Proxy

This article focuses mainly on Conservapedia. Please generalise to consider all kinds of wingnuttery and fascism.

Conservapedia is often protected by the largely defensive weapon of range block which means that if a potential editor happens to use an ISP with an IP number range that has been nuked by CP's ever watchful troopers and semen, the user will have to resort to using a proxy, which itself has not been nuked.

Idiot's guide
Visit http://www.proxy.org.

Hit 'Go', and if or when a proxy server page loads, enter your destination URL - for example, www.conservapedia.com.

Often, the server doesn't exist any more or doesn't work - just close the window and start again. Eventually, something will work, and you'll get to know which types are better than others.

If it works, you'll see some doohickey's at the top of the page, which you can ignore. Work 'through' this stuff and you're away on a hack! It's all pretty simple.

Notes about working through proxies
Proxies work by simply routing your surfing through another site, which donates its own IP address to the destination, meaning you are to all intents and purposes 'unidentifiable' - your own IP is removed, and to the destination site you appear to be at the IP address of the proxy server. However, as with almost all computer security, nothing is in actuality that anonymous - your own IP address may be unknown to your destination, but the proxy server records know exactly where you are. So don't go thinking you can't actually be tracked and start doin' anything borderline criminal or anything. Ofcourse we're all good people at [[RationalWiki]. We wouldn't consider doing anything borderline criminal.

Many proxy servers don't work well at all, may be very slow, or may strip stuff out of the data, making them unusable - you'll know either in seconds when it doesn't load properly, or when you try to edit at CP and it doesn't work.

You are strongly advised to turn on pop-up blocking in your browser and whatever ad-blocking software you can get your hands on. Proxy servers are often way-sketchy parts of the internet, and you'll certainly want to stop the mushrooming windows problem at many of them.

Because of the above, proxy servers come and go, popping into and out of existence all the time. It's like Whack-A-Proxy out there. Don't expect one to be there the next time you try,

At CP, you're strongly advised to avoid editing via a proxy when Karajou, TK or Jallen are active - they run Checkuser (software which allows them to see your IP address) and watch like a hawk for proxies and block in an instant. Karajou seems to think all proxies are in Istanbul, and has blocked many, many proxy servers. Amusing sidebar: when you get banned via a proxy, your blocker will often claim the ban reason is that you're a sock of a vast array of other folk - maybe none of whom are you - because you've just outed an army of socks who were using that proxy. This is why you need to be careful when TK and Karajou are around, as an unwise posting may well end up in the banning of multiple other users who are doing good works in the name of the Lord.\

Once the IP address of a proxy is blocked, you can mostly consider it dead for future use at CP. You've just killed a useful resource, and now must start over at another proxy server. Be careful when this happens that you don't just suddenly pop up again in front of the attack dog - since you now have a new IP address, you've just exposed yourself as an 'internet traveller'.

So - to avoid compromising many others, if TK or Karajou are around, after you create your sock, do some 'good works', write a proper article, make an uncontroversial edit, or simply do nothing. Wait. Patience is power. All good things come to those who wait.

The really smart way to use a proxy is: once you find one you like, stick to that one for that sock account, and NEVER use another proxy or IP address. So - bookmark a proxy per sock, and be strict about usage. If you run multiple socks, it can be most amusing to have multiple proxies open in multiple tabs, with all your characters arguing with each other on Talk pages and undoing each others work. Ho ho ho.

If you're writing a major screed at CP via a proxy, copy and paste the text before hitting Save - it can often disappear and all that cleverly worded spleen-venting will be for naught.

Proxy.org is only one directory providing proxy sites - there are a vast array of others which you can discover on your own. Posting this article quite likely means that all proxies listed at proxy.org will shortly be 'used up' as lots of people use them and get banned

Tor
Tor is the greatest tool known to circumvent censorship. It's a dynamic proxy that no IP block can stop. Start getting it at this web site.