I am conducting a research project on the use of encryption (some of which is used to protect or conceal illegal activities). Some of my interviewees have mentioned the dark web. I have recruited primarily through Reddit. I find a subreddit of particular interest, contact the mods to see if I have their blessing to post a recruitment message, and then post. The key is to stay on top of comments and PMs. I was unfamiliar with Reddit before beginning this project, but a friend gave me a quick overview and the learning curve has not been steep. Contrary to my anxious expectations, the folks on Reddit have been welcoming, kind, and receptive (even, often, enthusiastic subjects). I haven’t specifically looked for dark web info, but I know there are some subreddits related to the dark web. That may be a place to begin recruitment (or learning about folks who are interested in the dark web). I echo others: I strongly suggest you set up encrypted email (Proton Mail is very user friendly), use a VPN, and take other precautions. Dr. Shannon M. Oltmann Assistant Professor School of Information Science College of Communication & Information University of Kentucky shannon.oltmann@uky.edu 320 Lucille Little Library Lexington KY 40506 859-257-0788 859-257-4205 (fax) From: Renata Aquino Ribeiro<mailto:raquino@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2017 3:04 PM To: air-l@listserv.aoir.org<mailto:air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Subject: Re: [Air-L] dark web recruitment Hi I haven't yet quite understood what do you want to do but you don't need to go to the dark web yourself to collect stories, imho I think hackerspaces would be a good place to find people to interview as well as spaces which discuss free speech online. I have recently participated in a v. good discussion about this in Ekospace Buenos Aires and there was a researcher from UESPI there involved w/ Tor Project who may help. Now, if you're looking for commercial illegal activity on the dark web, that's a whole other side of things. In any web you'd be vulnerable anyway. You should also not be billing all illegalism in the world to it, you can get illegal stuff on ebay. Best, Renata _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/