The colors of Dark web [draft title]

[mozfest-bot]

[ UUID ] ef5eebb9-114c-421f-a855-b8777ccf31e5

[ Session Name ] The colors of Dark web
[ Primary Space ] Web Literacy
[ Secondary Space ] Privacy and Security

[ Submitter's Name ] Satwik Kansal
[ Submitter's Affiliated Organisation ]
[ Submitter's Github ] satwikkansal

[ Additional facilitators ] Gautam Prajapati,

What will happen in your session?

The Deep web isn’t all dark and the Dark Web has a bright side as well!

In this session we’ll understand concepts like “Surface Web”, “Deep Web”, “Dark Web”, and the “Darknet”.

We’ll explore the working of the products like TOR or I2P which anonymize user identity and offer services to view/create websites on the so-called Darknet. We’ll go through the process of setting up system for browsing .onion sites using TOR Browser, and the process to publish hidden websites on TOR network.

We’ll see how it's practically impossible to shut down a Darknet and why “deciding if Dark Web is useful for us” is a better option than “Staying away from the Dark Web due to the mythical fear”.

What is the goal or outcome of your session?

The aim of the session is to:

• Introduce people to the terminologies of Dark web, the working of the “Onion Networks”, the Tor project, and the process of configuring their systems to access as well as create websites on Darknet.
• Bust some common myths about the Dark web.
• Make audience familiar with the Darknet environment in general (how most websites look like, the urls, how transactions occur using cryptocurrencies, etc)
• Make participants aware of the illegal activities that are claimed to happen on the Dark Web and how one can stay away from them while utilizing the benefits of a Darknet in terms of anonymity, privacy and security (the bright side of the Dark web).

If your session requires additional materials or electronic equipment, please outline your needs.

Projector and Internet connection.

Time needed

90 mins

[flukeout]

Hi @satwikkansal - thanks for submitting your proposal. I wanted to double-check about the travel stipend: Are you able to attend without, or is the stipend absolutely required for you to come to Mozfest? Let me know, thank you!

Also, do you think your session could fit into the Decentralization space?

[satwikkansal]

Hey @flukeout

As I'm a student, it's very tough for me to travel on my own expenses, so a stipend would be highly appreciated :)

Also, do you think your session could fit into the Decentralization space?

Yes it can be, my initial idea was to make people aware of the working, dos and don't s of Dark web. But it can be reshaped to focus more on understanding the decentralized technologies behind it in detail, hence fitting it into Decentralization space. Anyways, if this session is selected and there's a choice, I'd prefer it to remain in Web Literacy space, otherwise I'm fine with adapting it accordingly.

[bunnybooboo]

@satwikkansal We have other Tor/I2P sessions proposed in the P&S space this year. I particularly like the clear way you've communicated the benefits of these technologies. Asking a core question, if "the dark web is useful to us" an example of that clarity.

Do you have any specific use cases which you might be exploring in your session? This could help shape it into something quite fun & attention grabbing on the agenda.

Am I correct in assuming this is in a lecture style? How do you intend to engage participants? They may arrive at your session a little tired and distracted by the large venue.

And finally, can you speak about how you might leverage the gifting of a stipend?

[satwikkansal]

Hey @bunnybooboo , thanks for your comments.

Going through your questions one by one :)

Do you have any specific use cases which you might be exploring in your session?

The way I’ve planned the session right now in terms of use-cases is:

• Show the participants some promising use-cases of the dark web (basically browsing the already existing .onion site for the respective use case). I’ve found some very interesting use cases till now, some of them being
  • Online publications (generally used by whistleblowers)
  • Social networks (pretty similar to the most popular social networking websites on the surface web).
  • Email clients.
  • Free research paper collection with a vision to liberate the world’s scientific knowledge and make it accessible to everyone.
  • Search engines that enable to search websites without being tracked and monitored.
  • Last but not the least, wikis for such sites 😅
• Demonstrate participants how to host a website on TOR network: the use-case which I have thought for this part is “a Reddit-like site where anyone can just pick a username and share their views”. I think this will align with very core use-case of the dark web i.e. “The freedom of expression”.

Am I correct in assuming this is in a lecture style?

Yes, a kind of lecture session with slides and animations. The session also contains the demonstration of:
Configuring your system for accessing Darknet.
Hosting a website on the TOR network.
I plan to proceed with the demonstration part at a pace such that participants could follow along if they wish.

