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AOL Blocks Links from LiveJournal

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the clue-not-found dept.

Evan Martin writes "LiveJournal.com is an open-source weblog site with over a million users, some of whom use AOL. Last week, AOL began blocking all HTTP requests with "www.livejournal.com" Referer headers. This is a common practice by image hosting sites to prevent off-site linking of their images and 'bandwidth theft'. However, in AOL's case, they're blocking everything, not just images, effectively breaking all links to any AOL member's site--but only from LiveJournal. To be clear: nobody on LiveJournal can even make a link to any AOL member site without getting a '404 Not Found' error. We've also heard reports of the same thing happening on AOL properties (Netscape, Compuserve). This concerns us because we have to deal with the support requests: it worked in the past for our users, and it continues to work for other sites, so our users think it's our fault."

Martin continues: "We've tried to contact AOL three different ways, all without success. We've also told our users to contact their tech support. At one point, an AOL staffer pointed out that FTP access still worked (which is probably because FTP has no "Referrer" concept), and so, as an interim fix, we're rewriting all HTTP URLs to use FTP on the AOL properties where that works instead. This means that users can again host their images on the AOL webspace they're paying for, but more importantly, it means they can simply link to their webpage.

We wouldn't be so upset if they were simply blocking images. Bandwidth use is a valid concern, after all, and we even provide step-by-step instructions for people to configure their webservers to prevent image "theft". However, because they're blocking all access, including regular links, this looks like it's either a mistake, or something more insidious (the conspiracy theorists have pointed out that AOL has just launched their own competing weblog product, also based on "journals").

Although CI Host sued AOL recently for being blocked, we really don't want to do that. We still suspect that this was all just a mistake, and hopefully, by making this public, we'll manage to get their attention, since all our previous attempts have failed."

17 of 396 comments (clear)

  1. Good. by Genghis+Troll · · Score: 4, Funny

    Anything that discourages "blogging" can't be all bad.

    1. Re:Good. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      ...he posted on one of the most popular weblogs in the world.

  2. Scary image by ded_guy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Following the second link in the text, I ended up at this image.
    Yet another reason not to like AOL users. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go wash out my eyes with nitric acid.

    --
    In the future, all spacecraft will be made of cheese.
  3. Re:Wait a minute by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 4, Funny
    Not only are there different people on Slashdot, some of them have different opinions.

    Agreed. There are those who think Microsoft sucks, and those who think Microsoft blows.

  4. Re:Wait a minute by canajin56 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hahaha, he's just kidding there's only one person who posts on Slashdot. Oops, I mean I'M just kidding.

    --
    ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
  5. They Might Be Giants by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 5, Funny
    My Libertarian side says...
    My more centrist side says...
    My cynical side says...

    Hey look! It's Triangle Man!

  6. I, for one... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...welcome our new AOL overlords.

    I'm getting a ritual circumcision as required by AOL CEO Levin as we speakKKKKALRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

  7. Idea. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    (1) Break your user's websites.
    (2) ???
    (3) Profit!

  8. AOL wants to seperate from the internet, lets help by adpowers · · Score: 2, Funny

    I just blocked all AOL users from accessing my website. I am considering blocking incoming mail from AOL users, but I have to talk it over with my users first. If AOL will block internet hosts willy-nilly (they blocked me because I'm on a dynamic connection), then I might as well block them too.

  9. Re:Will this be what kills the referer header? by Spy+Hunter · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think I'm going to configure my browser to always send a referrer string that is identical to the URL it is requesting, and to send a user-agent string of "Googlebot". After all, everyone wants Google to index their content, right? I'll bet you could get into more than one subscription site with this strategy.

    --
    main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
  10. Parent is not a troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Mods on crack.

  11. Re:Wait a minute by caferace · · Score: 4, Funny
    Waitaminnit. Since you're user #441 and posted at 4:42, and I'm user #442 I shoulda posted at 4:43. Now I've gone and fucked the whole power cycle up.

    I guess we'll have to try cold fusion again...

  12. Re:Wait a minute by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 2, Funny
    Anytime there's an article that whines about deep linking, a few dozen people post replies saying that the company could use the referer header to block all such requests. Now that a company is actually doing it, it's suddenly a bad idea

    What does deep linking have to do with this? The story says it is all linking from a particular site that is being blocked.

  13. Re:AOL and Blogs by DA-MAN · · Score: 2, Funny

    Great, just what we need. AOL'ers putting up blogs, I can see it now:

    Today I called tech support, apparently my computer doesn't come with a cup holder...
    I'll be recieving a new CR-DOM driver next week.

    --
    Can I get an eye poke?
    Dog House Forum
  14. You've Got Blog by annielaurie · · Score: 4, Funny

    My, undereducated guess is that AOL's done this because they have their own homogenated, cuticized, totally non-open-slammed-shut, AOL blogs. Yes, folks! According to their information:

    "Everyone has a story to tell; what's yours? Create an AOL Journal about your summer vacation, being pregnant or trying to find a new job. AOL makes it easy, fast and fun!"
    "Get Started Today
    Create a Journal
    Build your own blog
    with our cool tools. "

    It's all right there. I didn't have the heart to actually check out the blogs.

    What do we need with an open-source, customizable system like LJ's, complete with lively, growing user communities? Who needs software that might foster an actual original thought? Interacting with strangers is so...icky! We can pay lots of money instead to record our sanitized inmost feelings on the AOL version.

    They're probably staying awake nights figuring out how to block links from independent systems like Moveable Type. Could Slashdot be far behind?

    Anne

    --
    DUCT TAPE: The Election Supervisors' Secret Weapon
  15. I, for one... by jpmorgan · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...don't.

  16. Re:F12 by Martin+Blank · · Score: 2, Funny

    Read Fucking The Article?

    Are you Russian?

    --
    You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.