An update on where we're at

[mark]

Howdy everybody.

Now that we're entirely off of Cloudflare, I figured I'd give an update on some of the sharp edges and things we're still working on.

First of all, we've had to push a few changes out to update some configurations and this has had the side effect of pushing out some changes (like an overhaul of the Inbox.) Normally we try to give advanced notice of site and code changes, so I apologize that this change is coming as a surprise. We'll keep an eye on feedback here so we can iterate on things as needed. This has been reverted.

Now, on to the other things.

• (TBD) VPN. I know that some of you use VPNs to access Dreamwidth and you're now getting overly familiar with the CAPTCHA solution that AWS offers. It's, well, not a great solution. It solves the robot problem fairly well but it is pretty suboptimal for our users, we hear you. We are investigating other solutions here to see what we can do, but it will not be an immediate fix, unfortunately.

• (Investigating) 403s. Secondly, I'm seeing some reports of 403s on commenting. We're investigating this, but nobody on the volunteer team has reported it / can reproduce it, so we're still trying to figure this one out.

• (Done) RSS feeds. Thirdly, when I set up the CAPTCHA, I did forget to add rules allowing access to RSS and ATOM feeds. alierak fixed these up, so you should be able to access your feeds again via IFTTT and similar services. If not, please let us know in the comments.

• (Done) IP logging. Fourthly, the config change we pushed (that deployed updated code) did fix the issue where IP addresses were showing up as 'via' or not as your own IP. This was a proxy misconfiguration on our end and is resolved now, so you should be able to see real IP addresses again.

• (Done) Inbox. Going to update the default so that messages that are unread are expanded. I rolled it back to how it was. No more unneeded code push!

I think that's the list of things I'm aware of. Please comment if you see other issues -- and again, thank you so much for your patience here. We've tried to keep the disruptions to a minimum, but we have effectively replaced a significant set of technologies that we use (CDN, proxying, WAF/DDoS protection, anti-robot, etc) and it's never apples-to-apples.

Comments

[sandrine]

Not sure if that's a bug you're already aware of, but I've been having issues with the pagination since the move. Where there's more than one page of comments, the numbers show up in a vertical line instead of horizontally:



It's fine when it's just a handful of pages, but anything longer than that and navigating between pages involves a lot of scrolling.

[ravenblack]

The 403 error, I get it ALL the time. Doesn't matter what I click. Login, Logout, uploading pics, trying to send a new post, trying to edit my settings. (also trying to send this comment now) I have to resend my stuff multiple times, until it works. But of course some settings get lost when you have to resend stuff, so it's a pain in the ass, haha.

It's so frustrating, I really hope you can fix this error soon. :)

ps: I hope in the future I can get a paid account, but I'm not from the USA. The available options are not really options for me. I know there are probably reasons why stuff like Paypal etc isn't being used, but I'm still hoping it will be a option in the future.

Thank you all for working hard to keep this site up!

edit: The only thing I tried out, are multiple browsers. But it didn't change anything, still 403 with almost every click.

[chuffle]

I was getting this too: if you’re still struggling try resetting your modem. It worked for me.

[ravenblack]

It didn't work for me, but thank you for this tip!

[tinny]

I hope in the future I can get a paid account, but I'm not from the USA. The available options are not really options for me. I know there are probably reasons why stuff like Paypal etc isn't being used

The reason paypal isn't used is because paypal refuses to work with a site that allows adult material, which dw does. So this is not likely to change.

If you have a dw friend you trust, you can let them buy dw points for you and pay them back via paypal. We've been doing that among friends for a while, because I also have friends who don't have any other way of paying. It's not ideal, but if you want to help dw, it's better than nothing.

[ravenblack]

The reason paypal isn't used is because paypal refuses to work with a site that allows adult material, which dw does. So this is not likely to change.
Ah, right. Makes sense :(
---
Yeah, the plan with giving someone else money while they buy you DW points is great, but I was always a loner, so I can't really get help from someone.

I guess my only chance is getting a credit card from somewhere. I know that someone irl has a credit card, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am to ask them for it, haha!

Thanks for answering!

[nostalgia]

Have you got a debit card at all? That's how I've been paying it (I get a bank charge for using to pay something in USD though :( just a couple of pounds but it adds up.) (I only ask cos I know sometimes things say credit cards and people dont know they also accept debit cards. Sorry if this suggestion is useless though <3)

[ravenblack]

Yeah, but not sure if I can use mine. HMM!

I asked around irl now, and I have found someone that would borrow me their card + we are close enough. They just aren't sure if their card can be used online, so I have to find that out!

Thanks for answering, your comment wasn't useless. :)

[tinny]

This post hasn't seen any comments from you in a week. Is there still any investigating into the 403 errors going on?

I've been okay for a few days to have to put up with having to click every submit button four times for it to work, but it's getting really annoying by now.

