#1 Få dina vänner eller samfund intresserade

Om du hör dina vänner knorra om brist på integritet, fråga om de skulle vara intresserade av en workshop om Mejl Självförsvar. Om dina vänner inte knorrar kanske de är i behov av lite övertygande motivering. Du kanske till och med får höra det klassiska "om du inte har något att dölja, så har du inget att oroa dig för" argumentet mot kryptering.

Här är några samtalsämnen som du kan använda för att förklara varför det är värt mödan att lära sig GnuPG. Blanda och plocka de som du tror kan passa in i ditt sammanhang.

Styrkan med att vara fler

Varje person som motsätter sig massövervakning via kryptering gör det enklare för andra att också stå emot. Personer som normaliserar användandet av stark kryptering bidrar till multipla kraftfulla effekter: det innebär att de som behöver kryptering som mest, som visselblåsare och aktivister, har en bättre chans att lära sig om kryptering. Fler personer som använder kryptering leder till att det blir svårare för övervakningssystem att sortera ut de som inte kan kosta på sig att bli hittade, och visar solidaritet med dessa människor

Personer som du respekterar kanske redan använder kryptering

Många journalister, visselblåsare, aktivister och forskare använder GnuPG, så dina vänner har kanske omedvetet hört om en del personer som redan använder det. Du kan söka efter "BEGIN PUBLIC KEY BLOCK" + nyckelord för att hjälpa till att göra en lista på personer och organisationer som använder GnuPG och som din gemenskap troligtvis känner till.

Respektera dina vänners integritet

Det finns inget objektivt sätt att avgöra vad som är integritetskänslig korrespondens. Därför är det bättre att inte bara ta för givet, för att du tycker ett mejl är harmlöst, att din vän (eller en övervakningsagent för den delen!) tycker på samma sätt. Visa dina vänner respekt genom att kryptera din korrespondens med dem.

Privacy technology is normal in the physical world

In the physical realm, we take window blinds, envelopes, and closed doors for granted as ways of protecting our privacy. Why should the digital realm be any different?

We shouldn't have to trust our email providers with our privacy

Some email providers are very trustworthy, but many have incentives not to protect your privacy and security. To be empowered digital citizens, we need to build our own security from the bottom up.

#2 Plan The Workshop

Once you've got at least one interested friend, pick a date and start planning out the workshop. Tell participants to bring their computer and ID (for signing each other's keys). If you'd like to make it easy for the participants to use Diceware for choosing passwords, get a pack of dice beforehand. Make sure the location you select has an easily accessible Internet connection, and make backup plans in case the connection stops working on the day of the workshop. Libraries, coffee shops, and community centers make great locations. Try to get all the participants to set up an Enigmail-compatible email client before the event. Direct them to their email provider's IT department or help page if they run into errors.

Estimate that the workshop will take at least forty minutes plus ten minutes for each participant. Plan extra time for questions and technical glitches.

The success of the workshop requires understanding and catering to the unique backgrounds and needs of each group of participants. Workshops should stay small, so that each participant receives more individualized instruction. If more than a handful of people want to participate, keep the facilitator to participant ratio high by recruiting more facilitators, or by facilitating multiple workshops. Small workshops among friends work great!

#3 Follow the guide as a group

Work through the Email Self-Defense guide a step at a time as a group. Talk about the steps in detail, but make sure not to overload the participants with minutia. Pitch the bulk of your instructions to the least tech-savvy participants. Make sure all the participants complete each step before the group moves on to the next one. Consider facilitating secondary workshops afterwards for people that had trouble grasping the concepts, or those that grasped them quickly and want to learn more.

In Section 2 of the guide, make sure the participants upload their keys to the same keyserver so that they can immediately download each other's keys later (sometimes there is a delay in synchronization between keyservers). During Section 3, give the participants the option to send test messages to each other instead of or as well as Edward. Similarly, in Section 4, encourage the participants to sign each other's keys. At the end, make sure to remind people to safely back up their revocation certificates.

#4 Explain the pitfalls

Remind participants that encryption works only when it's explicitly used; they won't be able to send an encrypted email to someone who hasn't already set up encryption. Also remind participants to double-check the encryption icon before hitting send, and that subjects and timestamps are never encrypted.

Explain the dangers of running a proprietary system and advocate for free software, because without it, we can't meaningfully resist invasions of our digital privacy and autonomy.

#5 Share additional resources

GnuPG's advanced options are far too complex to teach in a single workshop. If participants want to know more, point out the advanced subsections in the guide and consider organizing another workshop. You can also share GnuPG's and Enigmail's official documentation and mailing lists. Many GNU/Linux distribution's Web sites also contain a page explaining some of GnuPG's advanced features.

#6 Follow up

Make sure everyone has shared email addresses and public key fingerprints before they leave. Encourage the participants to continue to gain GnuPG experience by emailing each other. Send them each an encrypted email one week after the event, reminding them to try adding their public key ID to places where they publicly list their email address.

If you have any suggestions for improving this workshop guide, please let us know at campaigns@fsf.org.