“view context” broken b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ (and) lemmy.world has just joined Cloudflare (unrelated)
I was trying to work out why it is that when I receive a notification and I click “view context” nothing happens if the msg came from lemmy.world. The screen blinks for a second but gives no prior posts. Well after digging into this, I see that #lemmyWorld has just recently joined the exclusive #walledGarden of Cloudflare.
I think I don’t want users of Cloudflared instances to see my posts because it invites broken interactions. Is there any way to block CF instances at the individual account level?
Ah, thanks for the info. But note that there are two “show context” buttons. In principle, if I am on a broken version I should be able to visit the parent on the originating node & possibly side-step the bug. But in this case the other node blocks me (Cloudflare).
Also note that I would still like a way to block CF instances. I’m in the #threadiverse to participate in the free world & prefer not to feed centralized walled gardens from which I am a refugee. Oppressors should not be able to thrive in the #fedi.
But note that there are two “show context” buttons. In principle, if I am on a broken version I should be able to visit the parent on the originating node & possibly side-step the bug.
I am not sure if I can follow you but this bug affects both "show context" and "show parent" button on broken instances.
Also note that I would still like a way to block CF instances
I am afraid that such a measure would only be possible for admins by blocking traffic for domains that resolve to/IP ranges operated by Cloudflare.
lemmy.world started using cloudflare many weeks ago because they were under constant DDOS attack. If you are only seeing this behavior now, it has nothing to do with it. As another user mentioned, they just upgraded to 0.18.3.
That was a lemmy exploit that someone gained admin credentials through the cookies. Quite a few lemmy servers were targeted, but many were able to patch quickly once it was reported through lemmy.world.
I agree that a large number of instances all setting behind CloudFlare centralizes those instances and adds a centralized point of failure. But that's where my agreement stops.
All your lemmy interactions are mediated by your instance (dbzer0). If you're having a problem with your notifications, or loading posts, or responding to content that's a problem with your client and your instance. Full stop. If you're instance is having issues federating due to cloudflare, that's certainly a problem, and it would be in your best interest to speak to your instance admins so they can work with the other instances to resolve it. IF you're having problems communicating with your instance, that's between you and them.
Nothing about decentralization says that all instances are required to allow YOU to access their instance. The opposite really, each instance is entitled to run however they want. The fact that you can still view and interact with posts (via your instance) says that decentralization and federation are actually working.
If you're concerned about centralization and walled gardens you should be upset about the disproportionate number of users and communities that exist on lemmy.world. You are true decentralization, those communities should be distributed across the fediverse rather than being at the whims of one instances admins.
I’d just like to know what your solution to DDOS and other bad actors is if it’s not cloudflare. The Lemmy Devs don’t have the bandwidth to waste time reinventing the wheel on something cloudflare already does extremely well.
A walled garden means there’s actual barriers to entry. Cloudflare isn’t a barrier to entry unless you’re planning to attack an instance or are using something like ToR as your daily browser.
I’d just like to know what your solution to DDOS and other bad actors is if it’s not cloudflare.
First of all DDoS from Tor is rarely successful because the Tor network itself does not have the bandwidth with so few exit nodes. But if nonetheless you have an attack from Tor you stand up an onion host and forward all Tor traffic from the clearnet site to the onion site. Then regardless of where the attack is coming from, on the clearnet side there are various tar-pitting techniques to use on high-volume suspect traffic. You can also stand up a few VPS servers and load balance them, similar to what Cloudflare does without selling everyone else’s soul to the US tech giant devil.
on something cloudflare already does extremely well.
CF does the job very poorly. The problem is you’re discounting availability to all users as a criteria. You might say #SpamHaus solves the spam problem “very well” if you neglect the fact that no one can any longer run their own home server on a residential IP and that it’s okay for mail to traverse the likes of Google & MS. A good anti-spam tool detects the spam without falsely shit-canning ham. This is why SpamHaus and Cloudflare do a poor job: they marginalize whole communities and treat their ham as spam.
A walled garden means there’s actual barriers to entry. Cloudflare isn’t a barrier to entry unless you’re planning to attack an instance
Yes to your first statement. Your 2nd statement is nonsense. The pic on the OP proves I hit a barrier to entry without “planning an attack”
or are using something like ToR
Tor users are only one legit community that Cloudflare marginalizes. People in impoverished areas have to use cheap ISPs who issue CGNAT IP addresses, which CF is also hostile toward. CF is also bot-hostile, which includes hostility toward beneficial bots as well as non-bots who appear as bots to CF’s crude detection (e.g. text browsers).