User talk:Mr Rapano

Blocked IP Address
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Could you use unblock-auto instead, as that template will have information necessary to assess your block? PhilKnight (talk) 16:34, 13 February 2015 (UTC)


 * Also, if you're using a VPN service, or a cloud service, or something similar, you could try removing that to see if it clears the block. PhilKnight (talk) 13:16, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi Phil

This is all very confusing for me, but here is the message I received:

"Editing from 197.85.132.8 has been blocked (disabled) by ProcseeBot for the following reason(s): The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be an open or anonymizing proxy."

I have no idea what this means though - too technical for me... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr Rapano (talk • contribs) 07:23, 16 February 2015 (UTC)


 * That IP has been blocked since March last year which suggests that you have been using a different IP. You could try restarting your router. PhilKnight (talk) 13:17, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

I work from 2 laptops. Restarting the router doesn't help. Why does Wikipedia then allow me to do edits from the one PC, but not the other? Quite frustrating to say the least. What must I do to get this IP address listed above to become unblocked?


 * I've listed the IP at WikiProject on open proxies for a check. PhilKnight (talk) 18:17, 20 February 2015 (UTC)


 * The IP address certainly was in use as a proxy server, and a comment spammer some time ago, but I can find no evidence that it is still so. I am inclined to unblock, but I shall wait a while for anyone else to comment, in case someone knows something relevant that I don't. Why your two computers should be treated differently I don't know. Are you sure one of them isn't set to work through a proxy? You may like to check what IP address comes up if you edit from the one that is not blocked, to see whether it is for some reason on a different IP address from the one that is blocked. ( An easy way to see what IP comes through to Wikipedia is to post ~ into this page without being logged in to your account, don't click "Save page", but do click the "show preview" button, and see what IP address comes in the previewed signature.) The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 16:15, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Hi James Thank you for trying to sort this out. Please understand that I'm not that clued up on the technical side of things. I don't even know what a proxy server means! So all the things you are asking me to do is a bit out of my league. I honetly don't know how to check for open proxy servers, I don't even know how to post in this page without logging in. I also don't understand why I'm listed as a comment spammer - I've never even commented on anything in Wikipedia before. The only thing I did last year was to update the Cape wine Masters page, because I am the Southern Branch Chairman here in South Africa, and the info on there was very outdated. When I wanted to log in again a few weeks ago to do an adjustment, suddenly I'm blocked as a "spammer". All this talk about proxys and IP's and the rest is very confusing to me. The thing is I can't post anything in this page without logging in, because of the very fact that I'm blocked. Where does one "post" - I don't see such a tab/button anywhere? If this issue can't be resolved, let me know and I'll just delete my accoutn and leave Wikipedia for good. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mr Rapano (talk • contribs) 06:32, 24 February 2015‎


 * Sorry, I'll try to clarify a few points. If give you too many technical details, just ignore most of it and skip down to the last paragraph, which is where the most important bit is.


 * First of all, I was not suggesting that you were a comment spammer, just that the IP address you refer to was once used as a comment spammer. Roughly speaking, that means it was probably used by an automated spamming program to post spam to various forums, wikis, etc. If you are interested, you can read mor in the Wikipedia article Comment spam. Some IP addresses are quite frequently re-allocated from one user to another, so the fact that an IP address was used for spam months ago doesn't in any way imply that the present user of that IP address was responsible.


 * I will give you a very basic account of what a proxy server is. Sometimes, instead of a computer sending messages directly onto the internet, its first sends them to another computer, called a proxy server, which then sends it out onto the internet. The message then appears on the internet with the IP address of that proxy server, instead of the address of the computer the message really originated from. There are many perfectly good reasons for using a proxy server, but there are also bad reasons, such as editing Wikipedia from a computer which has been blocked for spamming, which is why proxy servers are often blocked from Wikipedia.


 * What I meant about posting to this page without logging in was simply the following. Don't log into your account, or if you are logged in then log out. Click any one of the "edit" links on this page, and try to edit here. If your computer is reaching Wikipedia from the IP address 197.85.132.8 then you won't be able to, because it's blocked> However, since you reckon you can edit from one computer but not the other, and if so then you should be able to edit with the one that isn't blocked. If so, posting ~ will create a signature, and since you are not logged in to any account, there will be no username to put in the signature, so instead it will use your IP address. I find that is a quick and easy way to find what IP address I am getting through to Wikipedia on. You don't have to do that, but if you do it will settle whether your two computers are reaching Wikipedia via different IP addresses. However, if you have two computers one of which is affected by an IP block and the other isn't, then they must be using different IP addresses, unless something totally weird that I've never heard of is happening. It is possible that each one has its own internet connection, each with its own IP address, but that is fairly unlikely, and if not then the only way I can think of for them to reach Wikipedia on different IP addresses is for one of them to be using a proxy. There are various ways of connecting to a proxy, such as using a browser that is set to use a proxy. The only proxy-connecting method that I use frequently enough to remember how to change is through Firefox's settings, so if you are using Firefox I can easily tell you how to check for that, and if Firefox is set to connect via proxy then it's dead easy to disconnect from it. Other browsers mostly have fairly similar methods, but I can't remember the details for other ones. The information will be available on the internet somewhere of course (maybe even on Wikipedia) so you could try searching for it if you like.


 * Leaving all that, I still think that your IP address is probably no longer acting as an open proxy, and it should probably be unblocked, so please don't give up and leave Wikipedia. I can well imagine this must be frustrating, but if you can be patient we should be able to sort this out. I have already posted a message about this block at WikiProject on open proxies, ans I shall now contact a CheckUser, who will have access to information about use of the IP address that I can't access. If neither my message at WikiProject on open proxies nor my request for help from a CheckUser produces any reason why the IP address should stay blocked, then I shall unblock it. Sorry that this means yet more waiting for you, but I hope it will be only for a short while. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 14:17, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Unblocked

 * Well, it turns out that when I wrote "Sorry that this means yet more waiting for you", the wait was actually a very short one, as the CheckUser got back to me really quickly. There seems to be no evidence of any current problem with this IP address, so I have unblocked it. The editor who uses the pseudonym "JamesBWatson" (talk) 14:54, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Thank you very much for all your explanations and efforts in trying to resolve this - much appreciated!!

File permission problem with File:ICWM Members, May 2018.jpg
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Nomination of Institute of Cape Wine Masters for deletion
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