Seems contrary to the whole lemmyverse/fediverse model, doesn't it?
Feel free to use another instance if it bugs you too much. Every instance has their own rules and still allows cross communication with most.
Lemmy.World blocks VPN?
Submitted 2 days ago by Bonus@piefed.social to [deleted]
https://media.piefed.social/posts/rY/GK/rYGKefmHBKzLH7g.jpg
Comments
CaptainBasculin@lemmy.bascul.in 2 days ago
frightful_hobgoblin@lemmy.ml 2 days ago
.world is shit for privacy. They prioritise their ability to censor over anonymity.
Bonus@piefed.social 2 days ago
It doesn't bother me really. I just was surprised to notice it. Maybe it just somehow wasn't affecting me till now.
9point6@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Spammers were using vpns to evade bans and flood Lemmy.world with illegal content a while ago
I assume this is a holdover from that
Smaller instances with less open sign-up probably don’t have the same blocks
hisao@ani.social 2 days ago
Yeah, and this gets asked from time to time. It was the first instance I tried to use and couldn’t because of VPN. I tried a bunch of instances and I’ve never seen another one blocking VPNs. Some instances don’t even require email verification.
Bonus@piefed.social 2 days ago
Now that you mention it, that's what makes it stand out. I've been checking out various instances and hadn't seen this elsewhere.
moody@lemmings.world 2 days ago
It’s odd because on PC I can post there on VPN, but on mobile I can’t.
hisao@ani.social 1 day ago
It’s just blacklists not including all IPs. With ProtonVPN you can switch servers for few minutes to find one that isn’t on VPN blacklists.
FelixCress@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Some instances don’t even require email verification.
Which ones?
hisao@ani.social 1 day ago
I don’t remember which exact one I was talking about, but I was able to find another like this real quick: leftopia.org/signup
ada@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
blahaj zone doesn't, but we manually approve applications.
orhtej2@eviltoast.org 2 days ago
First day on the fediverse? Don’t browse by New in case CSAM comes back, fuck that.
And lo and behold, sickos who posted that shit hid behind Tor and public VPNs, fuck that as well.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 1 day ago
They’re using the same blocklists everybody else uses. If your current IP address (as seen by lemmy.world) has been known to send a lot of bad stuff, it goes on the list. Same as with Tor exit nodes.
glitchdx@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Does it? I’m using a vpn and I’m on .world and it seems to work just fine.
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
It’s just a basic IP blacklist, not a true VPN ban. They’re not going out of their way to block every VPN server. Shortly after the Reddit API exodus, some bad actors were using VPNs to spam CSAM everywhere, trying to get instances shut down. This was before automod capabilities were really fleshed out, and child porn laws made it illegal for the instance owners to have it uploaded or even cached. So it was a big issue where several instances started locking sign-ups and blanket defederating to try and avoid the CSAM getting cached via users scrolling past it. Attackers started finding abandoned instances with lax sign-up rules, and would create like a dozen accounts to spam from; many instances switched to federation whitelists (instead of blacklists), so those smaller zombie instances wouldn’t be federated by default. So if you’re on a VPN, you might be fine. But you also might be blocked, if you land on the same IP that someone uploaded CSAM from.
P00ptart@lemmy.world 1 day ago
There are instances where I can’t vote or comment if my VPN is active, but .world doesn’t seem to be one of them.
Bonus@piefed.social 1 day ago
Good point. I just turned off the browser extension and used the desktop program instead and it doesn't give me the same error. Clearly, it is not a universal ban but only detects some conditions.
Auk@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Just pause your vpn when you want to upload.
Ledivin@lemmy.world 2 days ago
lol, why use a VPN at all if you’re going to allow yourself to be fingerprinted like this?
cecilkorik@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
Because you have to choose who to trust. You can’t “trust no one”. You’re currently trusting your VPN provider. Are you willing to trust lemmy.world? No? Fine, then don’t. Set up your own instance, or use another one you are willing to trust, or find one that allows your VPN that you trust. No one promises these would be easy decisions but you’re going to have to make these choices. A web without any trust is a useless cesspool. Believe me, it’s been tried.
deadcream@sopuli.xyz 2 days ago
VPN does very little to stop fingerprinting done by websites. Your IP address is only a tiny bit of information in a vast ocean of data that websites can collect from you. “VPN = privacy” is a marketing scam. The only ones it protects your from is your ISP. VPN’s purpose is to hide you web traffic from your ISP, bypass website bans kindly mandated by the government to “protect” you and enforced by ISP, or to hide torrent traffic (again detected by your ISP), etc.
mic_check_one_two@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
VPNs don’t stop fingerprinting. IP addresses are nebulous and change all the time. All a VPN does is hide your traffic from your ISP. So they’re handy for things like torrenting, where you might otherwise catch a scary letter from said ISP.
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 2 days ago
because assholes like to fingerprint uploads from their own private servers in DMs to try to dox you.
favoredponcho@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Lemmy.world got hit with tons of spam early in its life. Someone was uploading CSAM and other disgusting images.
Bonus@piefed.social 2 days ago
As a large popular instance, that makes sense. Thanks.
lemjukes@sopuli.xyz 2 days ago
Oh well that would explain the ‘instability’ I kept experiencing on voyager with a vpn on. That error didn’t pass through so I just assumed the instance was struggling and swapped to be with the Finns.
Tiffany1994@lemmy.cafe 22 hours ago
I hope lemmy.world does not implement age verification under pressure from the UK. Lots of users are using VPN’s to circumvent that on some instances already.