I'm neutral to the scraping issue, but my casual surfing to places like B&H, DPReview and here at FM is being repeatedly blocked because the Cloudflare AI is f.... up. And Cloudflare is the LAST entity that should be trusted with this service. They are notorious for failing to police their own traffic and customers, having been excoriated for hosting 4chan, many other hate groups, and cybercriminal enterprises. I have my own server blocking all of Cloudflare-originated connections due to break-in attempts from their IP addrs.
It's rather that you have to break through Cloudflare's firewall to reach the B&H web site. This can be necessary even if you are already logged into the B&H web site as a returning customer. Idiocy.
I have NOT incurred any problems logging in to B&H with additional "challenges". Nor any other website, other than FM. But I totally understand Fred's intention.
If and when you ever have your "id"stolen, you will welcome addtl "challenges". Not saying or implying that any challenges will prevent crap from happening but I do get a sense of safety. I did have my ID stolen and it is a horror more than you can imagine! The financial aspect was resolved but the doxing will live on in immortality.
I realize you are upset but maybe abbreviate your "f" bomb" spelling? Use "bs"?
Dan
Cloudflare is essential for FM. Without it, the site would be flooded with spam, automated bots, and malicious traffic....including hackers and scammers trying to exploit vulnerabilities or scrape content at scale.
We use Cloudflare primarily for its security and protection features, not for AI-driven content filtering or anti-scraping. Its DDoS mitigation, firewall, and bot protection tools are critical in keeping the site stable, fast, and safe for real users. While Cloudflare has its controversies, its role in shielding FM from constant abuse attempts is absolutely necessary for the well-being of our community.
sirimiri wrote:
I was logged out by the system, can't log back in despite the verification passed.
500 Internal Server Error
I am still logged in via mobile, hence this posting - and in case others have the same issue about not being able to log in.
Same here. It logged me out on the desktop overnight and I have been unable to get back in. It's not a cookie issue because I also tried another browser.
EB-1 wrote:
FM was not accessible for me all day until just now. That was on a phone and wired computer.
EBH
The internet has been acting strange the last few days. I thought it was just comcast....
I use AdBlocker Ultimate and have not incurred any "challenges" entering any website....so far. I went to B&H and some other websites mentioned here and had no problems.
JUst my $.02..but I believe that all so called internet shields" always have a "backdoor philosophy" for their own use, analytical or invasive.
Dan
I think there was a specific issue with FM that has since resolved. It could have been at the hosting provider or somewhere else.
I typically will use two independent access methods, such as home computer through fiber/cable AND mobile device with cell service, each using different OS and browser. If both are having an issue it is more likely to be a true website issue.
The financial aspect was resolved but the doxing will live on in immortality.