[Lightstalkers] Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:04:31 +0000

I'm just back from five days in the PRC, shooting a project. While there I was unable connect with Lightstalkers. I assume it was being officially blocked, as is Facebook, Twitter and a lot of other US "social networking" sites. Is that others' experience as well?

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:27:18 +0000

Well, you know what a dangerous bunch of subversives hang out at this site.

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 18:04:33 +0000

I've heard that my personal website is blocked in China - not sure if there's a connection, I'd be more inclined to think it's getting blocked under a broad net as Neal mentioned. I've also found Lightstalkers blocked on some US military networks. Michael Anti gave an interesting talk in Edinburgh recently about Chinese internet control that's worth watching:

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 18:46:46 +0000

Fascinating talk. Speaks volumes about the culture of China, and also about differences in emerging global web culture. Thanks, Teru.

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 02:36:00 +0000

Next time set up a VPN before you go (www.astrill.com)

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 06:01:57 +0000

Yes it is blocked.I can only access via a proxy server.

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:59:27 +0000

Very nice speech, thank you for posting this.

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 22:21:19 +0000

It does kind of raise the question, though, of whether there is a clone of Lightstalkers in Chinese. What a strange thought.

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 23:21:26 +0000

There are a bunch of Chinese clone sites for FB, Google, and others (which allow the government to monitor/control the sites), but I'll bet you a bottle of Old Monk Punjabi rum that they ain't got no Lightstalkers!

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 02:37:19 +0000

Has anybody tried using the Tor network to get to all of the usual websites we use in the US or Europe that are blocked in China?

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 03:56:54 +0000

I’m still not sure how or what is blocked in China. My ex is from Singapore, but has been living in Shanghai for two years now with her husband who is a German national working for a Sheraton as an executive chef. She has had full access to Facebook and Skype the entire time. Pinging her IP while in chat comes up with the hotel, so I’m not sure if they have some sort of crazy proxy or what going on there.

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:15:41 +0000

I have been in China till last January, and I got problems to connect to LT just sometimes. As long as I know LT shouldn't be blocked in PRC just a bit slow.

Re: Lightstalkers Blocked in China?

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 16:04:30 +0000

It seemed that some sights were being slowed down (perhaps) in China, I suspect deliberately. For example, Google (which competes with a government-controlled search engine site) was definitely slower some days. I did some checking when I got back and it seems the secret to Internet access in countries where there is selective blockage is a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This seems to be better than a proxy server, as proxy websites can be identified and blocked more easily. Google it and you can find a number of them. Usually there is a fee (in the range of $20 a month). The good news is that one can get the VPN for a month only, so a short-term visitor doesn't have to commit to a long subscription. I'm going to post another interesting China data communications question here on LS to avoid diluting this one.