. Internet freedom and communication resilience are practical skills for handling real pressure.
Universities and academic networks have historically been the earliest places where new technologies and public infrastructure are experimented with. The following interview documents how a computer science student at National Taiwan Normal University, also a member of the anonymous network community, stepped into institutional reality on campus, communicated with the university, and attempted to actually set up a Tor Relay.
Within the anonymous network community, people often talk about technology and ideals. The hard part is not the configuration itself. The question is whether the relay can survive in the real world.
This time, we interviewed a partner from the anonymous network community, NZ, who is currently studying in the Department of Computer Science at National Taiwan Normal University. He set up a Tor Relay on campus by working openly with the university system and completing the full administrative process.
蘇恩立 (Su En-Li, NZ) is currently a third-year undergraduate student in the Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering at National Taiwan Normal University. With a strong interest in information security and network governance, he is currently responsible for operating and maintaining the first Tor node on Taiwan Academic Network (TANet). In addition to hands-on technical practice, he is also dedicated to knowledge sharing, serving as an anonymous network course instructor in the GDGoC NTNU student club. He has long been involved in Taiwan's open source and information security communities, and has volunteered multiple times at major technical conferences such as SITCON, HITCON, and COSCUP, demonstrating both community service experience and strong technical passion.
Why Set Up a Tor Relay at a University?
His motivation was simple. If anonymous networks in Taiwan only show up in niche communities, overseas VPSs, or are treated as gray-area tools, they will not be taken seriously. Universities—especially academic networks like TANet—are meant to support research, experimentation, and public interest. That is why this kind of foundational infrastructure can fit there.
He was also fully aware of the real-world constraints. Taiwan's academic network is highly centralized, with outbound connectivity controlled by the Ministry of Education. In practice, this setup limits what anonymous networks can do.
Because of those limits, he wanted to find out: "Under such constraints, can it at least exist?"
How Did He Talk to the University? The Goal Was to Help Them Explain It Clearly
Administrative Process Timeline
When he moved from ideas to action, he did not frame Tor as something "cool" or radical. He explained it in terms the university could work with:
- This is a Tor Relay, not an Exit Node
- It does not directly provide content to external users
- It is an experiment in network infrastructure and anonymous communication
Process-wise, he exchanged emails with network administrators, professors, and the department chair. He made sure everyone who needed to sign off—or be "CC'd"—understood what this machine would do. The university's requirement was practical: if the Ministry of Education asked about it, they needed to be able to explain it. That became the entry point for communication.
The Administrative Process Is a Hassle, but It Can Still Work
Project Proposal Document
At National Taiwan Normal University, all outbound connections are blocked by default. Any service requires applying for an exception, including specifying IP addresses, intended use, and supporting documentation, and ultimately ensuring it aligns with the university's reporting procedures to the Ministry of Education. He described this process as annoying and predictable.
As long as one is willing to write the paperwork and explain things clearly, this path does exist.
Student Organizations and Outreach: Let Tor Mean More Than a Label
Student Organization Event: Anonymous Network Workshop
Beyond the machine itself, he also organized anonymous network–related activities through student clubs on campus, introducing Tor, anonymous communication, and the design principles behind them. Even if attendance wasn't always high, it helped create a place where people could understand that "anonymous networks ≠ criminal tools," without leaning on stereotypes.
These efforts may not be highly visible. They still matter.
Practical Advice and Pitfalls for Others
The following points are distilled from this experience, intended as a reference for anyone who wants to promote or deploy a Tor Relay on a university campus in the future.
Actionable Advice
- Take the public route from the start: don't wait until something goes wrong to explain—let network administrators and supervising professors know what you are doing early on.
- Clearly distinguish between a Tor Relay and an Exit Node: this is almost always the deciding factor in whether communication succeeds, so be explicit about the difference in risk.
- Explain things in a way the university can "account for": you are not asking faculty to support anonymous networks ideologically. You are making sure they can answer questions when asked.
- Expect a lot of paperwork: IP addresses, outbound connectivity, and usage descriptions are all basic requirements.
Common Pitfalls
- Assuming technical correctness is enough: within academic networks, institutional processes often determine success or failure before technology does.
