Hi Nick. While sipping my morning coffee I just realized that you might not be aware of my sinister long schemes, and that might be to the detriment of us both.
The roadmap I have for myself goes something like...
Step 1: Write Stem so we have a well tested, stable controller library. (Done [1]) Step 2: Write a control interpreter to greatly simplify low level controller troubleshooting. (Done [2]) Step 3: Rewrite arm, both simplifying the codebase and smoothing the rough edges that have confused users for years. (In progress, gonna keep me busy for the better part of a year) Step 4: Write a web interface similar to arm, so relay operators can have a nice monitor by going to localhost. [3]
I bring this up because honestly we don't communicate much. I don't know core tor's long term plans, and I get the impression you don't know much about Stem either.
My hope had been that at step #3 we'd start bundling arm and Stem with the Tor relaying bundle, providing users both a terminal monitor and the tor-prompt command. But since we axed that with the removal of Vidalia I suppose I'll need to hit step #4 before proposing that we re-introduce those bundles (... and by extension making it so Windows and OSX users can once have an easy option for relaying).
Have you ever used Stem's tor-prompt before?
https://stem.torproject.org/tutorials/down_the_rabbit_hole.html
If not then I'd appreciate input so this can be a useful tool to you before proposing that we make it more widely available.
Cheers! -Damian
PS. More general ideas on directions to take Stem, the tor-prompt, and this whole space are also welcome both from you and the list!
[1] https://stem.torproject.org/ [2] https://stem.torproject.org/tutorials/down_the_rabbit_hole.html [3] https://www.torproject.org/getinvolved/volunteer.html.en#relayWebPanel