Lemmy.ml is blocking all requests from /kbin Instances

I discovered yesterday evening that Lemmy.ml is blocking all inbound ActivityPub requests from /kbin instances. Specifically, a 403 'access denied' is returned when the user agent contains "kbinBot" anywhere in the string. This has been causing a cascade of failures with federation for many server owners, flooding the message queue with transport errors.

This doesn't appear to be a mistake; it has been done very deliberately, only on Lemmy.ml. Lemmy.world and other large instances do not exhibit the same behavior. It also isn't a side effect of the bug introduced in Lemmy 0.18. You can observe by sending the following in a terminal

> curl -I --user-agent "kbinBot v0.1" https://lemmy.world/u/test
HTTP/2 200
[...]

> curl -I --user-agent "kbinBot v0.1" https://lemmy.ml/u/test                                
HTTP/2 403
[...]

> curl -I --user-agent "notKbinBot v0.1" https://lemmy.ml/u/test
HTTP/2 403
[...]

> curl -I --user-agent "placeholder-user-agent" https://lemmy.ml/u/test
HTTP/2 200
[...]

Additional evidence of this not being a Lemmy 0.18 bug:

  • This occurs when making web requests to any location on the Lemmy.ml webserver, not just ActivityPub endpoints.

  • Go to https://fedidb.org/software/lemmy and pick an instance running 0.18.0. Perform the above commands, replacing the URL for Lemmy.ml with that particular instance's address.

If this continues, my instance may need to defederate from Lemmy.ml. This is especially problematic because Lemmy.ml continues to federate information outbound to other kbin instances while refusing to allow inbound communication from them.

Spoofing the user agent is less than ideal, and doesn't respect Lemmy.ml's potential wish to not be contacted by /kbin instances. I don't post this to create division between communities, but I do hope that I can draw awareness to what's going on here. Defederating /kbin instances entirely would even be better than arbitrarily denying access one-way. This said, we should all attempt to maintain a good-faith interpretation until otherwise indicated by the Lemmy developers. It's possibel that this is a firewall misconfiguration or some other webserver-related bug.

Relevant comment from me (#354 - [BUG] Critical errors/failed messages during messenger:consume)

Edits:

  • Yes, people have already tried reaching out to the Lemmy instance admins in their Matrix room with no answer.

  • Someone has posed a question on Lemmy.ml about the block here: https://lemmy.ml/post/1563840

cindybyrd547,
cindybyrd547 avatar

Are you trying to stop your divorce or separation and save your marriage or Get your ex lover back?

I am writing this review to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Excellent for their incredible ability to bring back my ex-lover through their love spells. After a painful breakup, I was left feeling lost and heartbroken, desperately longing for a second chance. That's when I stumbled upon Dr. Excellent services, and I decided to give it a try.
From the very beginning, Dr. Excellent displayed a deep understanding of my situation. They took the time to listen to my story, empathize with my pain, and assure me that they could help. Their professionalism and expertise were evident throughout the entire process.
Dr. Excellent crafted a personalized love spell specifically tailored to my circumstances. They explained the rituals involved and the intentions behind each step, ensuring that I was comfortable and fully aware of the process. Their knowledge and experience in spellcasting were truly remarkable.
Within a few weeks of casting the love spell, I noticed subtle changes in my ex-lover's behavior. Communication between us became more frequent, and the tension that once existed seemed to dissipate. It was as if the spell had opened the door for us to reconnect on a deeper level.
To my astonishment, my ex-lover reached out to me, expressing their desire to meet and discuss the possibility of reconciliation. We had a heartfelt conversation, addressing the issues that led to our breakup and finding a way to move forward. It was a truly miraculous reunion that I never thought possible.
I cannot thank Dr. Excellent enough for their incredible gift and the positive impact they have had on my life. Their love spells not only brought back my ex-lover but also helped us heal and rebuild our relationship. I highly recommend their services to anyone seeking to reunite with a lost love. Trust in Here his contact. WhatsApp him at: +2348084273514 "Or email him at: Excellentspellcaster@gmail.com , His website:https://lovespellonline.godaddysites.com and you may just find the love and happiness you've been longing for.