- Underestimating the Ministry of Education's level of control: most universities block outbound connections by default, and any exceptions must align with formal reporting procedures.
- Failing to plan for maintenance and account ownership: account privileges after graduation directly affect whether long-term operation is possible.
Conclusion
This attempt to deploy a Tor Relay at National Taiwan Normal University is not an endpoint, and it is not a definitive answer. Still, it proves one thing clearly:
- Within Taiwanese universities, as long as one is willing to communicate and explain,
- Anonymous networks are not entirely without a place.
If we hope to see Tor Relays on more campuses in the future, these "uncool but time-consuming" efforts may well be the most important foundation of all.
Further Reflection: Why Are Attempts Like This Worth Preserving?
After reading this interview, it is easy to focus on "what he accomplished." For the anonymous network community, the key detail is "how this was accomplished."
In Taiwan, anonymous networks do not lack technical documentation or ideological support. The real scarcity is experience from actually working through the real institutional system once. Especially in an environment where academic networks are highly centralized and outbound connectivity is tightly controlled, distributed anonymous infrastructure like Tor Relays is inherently difficult to sustain.
This implementation at National Taiwan Normal University was not meant to provide a final answer for anonymous networks. It was a concrete attempt made within real-world institutions. It may not immediately improve the performance or security of anonymous networks, and it was not intended to become a directly reproducible standard process. What it did achieve was leaving behind a clearly visible path of practice—one that can be understood, referenced, and built upon.
This path shows us that:
- Anonymous networks do not necessarily have to operate only overseas, underground, or in legal gray areas
- Campuses are not places that can only reject such efforts; they need to be properly informed
- Administrative procedures may be cumbersome, but they are not entirely impossible
- Beyond technology, language, patience, and institutional understanding are equally important
For Taiwan, the advancement of anonymous networks is unlikely to begin with a "killer application." It will more likely grow from slow, tedious, and even somewhat clumsy attempts.
If, in the future, we hope to see Tor Relays or other anonymous communication infrastructure across more universities and academic network nodes, then these early experiences—whether successful or obstructed—are all worth recording, discussing, and passing on.
Anonymous networks exist because communities keep communicating, understanding each other, and cooperating over the long run. Through those processes, internet freedom can move from an abstract concept to public infrastructure that can actually be put into practice.
Tor × EFF University Challenge: Make Your Campus Part of the Anonymous Network
The Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) jointly run the Tor University Challenge, inviting university students around the world to set up Tor Relays on their campuses using academic networks. By successfully deploying and maintaining a Tor Relay within a university network, participating institutions can have their university names listed on the project's official website—showing the world that their campus is actively contributing to the infrastructure of anonymous communication and internet freedom.
This is both a technical challenge and a symbolic act: it represents a university's willingness to support the practice of privacy, anonymity, and an open internet within the realms of education and research. In the National Taiwan Normal University case discussed here, we saw the same point in practice: if people are willing to communicate and understand institutional constraints, Tor Relays can exist on Taiwanese campuses.
If you are currently a university student with an interest in networking, cybersecurity, privacy, or public infrastructure, the Tor University Challenge offers a concrete and documentable starting point: make your work visible beyond your own computer—so others can see it.
→ Project website: https://toruniversity.eff.org
The Role of Tor Relays in Academic Networks
Many people have heard of Tor, but do not necessarily understand its significance within academic networks.
What Is a Tor Relay?
Tor is an anonymous communication network that routes traffic through multiple nodes using layered encryption. A Tor Relay (middle relay) helps forward encrypted traffic and, by design, cannot see either the user's source or the final destination.
It does not provide content. It is not an exit node.
Why Are Academic Networks Suitable for Discussing Tor Relays?
- Academic networks are inherently meant to support experimentation
- Universities carry public responsibility and research legitimacy
- Experience can be accumulated in a controlled environment, rather than relying solely on overseas resources
Taiwan's academic network is highly centralized and externally controlled, so Tor's presence here feels more like a "compressed experiment."
Why Is It Still Worth Doing Even If the Impact Is Limited?
The goal is not only performance. We are trying to:
- Leave behind an institutionally "viable path"
- Accumulate experience in communicating with universities
- Bring anonymous networks into public discussion, rather than leaving them as underground technologies
