Making Website Accessible: The Case for Anubis

As a user, you're likely accustomed to seamless access to your favorite websites without any hiccups. However, the rise of AI-powered scrapers has brought about a new challenge for website administrators. To combat this issue, many sites have turned to a system called Anubis, designed to protect their servers from aggressive scraping activities.

Anubis uses a Proof-of-Work scheme similar to Hashcash, which was initially proposed as a solution to reduce email spam. While it may seem counterintuitive, the idea behind Anubis is that at individual scales, the additional load is negligible, but when scraped at mass levels, it becomes prohibitively expensive for AI companies to continue their activities.

Despite its limitations, Anubis serves as a placeholder solution to give website administrators more time to develop and implement more robust fingerprinting techniques aimed at identifying headless browsers. This is crucial in preventing the challenge proof of work page from being presented to users who are likely to be legitimate visitors.

However, there's a catch: Anubis requires modern JavaScript features that certain plugins like JShelter disable. If you're using this plugin, please note that it's necessary to disable it or similar extensions for this website to function properly. Unfortunately, Anubis version 1.20.0 still relies on the use of JavaScript, making it a work-in-progress for those who prefer not to enable it.

It's worth noting that AI companies have rewritten the social contract around how website hosting works, leaving no-JS solutions as an ongoing challenge. While progress is being made, users like you are essential in helping website administrators navigate this new landscape.

By understanding and embracing Anubis, we can work together to create a more secure and accessible online environment for all users. Enable JavaScript and help pave the way for more effective solutions to protect our online spaces from AI-powered scrapers.