[mekare]

For me, the 403 error has been getting better, I usually only need to reload the page once (instead of three times) and it takes me where I want (no matter if it‘s logging in, posting an entry or a comment or following a link).

I use iOS and the duckduckgo browser/app.

[ravenna]

i feel like this is a potentially useless comment to make, considering the issue, but for maybe 6-7 hours now i've not received any comment notifications via email or in the on-site inbox, across multiple accounts. comments are happening, i can go check and see them, but there's no notifs. i've seen chatter from others that this is happening to them, too.

[sockiness]

I've put in a support ticket myself on this and got the notification for it in my gmail almost immediately. But nothing for comments on any accounts, free or paid. And when I tried to do a test PM (about 2 hours ago now) across accounts to see what was up, neither of them are showing up in the 'sent' portion of the DW inbox, which is a bit odd. Just adding my +1 to this.

[allegorie]

same, going on about 9 hours now and i know it's happening across the board but it hasn't been addressed yet. i also put in a support ticket cause i figured this comment wouldn't even be seen lol so i hope they're aware of it.

only place i can check if i got comments is the manage comments section.

403 Forbidden

[towards_okeanos]

Any news on the 403 issue? I'm consistently seeing it every time I post a comment. I'm using Firefox.

Re: 403 Forbidden

[smallhobbit]

I'm still getting this problem, sometimes I can comment without trouble other times it takes 3 to 5 gos.

[laireshi]

Is it normal that I'm still getting 403 on VPN? (Sometimes after passing Captcha, for added fun.)

[laireshi]

To add to this, recently Captchas just refuse to work for me--I keep completing them correctly and keep getting back "incorrect".

[annathecrow]

Hi, I just want to report that I'm also experiencing the 403 error issue. It happens on:

• https://www.dreamwidth.org/__rpc_esn_inbox (e.g. when marking Inbox items unread; it's a POST request)
• https://www.dreamwidth.org/talkpost_do (when posting comments, both post and preview; I think these are GET?)
• when posting entries to my journal

It's semi-consistent - not on every request and not a regular interval, but about every third request, on average? Usually I need to try 2/3 times until it goes through.

I tried disabling adblock and other tracking protection because I suspected a missing security cookie, but it didn't help. I'm outside of US so my other guess is that the replacement for Cloudflare is going harder on non-US IP ranges, but I have no way of verifying that (I don't have access to a US VPN).

Is there any way I can help debug this? I can send you specific info about the requests from dev tools, or run linux commands like traceroute. Also, I'd be willing to do a Zoom call to share my screen and type stuff into console for you.

[downswing]

Heya — just adding a voice to the 403 errors. They happen practically every comment, whether I'm attempting to preview or post. I find I often have to refresh the page holding the comment I am responding to or to thread up, to get it to no longer 403. Just hitting the back arrow and clicking post/preview again lands me back in the 403 loop. Sometimes, not even refreshing the browser page helps.

These errors have happened to me across multiple accounts, browsers, laptop units (or mobile) and internet connections. I can't really spot a pattern, unfortunately.

Let me know if there are any questions I can help answer — and grateful for any help!

[vriddy]

I think the 403 Forbidden errors may be related to IP, as I consistently start having problems as soon as I hop onto VPN. Then every page that requires submitting a form starts results in 403, which goes away after refreshing 1-3 times.

VPN won't work at all now (Oct 1)

[springheel_jack]

I don't mind solving a captcha when I use the VPN, but for me, the captchas no longer function. They're invariably "incorrect, try again". So I can't log in with the VPN at all.

I'm not getting 403 errors. everything resolves and goes through, but the captcha just won't complete.

macos monterey, safari 16.6.1, TunnelBear (in USA), have tried both with and without 'disable cross-site tracking', and that doesn't make a difference. Same problem with no ad/script blocking extensions in use.

thanks

[nostalgia]

Many 403s, so far always working by the third attempt, and I am not on a VPN.

403 errors

[liv]

I'm getting intermittent 403 errors when I try to comment, including on public posts in my own journal. I'm not using a VPN or any kind of client, just normal web browser. Unlike a lot of other people, I don't get the comment back when I refresh the page or use the browser back button, I end up having to retype the whole comment. I'm completely on board with not using CloudFlare, but it is making it really frustrating to have any kind of conversations here, and threaded conversations are a key part of what I use DW for.

[everempty]

adding on that i'm also still getting 403, even when logging in or logging out. no vpn usage here.

[bravelyrunsaway]

Adding to the 403 Errors: Accessing with or without VPN from Western USA, on Firefox, Chrome, and DuckDuckGo, I continue to get these intermittent 403 Errors on posting comments and entries. Resolves eventually with enough refreshing. For added variety, I've also been getting intermittent 501 Errors in the same instances. I've also had two times a 501 Error reload gave me a 403 Error, and on further refreshing with cache dump, got me to the comment thread comment or new post I was attempting to make. (I c/p'd text back each time. Only once did the comment go through on a 403 Error on reload.)