Hi, I just noticed a strange behavior which I havn't seen before. For instance, I was just looking at Re^3: Perl is dying and tried to click on the link to the main thread 
in thread Perl is dying 
(which points to)
http://perlmonks.org/?node_id=561229

[download]

I get an error 

Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /index.pl on this server.

[download]
But when I enter 561229 into the SearchBox, the node comes up. Is something broken? These links always worked before for me. Do you think something in my local Mozilla cache is screwed up?
I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. Cogito ergo sum a bum

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: node id link forbidden ???
by Corion (Patriarch) on Jul 17, 2006 at 14:33 UTC

    As the mentioned thread was one of the top links referred from http://reddit.com and http://digg.com, the load was too much for our webservers. Thankfully, mattriff applied some mod_rewrite magic to block the link and theorbtwo set up a static version of the thread.

    As it currently stands, just the direct GET link to ?node_id=561229 is blocked, but no other form (I think). The static version of the thread is at http://qs321.pair.com/~monkads/561229.html.

[reply]
[d/l]
[select]

      If mod_rewrite is already being used, why not issue a redirect from the original dynamic to the static? This has the _appearence_ of an attempt to stifle criticism. Is it?

      If not, it might be wise to say so, so people don't get the wrong idea.

[reply]
        seriously! seriously! an interesting article critical of our primary subject matter, you click on it and get "forbidden" - what?! is this orwellian? has it been censored? egads!

        It's not what you look like, when you're doin' what you’re doin'.
        It's what you’re doin' when you’re doin' what you look like you’re doin'!
             - Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Express yourself
[reply]

      What ryantate said. Should lack of mod_rewrite hackers be the issue, I’m up for it, just let me know.

      Makeshifts last the longest.

[reply]
    A reply falls below the community's threshold of quality. You may see it by logging in.
Re: node id link forbidden ???
by grinder (Bishop) on Jul 17, 2006 at 16:29 UTC

    I encountered the same behaviour, and I'm glad to learn of the reason. Up here from the peanut gallery though, may I comment that it might have been better to redirect to a page that explains that the page being sought is being hammered from an external site, rather than just saying Forbidden.

    At first I thought it was the crazy Everything servers playing up. Now I wonder whether, when other people see that bare error message, they will conclude that those dumb Perl hackers can't even configure a web server correctly? I find this highly ironic, given the argument of the OP of the the thread in question.

    mod_rewrite'ing that node id to another static page is not all that difficult (although I can appreciate the tuit cost).

    dislaimer: I put this thread on the front page, because I think it's important for people to know about; you may refrain from upvoting this node and ++ the rest for the efforts undertaken and explanations given.

    • another intruder with the mooring in the heart of the Perl

[reply]
Re: node id link forbidden ???
by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jul 17, 2006 at 18:37 UTC
[reply]
      Thanks for the links. I got a kick out the criticism by one poster that Ruby is better because the creator is more sexy than Larry Wall, giving the links Ruby vs. Perl

      I've been around long enough to get a feel for who you can trust...... I would trust Wall, rather that that slick, evil looking Hannson. :-)

      Who would you rather have your daughter marry? :-)

      I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. Cogito ergo sum a bum
[reply]

        I agree with you, though I'd like to note that he's just the creator of 'Ruby on Rails'...

        I would trust the real creator of Ruby, Yukihiro Matsumoto, a lot more than that Hansson. I looked at Ruby before all this Rails business, and it seemed pretty good for some tasks, but I never used it for something usefull (I learned Perl afterwards for work, and it seems to fit better for what I do).

[reply]

Back to Perl Monks Discussion