And thanks to nobody for help on this one ...
That's okay, though, as it took a bit of finagling until I got Tor Browser
working more or less right. I just don't remember it being so much work, but
then I haven't used it for quite a few years.
In the end, I went back to the version that's current for my system, although
I don't know if that was part of the cure, as I haven't tried using the sid
(or unstable experimental version, or whatever it is). I thought it might be
something to do with Debian and Devuan not playing well together, but the
packages are in the Devuan repositories, so I don't think that was it.
Anyway, I am posting my results here, just it case somebody else out there
might find it useful, if they are trying to install it.
As I mentioned before, for my own system, I had to run the command "firejail
torbrowser-launcher"; but that's because I have firejail installed, so I have
to do it with all my browsers, as well as a few other programs. If you don't
use firejail, then you can ignore that bit.
Once I finally got it to launch: when I tried to configure torbrowser to use
proxy servers, but it would only accept the http/https configuration,
127.0.0.1:8118, which is to use privoxy. Somewhere, I believe on the Tor
Project website, I read that Socks5 is the preferred configuration:
127.0.0.1:9050, and set that to be used by all protocols. But when I tried
this, I couldn't connect.
Somewhere or other I got the notion to try enabling the built-in bridges in
the Tor Browser. I tried 'em all, off and on, the obs4, snowflake and meek,
and all seem to work, but takes time, and requires patience. Eventually,
using bridges, the Tor Browser connnected, and only then could I use the
Socks5 configuration.
Since I started doing this, my internet connection also seems much more
stable, though this may be a coincidence, or not.
This brings me to the point that connects it to TDE, so that this is not
completely off-topic.
This issue, which concerns tork-trinity, is what started all this bother. I
would like to be able to continue to use tork-trinity to manage my proxy
connections, as it has many features that I will miss if I try doing it
manually. For one thing, I can watch all my internet traffic over proxies in
real time. (And since I started using the Tor Browser, I now also see the new
connections, bridges, and so on. It may be, because I use the bridges, and
there always seems to be a trickle of bits/second, that it keeps my
connection alive?)
The problem with tork-trinity is that it's a kind of legacy package, I would
guess. The KDE3 version was discarded when KDE started on its terrible
campaign of transmogrification into an ugly pile of krap, and only Trinity
desktop keeps it alive. However, I cannot add the most recent Tor bridges to
tork-trinity. It seems that tork-trinity uses a list that is obsolete, and
now they are listed in a different form.
Is there some way, for the present moment, to copy those Tor bridges, that I
get from the Tor Browser, and paste them into tork-trinity?
tork-trinity > Settings > Configure TorK > Firewall/Censor Evasion > Evade
Censorship
When I click the button to use bridges
My State or Service Provider Censors the Use of Tor
I end up with a lot of useless bridge addresses, and it sometimes interferes a
little with my connection, or so it seems.
If there is no way to hack it to use the current bridges, then is it possible
to modify or upgrade the tork-trinity package, so that it is up-to-date with
current usage methods for the Tor bridges? I don't know how much trouble this
might cause, and I realize that the developers don't have time for
everything.
But tork-trinity is so very useful. I feel sure others would agree, if they
have used it.
If necessary, I can make a feature request, or whatever is appropriate.
Bill