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Comment by Bender

1 day ago

It's crazier than that. I block two entire continents. Don't worry you are not missing anything. There is a link to archive.is that mirrors the page if you are curious.

I’ll tell you why this isn’t a great experience for me. I try to actively participate on HN, and based on a title I click on posts that promise to be educational or thought-provoking. The topic of combatting bots is very much on my mind.

Instead of learning something I get a blank screen, for the crime of being interested and living somewhere you deem block worthy. Cool.

  • Oh I came around myself. We got a blank screen and then the author was awesome and explained themselves and I'm satisfied having this one link as an extreme blocking test. Especially because they were thoughtful enough to archive the site themselves.

    Our situations to be fair aren’t equivalent. If my block were due to my region instead of an optional paid service, that would feel worse. Maybe it wouldn’t have been the first time either. Whole continents written off!

    Let’s certainly loudly complain if someone implements all these methods and inadvertently blocks us when they should’ve known better or don’t care about collateral damage. (If they’re apologetic, between a rock and a hard place with receipts, would require further discussion. e.g. is their choice really between serving us and closing shop)

    Edit: but title could add “(but don’t)” at the end