Wikipedia talk:Wikipedia Signpost/2015-06-10/News and notes

I asked on wikimedia-l how the HTTPS move (which I basically approve of) would affect the China/Iran problem, and a few other people did too - no answer as yet. Has anyone else heard one? - David Gerard (talk) 22:56, 13 June 2015 (UTC)
 * My understanding is that zh Wikipedia has been blocked in China (both HTTPS and HTTP) since May 19th. So as of right now the switch probably hasn't affected much in China since everything is blocked. More generally, the switch will force countries to decide between blocking a specific language of Wikipedia in its entirety or not blocking wikipedia at all as opposed to the more common current practice of selectively censoring only some articles/keywords. Bawolff (talk) 01:07, 14 June 2015 (UTC)
 * I strongly desire to know the same. Res Mar 01:59, 14 June 2015 (UTC)
 * The Berkman Center for Internet and Society estimated in 2010 that about 3% of Chinese residents used VPNs, but that has skyrocketed with heavier censorship recently, and for those who read English and work in professional fields where the internet is used daily, simple things like access to YouTube become vital for business and so the number jumps to far over half. VPNs cost about 50 RMB per month on TaoBao, and there is evidence that families and friends share VPN logins among many users. This year, Beijing started blocking all VPNs at the protocol level, including corporate VPNs, while at the same time blocking remaining Google services such as Gmail, which has resulted in a veritable cornucopia of new stealth and steganographic VPN services, which has hugely benefited those living under repressive governments throughout the world. And those in Beijing who make a living off of moral panic will never be able to swing a full ssh block, so e.g. still work great, just as they always have, so for the technically minded that you really want to reach, they are probably editing just as much as Chinese in America edit. Ta31416 (talk) 15:46, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

Yana has since answered: Iran isn't blocking all https, and China has extended its previous Wikipedia https block to http, so at this point it's up to them; and Wikipedia Zero was a required case to work with https - David Gerard (talk) 19:40, 14 June 2015 (UTC)
 * Ok, good to see. Res Mar 16:17, 16 June 2015 (UTC)