Ask Lemmy
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NOT be able to [...]
Spoiler: You are absolutely still able to :P
To those who didn't click onward, the answer in that post is apparently 2 years (by implication of its post date)
Ironically it also invalidates the top comment in this thread claiming they aren't concerned with VPNs, just specific VPN IPs that have been abused in the past.
It says its due to people posting illegal content. Also, if you see this, I'm running a VPN and it worked. VPNs are just other people's IP addresses that massive amounts of folks use. 1 bad apple ruins the lot.
That's not usually how it works. Sites ban and block IP addresses. Someone going through your VPN caused such issues that Lemmy.world blocked the IP. The VPN is being used to abuse people. That's not a VPN's fault, but the nature of the beast.
I personally don't think a VPN is even necessary with the Fediverse, as none of us are going to collect IP's. But try changing the VPN's location or trying a different VPN.
as none of us are going to collect IP's
then consider that not only your server operator has the capability, but any image host too that is referenced in a post or comment
none of us are going to collect IPs
Bold claim.
That’s not usually how it works.
It is apparently how it works for lemmy.world, as of at least this post from two years ago:
Not sure about that last paragraph. How would an instance block an IP without storing IPs?
How would an instance block an IP without storing IPs?
They could be blocking entire IP ranges. So they wouldn't have to store specific IPs. I'm not in the hosting industry but I would imagine there are groups tracking the CIDR blocks (IP ranges) that VPN providers use for their exit nodes. If such a list exists, a host could simply subscribe to accept whatever updates occur to those lists and implement the block for them.
Yes, when you ban. You can see IP addresses coming through, but the fediverse folks aren't leveraging your IP for any kind of advantage. No tracking for ads or things. So what security precautions are we taking for Fediverse servers? I peraonnaly do the feel the need, but I'm sure there at valid reasons to do it. But if it's just tracking and ads, they don't exist here really.
Honestly, if security is a main concern for anyone here, you should run your own. Anyone can run any of this. Follow what you want, then all connections to Lemmy.world come from your server you control that you connect to. I'm on piefed.social, but I'm planning on running my own eventually.
The gamble of the fediverse is that you're outside the realm of the blatantly bad actors like the Zucks and Muskerburgs, but you're also off the edge of the map. No reason to believe that there be no dragons here. Anyone can run one, which includes bad actors. I wouldn't be implicitly trusting that the hundreds of individual volunteers that keep the fediverse afloat all have good intentions. cough.ml serverscough
Your coughing might have caused you to not hear that those ml server folks literally wrote the software you are using...
the software is open source. we can verify it doesn't do anything bad. the server is what you cannot trust.
False. I'm using piefed. Also, so what? Doesn't make what I've said incorrect.
My guess is that the IP got flagged. In my personal experience, around 70% of VPN servers in California don't let me post on Lemmy for some reason so I just avoid that area entirely at this point. Unfortunately, shitty people use VPNs to do shitty things too.
Not really an answer, but lassaiz-fair approach with VPN/Tor for a community like this is just a call for disaster.
Can't have nice things. Can't really complain either imo. Thats's just how the world is.
idk man, sh.it just .works here 👀
(use another instance lmao)
I hit the same issue a couple weeks ago. I wonder if it’s tied to the Fediverse Chick thing or people who were spamming CSAM
ain't it typical, tho?
I dunno, but since the Threadiverse is federated, you can post on any community on lemmy.world (or elsewhere) that a federated instance can see by just creating an account on that instance.
https://piefed.fediverse.observer/
https://lemmy.fediverse.observer/
https://mbin.fediverse.observer/
I mean, there are plenty of public instances out there to choose from.
EDIT: If @dsilverz@calckey.world is correct that it's some issue that CloudFlare is taking with the exit address on the VPN, you can check whether a given instance is using CloudFlare by running whois on its IP address.
For lemmy.today:
$ host lemmy.today
lemmy.today has address 5.78.97.5
[snip]
$ whois 5.78.97.5|grep -i ^netname
netname: CLOUD-HIL
Not using CloudFlare.
for lemmy.world:
$ host lemmy.world
lemmy.world has address 104.26.9.209
[snip]
$ whois 104.26.9.209|grep -i ^netname
NetName: CLOUDFLARENET
$
Using CloudFlare.
@HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world @asklemmy@lemmy.world
lemmy.world uses Cloudflare. I particularly don't use VPNs, but I see the CAPTCHA whenever I use mobile data (Brazilian mobile carriers) instead of my fiber optic internet to access lemmy.world (I access lemmy.world alongside other Lemmy instances, as a guest (without account) in order to read the threadiverse, as my Fediverse account is hosted by a Sharkey/Calckey instance).
The fact that lemmy.world uses Cloudflare seems to be the main reason why it's refusing your VPN. Cloudflare is particularly stubborn with VPNs. Doesn't seem to have anything to do with lemmy.world per se (although I'm aware the webmaster can configure things on Cloudflare, including the conditions to trigger the CAPTCHA).
Turns out it's not a Cloudflare issue, but a lemmy.world admin issue:
For me it works when I log out/log in while connected to the VPN. But sometimes when I'm at a different access point and my routing changes, it goes back to me not being able to comment.