The documentation part of the site is borked. Earlier, I could at least get to the documentation page, then I'd get the following message when I tried to navigate to a specific topic (say installation...). Now I see the message any time I try to navigate to the documentation page. It really irks me because of the emphasis that the project puts on reading all the documentation, faqs, and searching the forums before asking for help!
Here is the message:
Precondition Failed
We're sorry, but we could not fulfill your request for / on this server.
We have established rules for access to this server, and any person or robot that violates these rules will be unable to access this site.
To resolve this problem, please try the following steps:
Ensure that your computer is free of viruses, Trojan horses, spyware or any other sort of malicious software.
If you are using any sort of personal firewall or browser privacy software, check to ensure that its settings do not cause your web browser to inadvertently violate any of the rules listed below.
If you are behind a Web proxy or corporate firewall, the proxy must conform to the HTTP specification with respect to proxy servers. Contact your network administrator if the trouble persists, or bypass the proxy and connect directly if possible.
Disable any download accelerators you may be using. They don't speed up your downloads anyway; in most cases, they actually run slower!
If all else fails, try using a different Web browser, such as Firefox.
If you still need assistance, please contact h0bbel at p0ggel.org.
More Information
For your reference, the conditions for access to this server are:
Robots:
MUST read and obey robots.txt.
MUST identify themselves properly; for example MUST NOT identify as Mozilla.
MUST NOT pretend to be a human.
Humans:
MUST NOT pretend to be a robot.
MUST NOT use a computer infected with viruses, Trojan horses or other malicious software.
Both:
MUST NOT harvest email addresses.
MUST NOT attempt to send spam.
MUST NOT attempt to compromise server security.
MUST NOT use excessive amounts of bandwidth or other server resources.
The precondition on the request for the URL / evaluated to false.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<address>Apache Server at codex.gallery2.org Port 80</address>
Posted: Wed, 2006-01-25 22:22
Posts: 13451
It's not broken, but the antispam plugin we use seems to be a bit agressive at times. PM me your IP adress and I can clear the database entries for your ip.
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org
Posts: 7
I sent a pm and await your welcome assistance.
Posts: 7
h0bbel, I don't know if you did something but I was able to get to the main documentation site a minute ago (from the IP address I pm'd). But I'm still seeing the same message any time I try to get to any specific documenation from the main page. Considering I'm a Gallery n00b, it's getting on my nerves.
Expect to see steam coming out of my ears at any moment. Gallery is a fine product but the site should de-emphasize reading the documentation unless it's going to be available for all of us.
Posts: 13451
Some proxy between you and the Gallery site seems to be the problem. I'll have a talk with the rest of the team and see if there is anything we can do.
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org
Posts: 7
As I mentioned in my PM, I experienced the same behavior from my personal computer (at home) this morning. I use a different ISP at home--not the same ISP as my employer.
Posts: 13451
We've turned the anti-spam protection off now, so you should now be able to access it freely while we work towards a better solution for the incredibly time consuming problem that is spam. I'd rather patrol more manually than keep blocking legitimate users.
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org
Posts: 7
Thank you, thank you, thank you! It's appreciated. May I suggest spamassassin?
Posts: 13451
If you have a way of running Spamassassin on a MediaWiki install, please let me know ;-)
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org
Posts: 7
I think I misunderstood the type of "spam" you were/are trying to prevent--I thought you're trying to prevent e-mail spam. The spam protection you referred to is to prevent WikiSpam?
Posts: 13451
Yes, specifically stopping automated attacks. We are working with the developer of the solution now, but for the time being it's disabled.
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org
Posts: 2
Hi h0bbel,
I guess the anti-spam protection is back on now, as I'm getting the same "Precondition Failed" page when trying to download Gallery 2. It's really frustrating, but I guess you do have a valid reason and the right to protect yourselves from "Wikispam".
Anyway, I've PM you my IP address and hope you can help me out with this. Can't wait to try out this piece of software.
Thanks in advanced.
Posts: 13451
Got your PM.
Anyway, download directly from http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=7130 instead, and I'll have a look at the logs here.
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org
Posts: 2
Oh thanks!
I've been trying to find an alternate download site. This is great!
Posts: 52
Me too! I cannot access the download and documentation pages for the past few days. I have pm the IP address to you. Please help.
Posts: 3
Ditto for me. Would it not be possible to get the antispam software working on a test site before applying it to the main site that so many of us depend on?
Posts: 13451
Problem with testing it on a test site is that it works fine for all if the Gallery team users. It's ISPs transparent proxy setups that wrecks havoc with the antispam solution.
I have disabled it again now though, so you should all be able to access it again. Let me know if there are still problems with this.
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org
Posts: 3
Thanks for helping with this, I can access the site again. I'm pretty sure my ISP uses a transparent proxy which sucks since it seems to be the cause of several problems, including accessing your site with the anti-spam software enabled. Unfortunately I'm stuck with it.
I understand the difficulty with using a test site. If you need volunteers who are stuck behind a transparent proxy to help with the testing I'd be happy to help.
Posts: 52
Oh no!!! I cannot access the documentation and download sites again! Any advice?
Posts: 13451
Better now?
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org
Posts: 52
Great! It is working again. Thanks
Posts: 13451
Excellent!
h0bbel - Gallery Team
If you found my help useful, please consider donating to Gallery
http://h0bbel.p0ggel.org