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Comment by CqtGLRGcukpy

3 hours ago

Non-cloudflare link that basically says the same thing: https://mstdn.social/@stux/117186158784673388

Why is cloudflare a problem?

  • Cloudflare doesn't reliably let me through.

    • It regularly blocks me too. I've begun search Google for: what does [url] say about [search query]

      It'll make a Gemini summary of the page, and can be prompted for more details. It's really the only use for Gemini I've found reliable. I'd still rather directly view the output of the scraper bot, though.

      If anyone knows a good scraping bot that lets you view the output directly, without running it through an LLM, please let me know.

  • Because they slow down and often block access to websites, particularly for people that try to avoid being fingerprinted or otherwise tracked. Pretty evil behavior.

    • It is very challenging to distinguish individuals interested in privacy from bots acting maliciously or with reckless indifference. If you devise a way to do this more effectively than Cloudflare, you should start a business to sell this as a service.

      4 replies →

    • Don't listen to these hecklers, you have every right to your privacy, and should demand it. Anonymity is paramount if people want to be able to talk without repercussions. Gaslighting, heckling and other forms of harassment are to convince you to self censor. Don't take the bait. Ignore them.

    • > Because they slow down and often block access to websites, particularly for people that try to avoid being fingerprinted or otherwise tracked. Pretty evil behavior.

      Bots and scrapers and hackers also try and avoid being tracked, which is by far a bigger problem for them and most websites than the 15 of us using tons of antifingerprinting techniques. Evil? No, that's silly.