I don't if its borne more out of cynicism or laziness, but I feel as though if a shadowy government organization has the ability to peer into every major facet of the Internet, me encrypting my email isn't going to do much to stop them from getting whatever they want to know about me.
(Put another way: I'm more embarrassed about the subreddits I browse than the emails I send.)
> (Put another way: I'm more embarrassed about the subreddits I browse than the emails I send.)
That is probably true for a lot of people. I hope reddit admins shed some light on this: how long are the logs identifying users stored for? What is the chance that they can be stolen, or given up en masse to the authorities? Roughly what number of IP's have been requested by the authorities -- hundreds of them? thousands? Or?
> encrypting my email isn't going to do much to stop them from getting whatever they want to know about me
Overused analogy: if a burglar wants to break into your {car,house,...} bad enough, they eventually will. Do you make it easier on them by leaving your windows open and doors unlocked?
(Put another way: I'm more embarrassed about the subreddits I browse than the emails I send.)