Some tech for a non-tech guy

August 13, 2015 1:42 PM

Recently, I was stopped from using a site because of "violation of their terms of use," terms of course written in small letters in a very long page. I have used services at that site in exactly the same way for a number of years. I would like to continue to use that free site, but seem blocked.

Do they prevent my using their site from cookies implanted on my machine that give away my ISP? Or is there another way they recognize me, perhaps from signing in with user name and password?

Can I use a VPN to get another ISP and will that change the cookie info?
Because the site has a huge traffic, getting in touch and makink my case seems a protracted way to get back into the site.

posted by Postroad to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

Try a brand-new browser (Opera, maybe?) and a proxy service. Or, heck, just download the Tor browser.
posted by Mo Nickels at 1:46 PM on August 13, 2015

This question is unanswerable - there are many ways to block users from accessing a site. Further, any answer would be enabling you to violate a site's terms of use, which is inappropriate.
posted by saeculorum at 1:47 PM on August 13, 2015 [7 favorites]

try accessing the site in "porn" / private mode. if it's cookies or similar, you will be able to access.

(explanation of how to do this in ie)
posted by andrewcooke at 2:16 PM on August 13, 2015

Did they just ban your account? Make a new account and follow the terms in the future.
You can use a Chrome incognito window when you go there to make a new account - that ensures it does not just auto-log you in to the old banned account when you go there.

If they won't let you make a new account (using a Chrome incognito window) they also banned your IP. You'd have to use a Chrome incognito window from another location (e.g. a public Wi-Fi) when making an account. You may still be banned from using the new account on your old IP - it depends how they implemented the ban.
posted by w0mbat at 2:17 PM on August 13, 2015

Response by poster: to make things a bit clearer: I am referring to Imgur. I would edit pics there and post them to my site. Now, I log in, get the pic code, but the picture later vanishes and turns into a little box, which, clicked on, gives the picture.
I was told I had posted NSFW pics--I have done that for years using that site. And further, I was hotlinking...again, something in my tech ignorance--till recently--I had done for a long time.
posted by Postroad at 2:31 PM on August 13, 2015

I was told I had posted NSFW pics--I have done that for years using that site. And further, I was hotlinking...again, something in my tech ignorance--till recently--I had done for a long time.

Having done these things for a long time doesn't mean they were allowed, just that it took awhile for you to get caught. Find a new service and this time, read their TOS.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 3:29 PM on August 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

If I had to guess, they are blocking your specific account, and you do not need to find a new service or be lectured about arcane terms of service. Try making a new account without changing anything else. Same brower, no incognito mode. Their punishment is likely reddit / mefi style: you lose your username and what you invested in it, not the ability to start a new account.
posted by aydeejones at 3:44 PM on August 13, 2015

imgur recently changed their rules about/purged a lot of NSFW content. I'm not sure about the details, but I've (metaphorically) overheard lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth over it.
posted by jordemort at 6:38 PM on August 13, 2015

Be careful. Subverting a ban for violating a TOS was one of the things Aaron Swartz was charged with under the CFAA.
posted by dcjd at 8:41 PM on August 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

If a free service is telling you

"Yeah, we don't want what you're doing -- posting NSFW images and hot linking"

the solution is not

"How do I keep doing exactly that,
now that they've made it 100% clear that they are against that."

Find another service,
not some workaround to keep crashing their party.
posted by blueberry at 10:33 AM on August 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Find another service,
not some workaround to keep crashing their party.

This. If you're willing to change your ways and stop doing whatever got you in trouble, then sure, go ahead and create a new account. But if you're not willing to play by their rules, then find somewhere else to go do your thing.
posted by Aleyn at 11:04 AM on August 14, 2015 [1 favorite]