Merge branch 'maint-2.50'
As you're viewing this message, it's likely because our website has been temporarily locked down by Anubis, a clever security measure designed to protect our server from the scourge of AI-powered web scrapers.
Anubis is a compromise solution that aims to deter malicious actors without completely shutting down access to our site. This innovative approach uses a Proof-of-Work scheme, similar to Hashcash, which adds a tiny computational load to individual users' browsers. At small scales, this overhead is barely noticeable; however, when applied at mass scraper levels, it makes web scraping significantly more expensive.
So, what's the real purpose of Anubis? According to its creators, it's not meant to be a foolproof solution but rather a temporary measure to buy time for further development. The ultimate goal is to create a more robust system that can identify and fingerprint headless browsers – those pesky AI-powered bots masquerading as legitimate users.
However, this means that Anubis requires the use of modern JavaScript features, which some plugins like JShelter might disable. To overcome this hurdle, you'll need to enable JavaScript on your browser or disable plugins like JShelter for our domain. Unfortunately, this is a necessary step due to the evolving social contract around website hosting and AI-powered web scraping.
Rest assured that we're working tirelessly to create a more seamless experience without requiring JavaScript. A no-JS solution is still in development, but until then, Anubis will be our trusty sidekick in this ongoing battle against malicious actors.