I went to log on to the site and got a message that my IP had been banned. I turn off my VPN, and I can connect with no problem. Is this because the VPN location isn't my stated location?
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I went to log on to the site and got a message that my IP had been banned. I turn off my VPN, and I can connect with no problem. Is this because the VPN location isn't my stated location?
Your VPN is likely coming from a geo-fenced area known to be a source of malfeasance.
^^^This.
Admin will check and let us know.
I experienced the same, switched my VPN server to another (less scam prone location) server, and no issues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AirbornePathogen
Precisely. All of the responses here have been dead on the money.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gman
VPN's are a great tool for masking your actual location and to prevent tracking, but this backfires when the IP's used by the VPN's have also been used by malicious characters accessing our site. We literally have tens - if not hundreds - of thousands of IP addresses blocked.
Just a few minutes ago I blocked an entire Class B subnet (255.255.0.0) out of Vietnam because a spammer/bot used the address within that subnet to create an account on the site. We do some serious check-outs on new member accounts. If we can't verify the legit location of the new member, they don't get in. Occasionally an account is created that looks legit, but traces back to a questionable IP address. We often try to reach out to the new member to remove any doubt we have. Because even these un-activated accounts can create problems on the site we only give them 24 hours to reply or correct the problem. We may lose a few potential good new members this way, but we won't lose any existing members because the site has spam and is no longer enjoyable to visit. The site staff works diligently to keep the bad actors off of the site to ensure a more pleasurable experience for all of our members. We are very careful not to block sites from CO or any used by legit existing members. This typically only becomes a problem when members use VPN's to access the site.
VERY RARELY do we ever block an IP address of a member and only when that member is a clear problem (after repeated warnings). From time to time we get an email in the "Contact Us" inbox from a member asking "My IP address is banned; what did I do?" 99.9999...% of the time this is either due to temporary glitch from the members Internet Service Provider or from someone attempting to access the site via a blocked VPN IP. The other 0.0000..1% of teh time it's a usually a mistake. On rare occasions, we've temporarily unblocked IP's for members who are traveling internationally and trying to access a blocked IP (when they've reached out to us via the "Contact Us" email). We re-block those IP's when they inform us that they've left that location.
If we didn't block the IP addresses that we have, the experience so many enjoy on the site would be severely degraded. While it's just another "behind the scenes" activity we perform, we know you and all of our other members appreciate it - even if it does cause a little more effort for those using VPN's.
Got it. Thank you all for the clarification.
And I'm now connected with my VPN on, no problem. Sounds like a glitch, as Ginsue said.