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[Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge

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  [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge Yog-sothoth <yss@0.n33dler.net> - 2015-01-21 00:55 +0000
    Re: [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge Andreas Leitgeb <avl@auth.logic.tuwien.ac.at> - 2015-01-21 15:41 +0000
      Re: [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge Yog-sothoth <yss@0.n33dler.net> - 2015-01-21 23:05 +0000
        Re: [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2015-01-21 19:14 -0500
          Re: [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge Yog-sothoth <yss@0.n33dler.net> - 2015-01-22 00:31 +0000
            Re: [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2015-01-21 19:50 -0500
        Re: [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge Brixomatic <brixomatic@yahoo.com> - 2015-02-01 22:51 +0100
    Re: [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2015-01-21 20:08 -0800

#30760 — [Semi-OT] Odd ban by Sourceforge

This is only tangentially related to Java programming, but it is somewhat 
urgent. It seems that Sourceforge has banned me from viewing certain 
parts of projects there. In particular, commit logs ("History" link from 
code repositories) and tags. Any attempt to view tags or commit logs for 
any project by me results in a page claiming "something went wrong", even 
though I didn't do anything wrong (in particular, it's simply point and 
click, and the links are internal to their web site, so not subject to 
linkrot beyond their control).

Apparently, I've been accused of an unspecified wrongdoing and sentenced 
to never being able to view commit logs or tags again, without anything 
remotely resembling due process. In particular I can recall no occasion 
where I was formally accused, informed of the content of the allegations 
against me, given opportunity to confront the evidence and witnesses 
against me, or given opportunity to present a defense. Instead, while I 
was asleep two nights ago, a decision was made in some star chamber 
somewhere to lock me out of those features of the site (even at MY OWN 
PROJECTS) and I have no idea who made the decision, what they based it 
on, what I can do to appeal it and try to get it reversed, or much of 
ANYTHING else about the situation.

This is grossly improper behavior on Sourceforge's part. Though as a 
private party they are not technically bound by such Constitutional 
niceties as the Fifth Amendment, this behavior can still only be 
characterized as extremely shoddy.

Making matters worse, all attempts by me to circumvent this ban (which I 
view as improper and unwarranted, and thus fair game for circumvention) 
have failed. I've tried viewing it without being logged in, even from an 
"incognito mode" browser with no cookie history or other data that might 
identify me. I've tried viewing it through a proxy. I've tried a VPN. 
I've tried combining all of the above. And still I cannot view commit 
logs or tags. Somehow Sourceforge's web server sniffs me out and responds 
with its bogus "something went wrong" message instead of honoring the 
HTTP request I issued for a known-valid URL.

I have several questions for you programmers:

1. Have any of the rest of you run into any similar capricious behavior
   there?

2. If the answer to 1 is "yes", were you able to find out why you were
   barred from viewing(!) particular types of pages at all projects?
   What did it turn out you were accused of?

3. If the answer to 1 is "yes", were you able to appeal the ban? If so,
   what was the procedure?

4. If the answer to 1 is "yes", but you were unable to appeal the ban or
   your appeal was denied, did you attempt to circumvent the ban anyway?
   Did you succeed? If so, how?

Note: the scope of the ban appears to be to *certain* pages at *all* 
projects. It doesn't seem to be restricted to Java projects, though my 
own projects, which are affected, are Java projects -- I can't even view 
the commit log for one project on which I'm the admin and sole committer! 
Which undermines my administrative rights over that project, in 
contravention, so far as I can determine, of Sourceforge's commitments 
under the terms of service as of when I created my account there, given 
that I don't believe I am in breach of said terms myself. Which is why I 
find this whole thing very puzzling. I'm quite certain I did not breach 
the terms, yet I've been punished anyway. Why?

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#30767

Yog-sothoth <yss@0.n33dler.net> wrote:
> This is only tangentially related to Java programming, but it is somewhat 
> urgent. It seems that Sourceforge has banned me from viewing certain 
> parts of projects there. In particular, commit logs ("History" link from 
> code repositories) and tags. Any attempt to view tags or commit logs for 
> any project by me results in a page claiming "something went wrong", even 
> though I didn't do anything wrong (in particular, it's simply point and 
> click, and the links are internal to their web site, so not subject to 
> linkrot beyond their control).

Assuming a "ban" when some page doesn't work wouldn't be the first 
thought for me...

I don't have any own projects on sourceforge.net, but I tried some project
named "nagelfar", (which has no relation to Java at all), and I could view
the History just fine.

That could mean either:
 - Sourceforge had a problem, and they've since fixed it. 
 - You are using a browser that is too old, or too new, or has
     itself a bug.  Have you tried using a different one?
 - You were indeed banned. (In that case I'd be surprised that
     you can even see anything on sf, so I'd consider this by
     far the least likely possibility)

If there is a project that you still cannot see the History of,
then post its name (and avoid writing another two shiploads of
conspiracy-drivel).

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#30769

On Wed, 21 Jan 2015 15:41:22 +0000, Andreas Leitgeb wrote:

> Yog-sothoth <yss@0.n33dler.net> wrote:
>> This is only tangentially related to Java programming, but it is
>> somewhat urgent. It seems that Sourceforge has banned me from viewing
>> certain parts of projects there. In particular, commit logs ("History"
>> link from code repositories) and tags. Any attempt to view tags or
>> commit logs for any project by me results in a page claiming "something
>> went wrong", even though I didn't do anything wrong (in particular,
>> it's simply point and click, and the links are internal to their web
>> site, so not subject to linkrot beyond their control).
> 
> Assuming a "ban" when some page doesn't work wouldn't be the first
> thought for me...
> 
> I don't have any own projects on sourceforge.net, but I tried some
> project named "nagelfar", (which has no relation to Java at all), and I
> could view the History just fine.
> 
> That could mean either:
>  - Sourceforge had a problem, and they've since fixed it.