Kantiberl,
Kantiberl avatar

Man, I just realized how much I love kbin. I was on Lemmy arguing with people against defederation and something just felt off about it. It was like that rabid leftist part of Reddit that refused to see outside of their bubble. Kbin has a really moderate atmosphere and I'm happy to be here. I feel like people are allowed to have proper discourse here.

Sneptaur,
@Sneptaur@pawb.social avatar

The ML in lemmy.ml stands for Marxist-Leninist

ewe,
@ewe@lemmy.world avatar

The two have roughly equal daily users, right? I have an account on both but kbin seems like it has generally less app development. Are there kbin apps I don't know about yet?

rocker,
rocker avatar

@ArtemisApp

lodion,
@lodion@aussie.zone avatar

Have kbin reciprocated? I see my posts arrive on kbin, but not get sent back to other lemmy instances.

Spzi,

Interesting, this is technically not defederation, as far as I understand it. Although effectively it seems at least similar.

One implication of the difference is that it is less transpartent. On https://lemmy.ml/instances, 'kbin' only shows up on the left side; federated.

I'm hoping we will get some explanation why these decisions were made, and why not as a defederation.

retronautickz,

Could it be a problem due to the newest Lemmy software upgrade?

For what I read it's a complete mess.

It denies access from non-en-us browsers, for example.

It wouldn't surprise me if it messed with federation too.

But, they're the devs. They did this mess. Why would they present a software upgrade that clearly had a lot of issues is beyond me...

violet_cerue,
@violet_cerue@toot.garden avatar

While underhanded, it's better than weirdo shit like worming their way into kbin instances and pulling coups on the mods, which is what online reds used to do to various left-leaning political subreddits, FB pages, etc. Better to keep the tanks in the depot.

HKayn,
@HKayn@dormi.zone avatar

I'm appalled that everyone in the comments is already jumping to conclusions without waiting for a statement by the lemmy.ml admins.

Yes, I know what's up with the Lemmy devs, but that doesn't imply anything here.

Blazingflames6073,

Same. It's annoying

ChemicalRascal,
ChemicalRascal avatar

Well, it's been more than a hot minute. How long are folks supposed to wait? There's ultimately only two feasible scenarios here, given the details we have at hand.

HKayn,
@HKayn@dormi.zone avatar

Has anyone actually reached out to the lemmy.ml admins?

ChemicalRascal,
ChemicalRascal avatar

As per OP's edits, yes.

kabe,
@kabe@lemmy.world avatar

Seriously. So much tutting and moralizing when nothing has actually been confirmed yet.

Blazingflames6073,

Uhh, I have a question for you since we're another both users from lemmy.world

Can you open the post in a private tab and check if our comments in this post are visible from kbin?

kabe,
@kabe@lemmy.world avatar

Yep, they are.

ChemicalRascal,
ChemicalRascal avatar

They're very visible!

MonsieurHedge,
MonsieurHedge avatar

Lemmy seems worse and worse all the time. A completely unannounced bootleg defederation... for what appears to be absolutely no reason? Are the instance admins insane?

Willer,

Platform made up of infants shoots itself in the knee?

DreamerOfImprobableDreams,
DreamerOfImprobableDreams avatar

My cynical thought is that they're not insane, they're trying to kneecap the competition before it gets popular enough to pose a threat to them.

communist,
@communist@beehaw.org avatar

That's not how this works, they stand to gain nothing from eliminating competition, it's open source software, it's likely an accident or a moderation issue.

Machinist3359,

To what end though? This is one lemmy instance, and probably the one fediverse instance facing the highest influx of traffic.

smegger,

Is there any chance they're just blocking things with bot in the name? Just crappy keyword filtering?

argv_minus_one,

Lemmy.ml admins have been silent about this issue for over a day now. The hypothesis that this is merely a technical glitch is rapidly losing plausibility. Something's up.

ChemicalRascal,
ChemicalRascal avatar

No, it's specifically "kbinbot", case insensitive. Even "botkbin" gets through just fine.

tjr,

yeah, I've been getting hammered in my transport queue from this. I guess if this is intentional it is worth just defederating to avoid spamming the queue and logs.

Onii-Chan,
Onii-Chan avatar

Lemmy.ml is a hive of authoritarians. I'll be glad to not have to see their oppressive fascist fantasies here.

