Merge branch 'js/range-check-codeql-workaround': The Bot-Proofing Hack

You are seeing this page because the administrator of this website has set up Anubis, a powerful tool designed to protect the server against the relentless scourge of AI companies scraping websites without permission. While this measure may cause some downtime for the website, it's a necessary compromise to ensure that legitimate users can access the site's resources.

Anubis uses a Proof-of-Work scheme, similar to Hashcash, which is a proposed solution to reduce email spam. In theory, this approach works well at an individual scale, but when AI companies employ mass scraping tactics, the added load becomes unsustainable and makes it much more expensive for them to continue.

The true purpose of Anubis lies not in its deterrent effect, but as a means to buy time for developers to refine their fingerprinting techniques. By forcing users to solve a challenge-based proof-of-work page, these experts aim to identify headless browsers – those pesky AI-powered bots that masquerade as legitimate browsers.

However, Anubis requires the use of modern JavaScript features, which some plugins like JShelter disable in order to preserve user experience. This means that users must enable JavaScript to bypass the challenge and access the website. Unfortunately, this is a temporary measure until more advanced solutions are developed – specifically, a no-JS solution.

The social contract around website hosting has shifted dramatically due to the rise of AI-powered scraping companies. Anubis represents an effort to adapt to these new circumstances and find a balance between protecting legitimate users and allowing them access to their resources. While it may seem like an inconvenience, this measure is a necessary step towards safeguarding online content against those who would seek to exploit it.