I still can't view commit logs. Also, "Sourceforge has a problem" would 
not result in a few specific pages being defaced or otherwise altered in 
behavior, but in the whole site not working. What would selectively 
affect serving just a specific subset of pages whose URLs happen to match 
a particular pattern? A policy change. A random malfunction wouldn't care 
whether the path to the .html file on the filesystem happened to match 
some particular regex or not, and only affect requests for files that 
matched. It would affect all requests.

> - You are using a browser that is too old, or too new, or has
>      itself a bug.  Have you tried using a different one?

I am using Firefox, probably the best supported and most compatible 
browser out there and certainly not one that Sourceforge would fail to 
test with.

>  - You were indeed banned. (In that case I'd be surprised that
>      you can even see anything on sf, so I'd consider this by far the
>      least likely possibility)

I would expect a ban to let me *see* anything, but *do* (change) nothing, 
myself, but stranger things have happened. And again, that only the .html 
files matching a particular regex are affected points to an access policy 
change rather than a malfunction.

> If there is a project that you still cannot see the History of, then
> post its name (and avoid writing another two shiploads of
> conspiracy-drivel).

Now you are just being rude.

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#30770

On 1/21/2015 6:05 PM, Yog-sothoth wrote:
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2015 15:41:22 +0000, Andreas Leitgeb wrote:
>
>> Yog-sothoth <yss@0.n33dler.net> wrote:
>>> This is only tangentially related to Java programming, but it is
>>> somewhat urgent. It seems that Sourceforge has banned me from viewing
>>> certain parts of projects there. In particular, commit logs ("History"
>>> link from code repositories) and tags. Any attempt to view tags or
>>> commit logs for any project by me results in a page claiming "something
>>> went wrong", even though I didn't do anything wrong (in particular,
>>> it's simply point and click, and the links are internal to their web
>>> site, so not subject to linkrot beyond their control).
>>
>> Assuming a "ban" when some page doesn't work wouldn't be the first
>> thought for me...
>>
>> I don't have any own projects on sourceforge.net, but I tried some
>> project named "nagelfar", (which has no relation to Java at all), and I
>> could view the History just fine.
>>
>> That could mean either:
>>   - Sourceforge had a problem, and they've since fixed it.
>
> I still can't view commit logs. Also, "Sourceforge has a problem" would
> not result in a few specific pages being defaced or otherwise altered in
> behavior, but in the whole site not working. What would selectively
> affect serving just a specific subset of pages whose URLs happen to match
> a particular pattern? A policy change. A random malfunction wouldn't care
> whether the path to the .html file on the filesystem happened to match
> some particular regex or not, and only affect requests for files that
> matched. It would affect all requests.

Not necessarily. There could be data corruption for only some
accounts that impacts only those accounts.

>> - You are using a browser that is too old, or too new, or has
>>       itself a bug.  Have you tried using a different one?
>
> I am using Firefox, probably the best supported and most compatible
> browser out there and certainly not one that Sourceforge would fail to
> test with.

First release of FF is from 2002 so using FF does not guarantee recent 
browser.

Arne

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#30771

On Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:14:32 -0500, Arne Vajhøj wrote:

> First release of FF is from 2002 so using FF does not guarantee recent
> browser.

If you'd actually used it, you'd know that it auto-updates.

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#30773

On 1/21/2015 7:31 PM, Yog-sothoth wrote:
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2015 19:14:32 -0500, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>> First release of FF is from 2002 so using FF does not guarantee recent
>> browser.
>
> If you'd actually used it, you'd know that it auto-updates.

I do use FF.

In fact I have used it so much that I know that:
* auto update was not present in the first many years
* auto update can be turned off
* auto update is disabled in many popular Linux dists (because
   they want people to update via the dists own mechanism)

Arne

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#30990

In article <m9pbb8$30v$1@speranza.aioe.org>, Yog-sothoth (yss@
0.n33dler.net) says...

> Also, "Sourceforge has a problem" would 
> not result in a few specific pages being defaced or otherwise altered in 
> behavior, but in the whole site not working. 

You, Sir, have just demonstrated, that you have no clue of programming 
whatsoever.

Kind regards,

-- 
..Alesi's problem was that the back of the car was jumping up and down 
dangerously - and I can assure you from having been teammate to 
Jean Alesi and knowing what kind of cars that he can pull up with, 
when Jean Alesi says that a car is dangerous - it is. [Jonathan Palmer]

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#30781

On Wed, 21 Jan 2015 00:55:27 +0000 (UTC), Yog-sothoth
<yss@0.n33dler.net> wrote, quoted or indirectly quoted someone who
said :

>
>This is grossly improper behavior on Sourceforge's part. 

Scientific American did this to me. They ignored my requests for
explanation.

I tropical fish site barred me when I mentioned I had written a Java
calculator to figure out how much gravel you need to buy for a given
depth. Apparently they considered that spam advertising, even though
it is free and I did not give the URL.

There was no mechanism to challenge the ruling.

A website is a little dictatorship, just as a corporation is.

Perhaps you probed too many projects and they figured you were up to
no good.
-- 
Roedy Green Canadian Mind Products http://mindprod.com
To solve an interesting problem, start by finding a problem
that is interesting to you.
~ Eric S. Raymond (born: 1957-12-04 age: 57)

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