Polish users cut off from TalkChess

[Ras]

It's pure founders' decision to add lines of this code into web site configuration, not related to hosting

I think what you're missing is that talkchess.com is side-hosted for free on the webspace of chessusa.com instead of a paid dedicated webspace hoster. That's where the hosting issues come from. It's also why Talkchess ridiculously still runs without https (blasting the login passwords around in clear text) although the free Let's Encrypt has been available for years.

[nabildanial]

I can't browse the site thru my Singapore-based VPN.

[nabildanial]

It's pure founders' decision to add lines of this code into web site configuration, not related to hosting

Weird if this is intentional, as you can prevent most DDoS attacks using free tier Cloudflare anyways and all people around the world can still reach the website.

[Alexander Schmidt]

There are so many methods. Where's the problem ?

Blocking IP ranges will always prevent some from joining here. And it is more or less useless, because the "bad guys" do also know about the "methods".

[mclane]

Exactly. Therefore I think we should change the situation because nobody knows how many people are blocked.

[chrisw]

This French mobile phone (largest Mobile provider in France) is continually asked to login in with password, and then being logged out, log in again and so on every few minutes. Fixed line works fine. Been like this for about a week, as if they are taking out whole geographic sectors. Pretty crazy way to run a forum.

[mclane]

The forum is IMO hijacked.
I have no clue who this is.
But it is obvious that people who want to read and participate in it, cannot log in.

IMO he whole idea is destroyed.

We want a free community.

Where people can interact about computerchess.

This is not guaranteed anymore.

The idea that we considered in 1997 is today 2020 perverted.

Let’s move the whole thing to a server where it is free to anybody.

Give this forum free.

[chrisw]

The forum is IMO hijacked.
I have no clue who this is.
But it is obvious that people who want to read and participate in it, cannot log in.

IMO he whole idea is destroyed.

We want a free community.

Where people can interact about computerchess.

This is not guaranteed anymore.

The idea that we considered in 1997 is today 2020 perverted.

Let’s move the whole thing to a server where it is free to anybody.

Give this forum free.

Well, find out the names of the owners of the shop ICD and try negotiating with them. Who are they btw?

[Dann Corbit]

Public board software abounds.
It is easy enough to have someone else host talkchess but consider:
The board will require maintenance.
The board will require a permanent IP address.
There are hardware and software costs.
There are labor costs.

I guess in the end, there will be a lot of posturing but nobody is going to do anything, or (if someone does do something, six months from now they will realize they bit off more than they could chew.)
But I will be quite happy to be proven wrong

[chrisw]

Public board software abounds.
It is easy enough to have someone else host talkchess but consider:
The board will require maintenance.
The board will require a permanent IP address.
There are hardware and software costs.
There are labor costs.

I guess in the end, there will be a lot of posturing but nobody is going to do anything, or (if someone does do something, six months from now they will realize they bit off more than they could chew.)
But I will be quite happy to be proven wrong

I don’t really post enough to be that bothered about it, but it does seem you have a not exactly optimal board and board software process here. The main problem for changing it is inertia, you can’t just migrate a forum unless “everybody agrees”. You also can’t do it without the cooperation of the current owner, whoever he is and that’s entirely unclear. Of course if the shop just junk the site then the addicted users will quickly find or set up a migration point, but if not then negotiations with him/her/them would have to be. And in past attempts to alter the software or migrate it result usually in the Admin saying it is too much work for him and he does it all for free etc, with apparent ultimate block being to ask the guy who is apparently employed to fulfil mail orders, at which point the buck stops. What you would need to do is discover the actual ultimate owner of the shop and engage him in a discussion that everybody can see. The shop took on (in my opinion hihacked) the forum onto their website in order to be a focal point for end users to make retail purchases. There was/is a contract (I drew it up) about everybody’s role, implicit is that the operating function is at a minimum level of forum user/chess programmer satisfaction, and if that is deemed below suitable level then the shop has to explain why it wouldn’t assist in migrating the forum.