Topic: Internet throttling.

When I connect from Europe this site loads far slower than if I use a VPN connected to a US server then to this site it's instant. Everything is instant never new that before I wonder why that is.

covargo said:
When I connect from Europe this site loads far slower than if I use a VPN connected to a US server then to this site it's instant. Everything is instant never new that before I wonder why that is.

See topic #47511 & forum #435779,

• "If you’re encountering performance issues, these are likely regional. Connections from locations far from Arizona may experience latency due to the need to pass through multiple networks, and any one of those networks might be encountering issues. Additionally, users in countries with restrictive policies on pornography may face intentional rate-limiting by local ISPs."

thegreatwolfgang said:
See topic #47511 & forum #435779,

• "If you’re encountering performance issues, these are likely regional. Connections from locations far from Arizona may experience latency due to the need to pass through multiple networks, and any one of those networks might be encountering issues. Additionally, users in countries with restrictive policies on pornography may face intentional rate-limiting by local ISPs."

i really do think it would serve the general public to have a banner on the general site promoting using a vpn

I foresee malicious actors taking this as evidence to circumvent legal restrictions (a la online casinos saying "We can't serve US customers, so just select Crypto as your country ;)"). We're unlikely to get that level of investigation, but begging for it isn't likely to pan out well.

covargo said:
When I connect from Europe this site loads far slower than if I use a VPN connected to a US server then to this site it's instant. Everything is instant never new that before I wonder why that is.

Really? I never noticed that. To me it loads alright. Though (for some reason) sometimes the connection to the servers fails.

wildlord said:
Really? I never noticed that. To me it loads alright. Though (for some reason) sometimes the connection to the servers fails.

they probably mean a more specific country that also differs from yours

jhudson said:
i really do think it would serve the general public to have a banner on the general site promoting using a vpn

It would be against the site rules to promote or encourage methods to bypass current legal restrictions.

thegreatwolfgang said:
It would be against the site rules to promote or encourage methods to bypass current legal restrictions.

using a vpn isnt a crime so it wouldnt apply

jhudson said:
i really do think it would serve the general public to have a banner on the general site promoting using a vpn

Promoting a VPN would be absolutely terrible for site moderation
Similar to "security through obscurity" not telling people about it doesn't work completely, but that doesn't mean you should directly give the tools to circumvent things (in relation to site bans/alt checks)

thegreatwolfgang said:
It would be against the site rules to promote or encourage methods to bypass current legal restrictions.

The wording there seems to only apply to us law, but I've heard talk of the UK law also prohibiting promoting methods to bypass it, which promoting a VPN likely could be interpreted as

Not to mention that explicitly (or implicitly) telling people to violate a law sounds like a great way to get a company which is already boiling into even hotter water

I know when I was staff we were explicitly told to avoid promoting VPNs to bypass the NC and various other bans by Bad Dragon

funkwolfie said:
using a vpn isnt a crime so it wouldnt apply

I did not say that it is illegal to use a VPN, I said it was against site rules to discuss ways to bypass current US laws.
Having a large banner to promote a VPN with the enforcement of Arizona HB2112 looming over the horizon is just asking for trouble.

EDIT: Oh wait, it doesn't matter where you are anyways, but still, some states are (possibly?) still blocked from accessing e6, so promoting a VPN would still violate the rules.

yeahhh i didnt think of the company perspective of doing that
so definitely not promoting, especially saying any particular brand
maybe just a little unofficial faq on the usage and/or existence of vpns in a more general sense?
maybe even just a literal wiki page titled vpn that gives a simple summary or breakdown for the less internet literate/aware userbase
i feel like there is still an unfortunately large portion of the population that doesnt know what throttling is or if it could be/is happening to them

I can't recall if I've seen an instance of this, but current staff members bringing them up in forum discussion might already be seen as pushing it, so creating any kind of official documentation is likely unwise (especially in response to this discussion). Besides, if someone complains about a related problem on the forums, someone will reliably mention VPNs, & they'll either get an explanation or look it up; I don't see anything other than a deliberate, overt, & incriminating push is going to move the needle further. People already mention it on the forums in every related thread, YouTubers tell people about them every other hour, & some browsers have them baked in. I think with the firestorm over net neutrality ('member the good ole days?) & the incessant organic & paid promotion, enough people know about VPNs that there's nothing we can do. Hell, even most people on the forums who've had VPNs brought up as the solution to their problems aren't responding "What's a VPN?" or "How could that help?"; at least from what I recall, people generally seem to know what they are & what they do.