How do you intend to engage participants?

I’m trying to develop a storyline to keep users engaged till the end of the session (like starting with participants views regarding dark web, then discussing the privacy issues with existing surface web, establishing the need for something like Darknet, the busting myths one by one and explaining what exactly darknet is, then setting up the systems for accessing darknet, familiarizing participants with the usage of darknet environment (how to search for a website, how do urls look like, dos and don’t s, common methods of payment used), and finally demonstrating how to host your own website on Darknet.)

Apart from this, to make this session as interactive and engaging as possible, I’ll ask a lot of questions, probably add some memes into the slides, and conduct a 5-10 min discussion session at the end where participants can just share their ideas/opinions with everyone.

Also, I’m thinking of more creative ideas that can be leveraged to make this session more interesting. If someone has suggestions, please feel free to discuss it here :)

Can you speak about how you might leverage the gifting of a stipend?

I personally like the open-process for Mozfest’s proposal selection because the selection depends on the quality & content of the proposal and not necessarily on the professional experience of the submitters. This is especially a great opportunity for those students for whom either professional experience or financial aid is a limiting factor to attend & present at learning-intensive international events like Mozfest (and I’m also one such student 😅).

If given a gift of a stipend, I’ll take it as a big opportunity to discover, learn, and meet awesome people. All of the exposure, experiences, knowledge and community connections that I gain at such event will definitely be useful in my upcoming career in Computer Science and I would try my best to make them count in the long run.

PS: I was unaware that there are multiple sessions already proposed for TOR/I2P. If my session ends up in Web Literacy space, I would like to focus slightly more on the applications & benefits of the Darknet and make participants realize the need for technology/concept like Dark web to protect their exposed privacy in the current internet where certain organizations are trying to regulate & monitor the activities of the users for their self-benefit.

Hope I was able to answer all your questions :)

[satwikkansal]

Hey everyone,

I thought of an idea of a simple discussion forum, for the purpose of demonstrating how to build a Tor hidden service to the participants. It's very basic as of now, would appreciate any suggestions regarding this.

Here's the link https://github.com/satwikkansal/tor-hidden-service-python

[bunnybooboo]

Ooh we have LOADS to help us with our further consideration phase. Thanks heaps @satwikkansal!! I'll personally have to defer any feedback on that repo for now. I'll communicate your request to the team.

One thing I have to draw your attention to is the use of terminology like 'darkweb' and 'darknet'. This is often used alongside negative spin from the media and a 'straw man argument' framing we're keen to not give further air time. That part of your proposal needs review.

Semantics aside, we're at that point in further discussion of stipends. Some really ace proposals will unfortunately have to be declined this year due to access to stipends. If we were unable to provide this to you this year, would you have any other potential way of attending Mozfest?

Some of our team are away this week, so please be patient with us this last few weeks of selection.

[satwikkansal]

Hey @bunnybooboo, thanks for your response again :)

Regarding the terminology, I stressed more on those terms just because it is how these concepts are commonly known (despite different possible under-the-hood technologies), and the general outlook of people towards such a promising technologies definitely needs to be changed. But yeah, I agree with you, being an informative session on web literacy, this can be framed differently to give a clearer picture to the participants.

Regarding the stipends, I really really want to attend Mozfest, but I’m a Student and given my financial constraints, it doesn’t seem possible for me to fly to Mozfest without financial assistance (even my university doesn’t sponsor students for such programs).

I can only hope for the best :) . Anyways, in any case, I'd love to hear feedback on the proposal after the selections are out.

[bunnybooboo]

I'm sorry to have to inform you, your proposal did not make it to our draft P&S space schedule.

[satwikkansal]

I see, may I know if it is still into consideration for Web Literacy Space? or does that mean I should try again next year 😅

[flukeout]

@satwikkansal - unfortunately we will not be able to accept your session at this year's festival. We had many excellent submissions and simply do not have enough travel stipends available to accommodate everyone. Thanks for your understanding and for submitting your proposal.

[mozfest-bot]

Thank you for taking the time to submit a session to MozFest. Due to the high level of submissions, we’re unable to accept all proposals and unfortunately, your session was not part of the final group.

Thank you for taking the time to submit and we will follow up on email very soon.