Verizon blocks 4chan

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Simon

Simon

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TOday, Moot, the owner of 4chan, released the following statements


Over the past 72 hours, we've been receiving reports from Verizon Wireless customers having difficulty accessing the image boards.

After investigating, we found that Verizon is dropping traffic to/from boards.4chan.org, only on port 80 (HTTP). No other subdomain/IP/port is affected, which leads us to believe this block is intentional.

A call was placed to their support staff last night, and we were told that the ticket would not be looked at until Monday at the earliest, and: "You'll need the customer to call to request it be unblocked..."

If you've been affected by this block, please contact Verizon Wireless customer support. The numbers we were given are: "Verizon Wireless NRB: (866) 298-5373" and "Verizon Wireless DSO: (800) 770-1179".

Note: Users with mobile browsers that proxy (BlackBerry, Opera) won't necessarily have issues accessing the boards.
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After an hour and a half on the phone, we've received confirmation from Verizon's Network Repair Bureau (NRB) that we are "explicitly blocked."

If you've been affected by the block, please call Verizon NRB at (866) 298-5373 to file a complaint.

EDIT: If NRB can't help you, try Verizon Wireless Support at (800) 922-0204.
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What's your opinion on this?



I think ISP's have no right to censor websites that simply allow free speech and the ability for anyone to express their views annonymously.
 
4chan might be a haven for free speech, its also a haven for speech without thought attached.

4chan is not the first website isp's have blocked, you just might not have tried accessing the ones that are blocked.

I dont think ISP blocking of websites is right, but I am not sad for 4chan in any way.

-Blue
 
4chan can do some good when they really want to try, but too often its just a breeding ground for ignorance, regardless I think it is wrong to block the ip unless it was for security reasons. However it is fully within the rights of verizon to do so.
 
There is some SERIOUS messed up stuff on 4chan depending on the section you're in. 90% of the place is just ignorant pissants roaming around out of boredom. But there's a couple sections inparticular that contain content borderlining if not crossing legality. (No I don't have any specific examples or links or real knowledge of law, I don't visit 4chan. I'm only speaking from the couple times I've very unfortunately stumbled across a certain section unknowingly.)

We're talking about a place where - again, depending on the section, you'll have people encouraging others to kill themselves, posting TERRIBLE offensive, racist, videos, making remarks, or posting content so disturbing you'd be hard pressed to find it anywhere else.

90% of the time, it's just odd discussions, weird images or animations, pointless bits of creativity. Sometimes ignorant and rude, but largely harmless.

There's that other 10% though that really just doesn't belong. Even on the internet.

So customers have to call in to get it unblocked, big deal. It's not like they've banned access to online gaming or google. This does not bother me in the slightest.
 
This one of the sensitive subjects about internet censorship and such. ISP's maintain the right to filter some content but whole sites seems a little out of bounds even sites like 4chan. My opinion on this is 4chan does get out of control but it is again back to the visitor of the site to realize what it is and maybe they will find it distasteful. This site states what's contained in it:A Mature Gaming Community. Every site I visit states something to that effect and what is contained there in. In closing, Verizon can do that but people should also be allowed to request it un-blocked.
 
Oh come on. The only part of 4chan that's seriously out of hand is /b/. Others are somewhat okay.
 
Anyone have an idea on why Verizon decided to do this in the first place? Moral outrage? Illegal content?

There are some seriously strange and obscene things on 4chan to be sure...but that's what parental controls are for.
 
Personally, I regularily visit 4chan. I avoid the random sections, and stick to the following:

/g/ = tech
/wg/ = wallpapers
/v/ = gaming

With that, I find these sections are more on topic and provide some real discussion.

I think ISP's do not have the right to do this unless 4chan is Ddossing them or something to affect their customers.
 
4chan has child pornography on a regular basis, so I do not have a problem with Verizon blocking it (I am a Verizon customer). All of the memes were fun, but they can be found elsewhere.

Well, it appears Verizon didn't block me anyways now that I check...
 
Anywhere that advocates the molestation of children should be prosecuted by the law. Yes 4chan does, and the fact they do not take the filth that surrounds such issues down, only means they support it. So verizon blocks them, who cares, is it a place that really matters? Do they honestly have anything on that site worthy of caring about?

4chan was funny about 8 years ago, then they let it go..... Not worth helping.


Edit: I have verizon fios, and they do not block 4chan, just checked. Probably another way for them to get people to look at the site.
 
Stickyfinger said:
Edit: I have verizon fios, and they do not block 4chan, just checked. Probably another way for them to get people to look at the site.
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Verizon blocked it on their mobile network.

Frankly, the Mods at 4chan do their best to block child pornography. It's the users who are the ones at fault. Trying to block 4Chan is pretty much pointless, people will just migrate to another site and the process will begin again.

Plus, as already stated, it's the /b/ board that is the problem for that site.
 
Sexy Beast said:
Verizon blocked it on their mobile network.

Frankly, the Mods at 4chan do their best to block child pornography. It's the users who are the ones at fault. Trying to block 4Chan is pretty much pointless, people will just migrate to another site and the process will begin again.

Plus, as already stated, it's the /b/ board that is the problem for that site.
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They fail at blocking child porn. They need to either get an exponentially higher number of mods or shut down the site, period.

And believe me, /b/ is not even close to the only problem.
 
FreakingHell said:
They fail at blocking child porn. They need to either get an exponentially higher number of mods or shut down the site, period.

And believe me, /b/ is not even close to the only problem.
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I've been to the site...and /b/ is pretty much the only problem. Remove /b/ and everything is alright. I mean some of the other boards aren't exactly family friendly, but it's pretty much known from the get go what they contain.

Their Literature board is pretty good, if you can get past the minor misogyny and the occasional Atlas Shrugged flame wars.
 
Sexy Beast said:
Verizon blocked it on their mobile network.

Frankly, the Mods at 4chan do their best to block child pornography. It's the users who are the ones at fault. Trying to block 4Chan is pretty much pointless, people will just migrate to another site and the process will begin again.

Plus, as already stated, it's the /b/ board that is the problem for that site.
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^^^^^^
QFT
:)

I've never been a fan of the site to begin with the trolling is ridiculous. but like Beast says trying to block is pointless they will just go elsewhere..
 
Sexy Beast said:
I've been to the site...and /b/ is pretty much the only problem. Remove /b/ and everything is alright. I mean some of the other boards aren't exactly family friendly, but it's pretty much known from the get go what they contain.

Their Literature board is pretty good, if you can get past the minor misogyny and the occasional Atlas Shrugged flame wars.
Click to expand...
Get rid of /b/, they move to another board in 4chan.
 
Sexy Beast said:
I've been to the site...and /b/ is pretty much the only problem. Remove /b/ and everything is alright. I mean some of the other boards aren't exactly family friendly, but it's pretty much known from the get go what they contain.

Their Literature board is pretty good, if you can get past the minor misogyny and the occasional Atlas Shrugged flame wars.
Click to expand...

/s/ has kiddie porn a lot too.
 
Although there are no First Amendment issues at play here (e.g. there is no government censorship going on), it is still, in my opinion, a slippery slope to say, "they deserve to be blocked because they have [xxx] on there." It reminds me of a Clarance Darrow quote that I love:
You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free.
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When corporate entities start deciding what is appropriate for their customers to view/see, and they do so without being straightforward about it, I become concerned. I have no problem with an ISP saying, "we provide internet access, but only to sites that meet our criteria."
If a customer wants to surf under those constraints, then fine.
 
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