Merge branch 'jk/no-clobber-dangling-symref-with-fetch': The Unseen Battleground of Website Security

You're seeing this message because the administrator of this website has taken measures to protect it against the threat of AI-powered bots and scrapers. This security feature is called Anubis, and its purpose is to add a layer of complexity to prevent automated scripts from overloading our server.

But what exactly does Anubis do? In simple terms, it's a Proof-of-Work scheme designed to make it more difficult for AI companies to scrape websites without being detected. The idea behind this approach is that at an individual scale, the additional load caused by Anubis may be negligible, but when combined with other scraper tools, it becomes prohibitively expensive.

So why would you need a Proof-of-Work scheme? In today's digital landscape, AI-powered bots have become increasingly sophisticated. These bots can mimic human behavior and even render fonts correctly, making them nearly indistinguishable from real users. By requiring users to complete a challenge proof of work page, we can identify legitimate users who are more likely to be browsing the website genuinely.

However, there's a catch – Anubis requires the use of modern JavaScript features that plugins like JShelter will disable. If you're using such plugins on this domain, you'll need to disable them for this site to function properly. Unfortunately, our current implementation still relies on JavaScript, making it challenging to create a fully no-JS solution.

Currently, we're running Anubis version 1.21.3, and enabling JavaScript is required to bypass the challenge. This isn't just about aesthetics; AI companies have rewritten the social contract around website hosting, making no-JS solutions a work-in-progress at this point.

We appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter. By taking these measures, we hope to create a safer online environment for everyone while also giving more time to develop fingerprinting techniques that can identify headless browsers – the perfect opponents for Anubis.