What current attempts are there to replace email with something secure rather than encryption slapped on after the fact like with email? Desirable properties would be like, for example, Google Wave had a federated model which thus allows you to run your own server which gets around the problem of the feds backdooring web based encrypted solutions like Lavabit.
Email, like Google Wave, already is a federated model and you can indeed run it on your own server. Problem it's not practical for people to run servers 24/7 from their home Internet connections. You can remove this burden from people by having a company that hosts everyone's in a data center, but then we're right back at the same place as email: if you get an NSL you have to comply or go under.<p>So decentralized might be a better way to go. Have you tried <a href="https://bitmessage.org/" rel="nofollow">https://bitmessage.org/</a> ?