I don't mind writing a short and simple howto run and host a mail server, but not sure would it would add to the hundreds already out there on tinternet already.
But...
Whilst it may be harder for TPTB to retro-actively search all your emails, if your email is being delivered in plaintext they can just sniff it at isp level.
But if they want it, they'll knock your door down and take it. And they knock quite hard. (And they don't pay for repairs! Not even to the landlord!)
And if you choose not to reveal your keys, passwords or locations - there's some rather harsh penalties which (I understand) can keep you in jail pretty much forever if they can't break your encryption by technical means and have reasonable suspicion you're doing something bad. (I've not monitored this as closely as perhaps I should, nor do I know if it's been acted upon as it takes away the assumption of innocent until proven guilty along with some other anti-terror legislation)
The only thing that stops online privacy being completely hopeless is they don't have the resources to police everything. Interesting to note they're constantly pushing for more spending on this though. On the news this week - policing and enforcing in the name of protecting kids. Laudible, of course, which makes it look bad for questioning those who wonder if that money might be spent elsewhere in online policing.
Also in the news a lot this year is the repeated announcement that we should not expect online privacy. This is paving the way for even more intrusive monitoring soon. (In my cynical, but world-proven suspicious mind). I was always amused at Debian restrictions on installing certain types of encryption some years ago - and it would make you aware that some packages were illegal in the USA. Only now that knowledge we're being watched and monitored in the UK as well is more to the fore. Not just by our own government either.
But (2)...