ReCursing,
ReCursing avatar

From what I hear, they're authoritarian communist, not fascist. Fascism is not just a synonym for authoritarianism, it's a specific economically far right authoritarian political position.

Onii-Chan,
Onii-Chan avatar

Same end result; oppression of the masses, rejection of human rights and personal liberties, concentration of power and corruption. Fascist, authoritarian communist, tomato, tomAto, as far as I'm concerned. Their ideologies all stand directly on the throat of freedom and I want nothing to do with anyone who believes total control of the people is a positive thing.

ReCursing,
ReCursing avatar

You can dislike both (I do too) but they are not the same, and with the far right on the rise and making power grabs the world over right now we need that distinction

Machinist3359,

The distinction between a square and a rectangle is important, even if you don't like right angles and parallel sides. Fascism is a flavor of authoritarianism which is uniquely worse and focused on genocide.

Colombo,

Fascism is not focused on Genocide. Even for Nazism, Genocide is only a (welcomed) byproduct.

Machinist3359,

There is no fascism without genocide. It's an idealogical ponzi scheme which promises to an ingroup if they destroy outgroup(s).

Other forms of authoritarianism simply demand obedience, and optionally or incidentally incorporate genocidal policy to that end. But genocide is to fascism as driving is to a car, the reason for all off is components. Not a byproduct to some imagined other purpose

Colombo,

Prove it.

shutuuplegs,

fascism făsh′ĭz″əm noun A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, a capitalist economy subject to stringent governmental controls, violent suppression of the opposition, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.

There is your proof. It’s in the definition of the term with suppression and racism.

If you don’t want to do your own research and information gathering that’s fine, but I suggest doing so in the future. Knowing exact terms and their meanings in a political conversation is incredibly important.

Colombo,

suppression of the opposition != genocide, same with racism.

If you don’t want to do your own research and information gathering that’s fine, but I suggest doing so in the future. Knowing exact terms and their meanings in a political conversation is incredibly important.

Not only you provide a definition, that doesn't prove anything, but you are also smugly passively aggressive. This is not the way discussion should be led.

If you don't want to discuss, do not get into conversations that do not relate you in any way.

!deleted233369,

deleted_by_author

    •
    argv_minus_one,

    So do communist governments (e.g. Holodomor, Uyghurs in China). So do capitalist governments (e.g. Native Americans, Irish). Genocide is not unique to fascism, unfortunately.

    Machinist3359,

    Not unique, but uniquely central. Fascism cannot exist without a persecuted outgroup. In other contexts, genocide is generally a state consolidating power or resources, but not the focus of these state projects.

    Klear,

    The distinction between a square and a rectangle is important

    Square is a rectangle though...

    Machinist3359,

    Yes, and fascism is authoritarian.

    halfempty,
    halfempty avatar

    I believe I saw a workaround for the /kbin "404 not found" error. You must first connect with the primary URL string, and then a subsequent call to the URL containing the specific magazine.

    cockatoo010,
    cockatoo010 avatar

    Isn't that the instance where an admin is afiliated with the CCP?

    I'm not surprised at all

    DreamerOfImprobableDreams,
    DreamerOfImprobableDreams avatar

    Wait, I knew the admins were CCP sympathizers, but does one actually have ties to the CCP?

    Onii-Chan,
    Onii-Chan avatar

    The very same.

    asanetargoss,

    @cockatoo010 @barista Do you have a source for this? /srs

    Otome-chan,
    Otome-chan avatar

    common lemmy.ml L. thanks for the heads up though that interacting on lemmy.ml stuff might be broken.

    ChemicalRascal,
    ChemicalRascal avatar

    Well that's a bit fucked. I figured that maybe they'd just tried to block bots, but no, "testBot" goes through just fine. They specifically seem to be rejecting "kbinbot", though, not just anything with "kbin" in it.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • fediverse
  • kavyap
  • InstantRegret
  • mdbf
  • osvaldo12
  • Durango
  • DreamBathrooms
  • everett
  • magazineikmin
  • thenastyranch
  • ngwrru68w68
  • Youngstown
  • slotface
  • rosin
  • khanakhh
  • provamag3
  • Leos
  • cisconetworking
  • tacticalgear
  • modclub
  • GTA5RPClips
  • cubers
  • ethstaker
  • anitta
  • megavids
  • normalnudes
  • tester
  • JUstTest
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •