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wings_rfs · Mar 31, 2009, 02:31 PM

When I try to comment on an article I get a red-letter message saying I'm blocked by admin.

What's going on?

I've been a good boy, I promise.

brassplayersrock² · Mar 31, 2009, 02:33 PM

article as in thread in forums, or article as in news article on the front page? I'm going to assume the later because you wouldn't be able to reply to this post if the first.

Also, this question might be moved to the feedback forum.

reader50 · Mar 31, 2009, 04:14 PM

What IP address did you try to post from? Proxy servers in Nigeria are highly likely to be blocked. Increasingly, IP ranges in China, India, and other locations with lots of stuff for sale get blocked too. We have sufficient cell phones, an adequate supply of male enhancement drugs, meds, and knockoff shoes.

turtle777 · Mar 31, 2009, 04:58 PM

But one can never have enough canned meat products

-t

Rumor · Mar 31, 2009, 06:26 PM

tomas316 · Mar 31, 2009, 06:34 PM

Im having the same problem. Tried to reply to an article (not forums) and it says "Blocked by Admin". What Gives?

aristotles · Mar 31, 2009, 10:00 PM

So am I. If I broke the rules or something I would appreciate a PM or email but so far, I am not aware of having broken any rules recently. In fact, I have not been on macnn much lately other than making a few comments on stories. Some of my comments have been unpopular with other readers but last time I checked there was no rule against that.

I was blocked on Big Pipe at work and I use Telus at home which is also blocked. The last time I checked, neither were in Nigeria and I don't use proxies.

OreoCookie · Apr 1, 2009, 05:56 AM

Did that crop up only lately or has this happened before in the past? Are you using some kind of anonymizer?

aristotles · Apr 1, 2009, 11:17 AM

It looks like it is fixed for me now. The problem cropped up for me yesterday. I'm guessing that you guys were blocking entire IP ranges from front page comments and that some people's ISPs had blocks of addresses reserved in those ranges.

reader50 · Apr 3, 2009, 01:30 PM

We beefed up our forum IP blocks a few months ago to combat a fresh spam wave. The blocks were tailored to avoid legit members wherever possible. At the same time, I reviewed and undid some of the existing blocks that were too broad - we may have freed more IPs than we blocked.

At one time, the front page used the forum IP block list - I'm not sure if they still do that. You can use various tools to see your public IP address, like the Firefox addon ShowIP or by visiting the many web sites that will show you your IP address.

If you latch your public IP address and it is blocked, send it our way. We can check it against the forum block list, and possibly work around legit ranges within the spammer ranges.

macnixer · Aug 28, 2009, 02:28 PM

What gives? I posted to an article in the morning and now I get "You are blocked by admin". Why? I do not use swearwords, do not demean others though some do not like my posts and I appreciate that since it is a discussion and everyone has a different opinion.

turtle777 · Aug 28, 2009, 02:30 PM

How did you post this if you were blocked ?

-t

Chuckit · Aug 28, 2009, 03:06 PM

He's apparently blocked from the MacNN comments, not the forums.

reader50 · Aug 28, 2009, 04:31 PM

Please note down your public IP address when that error happens. We usually can't research anything without that address.