Verify you are human

[zil2]

Am I the only one getting this when accessing ThirdHour?  It started yesterday - but loading the site always timed out with a 522 error, so verifying I'm human didn't yield results.  I get it on my computer and my Android device.  I'm still getting it today - not for every click, but it seems every n minutes (I have yet to determine how long n is).

[Phoenix_person]

It's happening for me on my phone as well.

[Carborendum]

The site was pretty much non-functional for a time yesterday.  I thought it was a problem on my end.  Apparently, it was due to site maintenance.

I've been getting similar messages as well.

I wonder how it is verifying.  For instance, is there an AI that can get past the "images" test that is found on many sites?

Edited June 4, 2024 by Carborendum

[zil2]

7 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

I wonder how it is verifying. 

On my computer, I have to check a box.  (That could be because I have Firefox locked down quite a bit and nothing automated can happen, not sure.)  On my Android device, using Chrome, it just spun a graphic for a while, then proceeded - no idea how it decided I was human (not by using my camera - that has a physical cover over it to prevent apps from using it without my cooperation).

[Carborendum]

5 minutes ago, zil2 said:

On my computer, I have to check a box.  (That could be because I have Firefox locked down quite a bit and nothing automated can happen, not sure.)  On my Android device, using Chrome, it just spun a graphic for a while, then proceeded - no idea how it decided I was human (not by using my camera - that has a physical cover over it to prevent apps from using it without my cooperation).

The spinning thing is what happened to me -- on my desktop.

I didn't notice anything that it required.

[zil2]

9 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

I didn't notice anything that it required.

Probably some javascript automatically checks the box for you - I have javascript blocked by default, so this one must be something new that I've not added to the "allowed" list.

Meanwhile, it appears that I have to check the box either after 15 minutes of inactivity or perhaps every 45-60 minutes (regardless of activity).  (Still narrowing it down.  Next time I'll look to see the domain that's running the "verify" script.)

[Vort]

I get the "Verifying" message. Then it flashes "Leave us, you nonbiological entity!" and after that, I can't access the site. I can't identify _{[FLAG—Noncommon term detected. Replacing with synonym from Common Terms list]} figure out what's going on. It's so confusing. I guess I'll go eat a breakfast of swine flesh and red junglefowl embryos like all my fellow humans. Just normal human stuff, the kind of thing we all know and do every day without really thinking about it. Just like I don't think about it.

[zil2]

When your verification has timed out, you can't even operate the notification drop-down - you have to open a new tab, re-verify, and then the notification drop-down works.

@pam, maybe a heads up on the change?  Has the site been getting bombarded by bots or DOS attacks or something?

[LDSGator]

1 minute ago, zil2 said:

When your verification has timed out, you can't even operate the notification drop-down - you have to open a new tab, re-verify, and then the notification drop-down works.

@pam, maybe a heads up on the change?  Has the site been getting bombarded by bots or DOS attacks or something?

 

[pam]

I've invited Paul to come and address this.

[rpframe]

There has been some really weird and undesirable traffic within the last 24 hours. I had to sleep but I'm back to working on it. But in the meantime, verification must stay on to keep the server up/functioning/responding at all till the "attack?" is mitigated.

[rpframe]

Some mitigations have been put in place. Feel free to let us know if your site experience doesn't go back to "normal".

[Emmanuel Goldstein]