Merge branch 'ts/merge-orig-head-doc-fix'
As we navigate the complex and ever-evolving landscape of website security, it's not uncommon for administrators to employ measures to protect their servers from malicious activity. For those who have stumbled upon this message, rest assured that it's all part of a larger effort to safeguard against the scourge of AI-powered bots that seek to scrape websites without permission.
The administrator of this website has set up an innovative solution called Anubis, which uses a Proof-of-Work scheme inspired by Hashcash. This clever approach aims to make website scraping much more expensive for mass scraper operations, while still being manageable at the individual scale.
The concept behind Anubis is twofold. Firstly, it's designed to deter bots from attempting to scrape websites without permission. By imposing a proof-of-work challenge, the administrator can ensure that only legitimate users are able to access their website's resources. Secondly, Anubis serves as a temporary placeholder solution until more advanced methods can be developed to fingerprint and identify headless browsers – those sneaky AI-powered browsers that can mimic human behavior.
However, there's a catch! Anubis requires the use of modern JavaScript features, which means that plugins like JShelter may need to be disabled for this domain. Yes, you read that right – to get past the challenge, you'll need to enable JavaScript, despite knowing it can make your experience less secure.
The reasoning behind this seemingly counterintuitive approach is rooted in the changing social contract around website hosting. With AI-powered bots on the rise, the traditional notion of security has had to adapt. A no-JS solution is still a work-in-progress, but Anubis represents a step in the right direction – even if it's not perfect.
So, what does this mean for you? It means that you'll need to take responsibility for your own online behavior and make informed choices about which plugins you use. By disabling JShelter or other similar plugins, you can help ensure a smoother experience for everyone involved.