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On bad days: Key word is bad days. Expats in China have noticed the same thing, with VPNs sporadically not working during summits, around certain holidays, etc

On bad days: Key word is bad days. Expats in China have noticed the same thing, with VPNs sporadically not working during summits, around certain holidays, etc but resuming afterwards. Also, for some reason certain VPNs work more consistently than others even though they use the same protocols as blocked services. Some speculate that the ones that continue to work are either honeypots or the companies behind them have (social) connections Also, it's kind of poor taste to call those who want free(dom) internet there as "neo liberals"

nibbleshifter 4y ago
Neoliberal is usually used as a pejorative towards "liberals" who prioritise economic growth/profit over human dignity/freedom. Think: the Blair administration in the UK.
computerfriend 4y ago
> but resuming afterwards. This is a common and natural misconception. When the firewall gains a feature (i.e. the ability to block certain traffic) the VPN providers then have to figure out some technique to bypass it. This happens over and over again. The firewall isn't relaxing after the event, it is staying the same and the VPN provider has improved. On your second point, I can't comment for all providers, but I've heard this rumour in a more specific context and can say that it is definitely at least sometimes false.
- neither_color 4y ago
  Thanks for clarifying. I admit it's anecdotal but was wondering if these new features are rolled out automatically or with humans deploying them? If the latter it might explain why expats in China have said it [access to VPNs] gets worse at times. Years ago one provider that rhymes with krill was pretty consistent, but in the end it seemed one could get the most mileage(err uptime) by rolling their own v2ray instances on a VPS provider that had "Hong Kong" servers in Hangzhou.
- another_story 4y ago
  I'm not sure this is entirely the case, though probably partly so. I think they do track known VPN servers, or suspected therein, and closer to congress sessions cut those off. I had a number of self hosted setups used by a few people that would get cut off at those times only to come back on later.
dontbenebby 4y ago
>Also, it's kind of poor taste to call those who want free(dom) internet there as "neo liberals" Thanks, sincerely, for the note on language. I've used that insult a lot in the past. I also had a string of international students do things like complain I was racist for asking questions and answers be repeated back in English, not just Mandarin. (And they weren't from Taiwan.) It's true that America has no official language, but when folks like myself expressed that sentiment in the policy space, it was with the intent if someone speaks French, Spanish, or one of the many languages of the Native Americans could be given services in a manner they understad, as is their human right. It was not a rhetorical devie meant to me wielded by agents of a foreign power. I ended up accepting an alaprazolam script, following a string of failed antidepressants, navigating the social mileau of "they treat me like an international student because I know who the spies are and refuse to just... hire me somewhere... as their system crashes around them" This was in the lead up to, and during, the Summer of Snowden -- I was really pissed that no one would hire me into private industry and civil society... well all I can say about so called "civil" society is Epstein didn't kill himself. (Happy spooky season!)

nibbleshifter 4y ago

Neoliberal is usually used as a pejorative towards "liberals" who prioritise economic growth/profit over human dignity/freedom. Think: the Blair administration in the UK.

computerfriend 4y ago

> but resuming afterwards. This is a common and natural misconception. When the firewall gains a feature (i.e. the ability to block certain traffic) the VPN providers then have to figure out some technique to bypass it. This happens over and over again. The firewall isn't relaxing after the event, it is staying the same and the VPN provider has improved. On your second point, I can't comment for all providers, but I've heard this rumour in a more specific context and can say that it is definitely at least sometimes false.

neither_color 4y ago
Thanks for clarifying. I admit it's anecdotal but was wondering if these new features are rolled out automatically or with humans deploying them? If the latter it might explain why expats in China have said it [access to VPNs] gets worse at times. Years ago one provider that rhymes with krill was pretty consistent, but in the end it seemed one could get the most mileage(err uptime) by rolling their own v2ray instances on a VPS provider that had "Hong Kong" servers in Hangzhou.
another_story 4y ago
I'm not sure this is entirely the case, though probably partly so. I think they do track known VPN servers, or suspected therein, and closer to congress sessions cut those off. I had a number of self hosted setups used by a few people that would get cut off at those times only to come back on later.

dontbenebby 4y ago

>Also, it's kind of poor taste to call those who want free(dom) internet there as "neo liberals" Thanks, sincerely, for the note on language. I've used that insult a lot in the past. I also had a string of international students do things like complain I was racist for asking questions and answers be repeated back in English, not just Mandarin. (And they weren't from Taiwan.) It's true that America has no official language, but when folks like myself expressed that sentiment in the policy space, it was with the intent if someone speaks French, Spanish, or one of the many languages of the Native Americans could be given services in a manner they understad, as is their human right. It was not a rhetorical devie meant to me wielded by agents of a foreign power. I ended up accepting an alaprazolam script, following a string of failed antidepressants, navigating the social mileau of "they treat me like an international student because I know who the spies are and refuse to just... hire me somewhere... as their system crashes around them" This was in the lead up to, and during, the Summer of Snowden -- I was really pissed that no one would hire me into private industry and civil society... well all I can say about so called "civil" society is Epstein didn't kill himself. (Happy spooky season!)