It is true that certain IP addresses are blocked from visiting AAVSO servers from time to time. This is also true of almost every server on the Internet as it is standard operating procedure for dealing with certain types of security issues. I am neither referring to nor commenting on John's specific case. I just want to state that if anyone has trouble visiting the AAVSO or VSX web sites, please send me a private e-mail. Thanks.

Aaron

--- In guide-user@yahoogroups.com, "Roger Pickard" <roger.pickard@...> wrote:
>
> Hi John,
>
> Yes, I use it so thanks for indirectly reminding me to update it.
>
> Cheers,
> Roger
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <wisetdf@...>
> To: <guide-user@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 28, 2011 8:50 PM
> Subject: [guide-user] AAVSO VSX Guide 8 TDF potential broken
> outlinking fix
>
>
> >I posted an AAVSO VSX TDF some time ago, that works with the
> >downloaded from CDS b/vsx version.
> >
> > Not sure how many are using it, but one feature is the linking out
> > to the online AAVSO VSX summary page for latest details held there,
> > in full.
> >
> > Unfortunately AAVSO has decided that they don't like me reading
> > their webpages anymore, so have been blocking my IP. This of course
> > also includes AAVSO VSX hosted at their domain.
> >
> > This is no great problem except my IP is a dynamic one from a major
> > UK telecom, and consequently changes a lot (sufficient that if I
> > really want to read their webpages for any reason I only have to log
> > on and off a few times). The consequence of this is that other
> > users will also have this IP from time to time, and although the
> > coincidence of them also wanting to look at AAVSO VSX is unlikely,
> > it does seem as though they have blocked not just one or two IPs,
> > but whole ranges, which is more likely to affect others. Simple
> > re-login in or readily available webproxies can bypass this, but i)
> > not all webproxies are safe to use and ii) this doesn't solve
> > outlinking from Guide 8 which is direct and would need a system
> > proxy to be set up locally.
> >
> > So accordingly for anyone suffering from this problem of cosmic
> > censorship I've redirected the TDF outlink to the relevant VizieR
> > entry. If blocked the OID link from their will fail too, but you'll
> > have access to the latest full VizieR listing. I've made VizieR and
> > the CDS aware of this closed access aspect of this open access
> > database, so the problem may be short lived, but just in case, you
> > can use the following tdf instead.
> >
> > Download the VSX.dat file from B/VSX at VizieR ftp site, ungzip into
> > your guide directory, then cut and paste the following into an ascii
> > editor and save as vsx.tdf in your Guide directory :-
> >
> > -------tdf starts next line---------
> > file vsx.dat
> > title VSX
> > RA H 42 9
> > units0 -2
> > de d 52 9
> > text 9 30
> > ~b 9 30 %s\n\n
> > ~b 40 0 0 Variable\n
> > ~b 40 0 1 Suspect\n
> > ~b 40 0 2 Nonvariable\n
> > ~b 62 30 Type %s\n
> > ~r 42 9 \nRA [2000] %R\n
> > ~r 52 9 Dec[2000] %D\n\n
> > ~b 94 11 Max mag %s\n
> > ~b109 0 Min mag %[110,11]\n
> > ~b109 0 ( Amplitude %[110,11]\n
> > ~r125 13 \nEpoch HJD %s
> > ~b139 20 \nPeriod %s days
> > ~b 45 1 \n\n
> > ~r 1 7
> > ^VSX//xhttp://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=B/vsx/vsx&OID=%s^\n
> >
> > epoch 2000
> > sort 1
> > type sCaeaeff;x16
> > label spaces
> > goto spaces
> > goto case
> > field 0.00 20.00
> > shown 0
> > end
> > -------tdf ended previous line---------
> >
> > which'll be a work around until aavso realise scientific peer review
> > means not blocking people able of critiquing your results and
> > science from actually seeing your work just in case you've got it
> > wrong and thus puts their public information services on a separate
> > domain route to the inhouse aavso stuff they don't want others to
> > see and feel a need to have IP blocks upon.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > John
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
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> >
> >
> >
>