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Seems contrary to the whole lemmyverse/fediverse model, doesn't it?
Okay, I get it. Incidentally, strict initial approvals on smaller instances don't seem annoying at all now, after reading these comments.
Thanks everyone!
Lemmy.world got hit with tons of spam early in its life. Someone was uploading CSAM and other disgusting images. The opted for the VPN block to mitigate it, which is kind of annoying for legitimate users.
As a large popular instance, that makes sense. Thanks.
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.
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.
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
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.
It doesn't bother me really. I just was surprised to notice it. Maybe it just somehow wasn't affecting me till now.
.world is shit for privacy. They prioritise their ability to censor over anonymity.
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.
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.
It's odd because on PC I can post there on VPN, but on mobile I can't.
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.
Some instances don't even require email verification.
Which ones?
I don't remember which exact one I was talking about, but I was able to find another like this real quick: https://leftopia.org/signup
Thank you
blahaj zone doesn't, but we manually approve applications.
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.
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.
Does it? I'm using a vpn and I'm on .world and it seems to work just fine.
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; lots of people started instances as a side project, then simply left it running after they lost interest. Attackers started using those zombie instances to spam their CSAM. 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.
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.
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.
Edit: I spoke too soon on that. It's blocking the desktop app as well.