The SnipURL site (on all domains) is timing out for me, can't reach shortcuts either

[nbr]

I am a longtime SnipURL user (account handle is nbr). Suddenly, in the
last couple of weeks, I find I am unable to reach the SnipURL website
(or Snurl, or Snipr, or Sn.im) from my home computer. Snipped links
are also unreachable. Every attempt to connect to one of your domains
gives me a timeout error. It doesn't seem to matter what browser I
use.

The odd thing is that I have no problem connecting from my office
computer.

So, clearly, this is not your fault. I'm just wondering if anyone on
this forum can point me towards a solution. Does it mean my ISP has
blacklisted the domains? (I use Verizon FiOS.) Or does it mean I have
somehow blocked it at my end?

I don't have a lot of technical knowledge to work from. I haven't
intentionally tweaked any domain or hosts settings.

Thanks in advance for whatever advice anyone can give.

Nathan

[nbr]

UPDATE: when I try to access the site through an anonymous proxy, it
seems to work fine.

[SnipURL Editor]

Hi

What does this show you:
http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/snipurl.com

It is probably your firewall or your ISP that's blocking the site.

Happy snipping,
Shashank
SnipURL Editor

SnipURL - Snippetty snip snip with your long URLs!
snipurl.com / snipr.com / snurl.com / sn.im

Report abuse: http://snipr.com/site/reportspam - Please use this web-based spam
submission as it instantly flags the abused snipurl for further review
by us. Thanks.

SnipURL Terms of use:
http://snipr.com/site/termsofuse

[nbr]

Thanks. The site is definitely up according to
downforeveryoneorjustme.com

So what should I do? I'm using a computer at home with no firewall
other than the standard Windows version. I haven't tweaked any
settings on it. Verizon is my ISP. Contact them?

Thanks,

Nathan

On Sep 7, 6:36 am, SnipURL Editor <edi...@snipurl.com> wrote:
> Hi
>
> What does this show you:http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/snipurl.com
>
> It is probably your firewall or your ISP that's blocking the site.
>
> Happy snipping,
> Shashank
> SnipURL Editor
>
> SnipURL - Snippetty snip snip with your long URLs!
> snipurl.com / snipr.com / snurl.com / sn.im
>

> Report abuse:http://snipr.com/site/reportspam- Please use this web-based spam

> submission as it instantly flags the abused snipurl for further review
> by us. Thanks.
>
> SnipURL Terms of use:http://snipr.com/site/termsofuse
>

[SnipURL Editor]

First, make sure it is not your browser. Could you open a command
promt on your Windows machine (DOS window, by running the program
"cmd") and then execute this command:

tracert snipurl.com

If this shows you dropped packets, then yes, it's Verizon. You will
need to contact their admin team to figure out why traffic to
snipurl.com is being blocked.

Let me know.

Shashank
SnipURL

[nbr]

Thank you. I ran tracert but I'm not sure what to look for. The route
leads to a datacenter in Dallas and then times out after that (with
asterisks). Does that help?

Nathan

> >> Report abuse:http://snipr.com/site/reportspam-Please use this web-based spam

[John]

I've heard of this issue as well, and I'd really like to know if
there's going to be any contact between ISPs and SnipURL. I love the
service and think there are a ton of great features, but the fact that
many users can't access the links means I'll have to switch to a
different shortener. Any thoughts?

> > >> Report abuse:http://snipr.com/site/reportspam-Pleaseuse this web-based spam

[SnipURL Editor]

Hi.

We will occasionally block IP ranges from where spammers have snipped
URLs. These are very strictly defined so other users do not get
blocked from our services, and at any point there are just about 5-6
of them in our firewall.

Other than that, the problem may be from your ISP side. It is hard for
us to track every ISP in the world that is still using some old
fashioned technology to block websites, there is little we can do
about it. AOL was notorious all this while for a "throw the baby with
the bathwater" approach.

Snurl.com is perfectly available for all our users, except some from
Verizon in the past few days. Why they have blocked Snurl is anyone's
guess. Several RBL checks (such as
http://www.anti-abuse.org/checkrbl.php?host=snipurl.com&submit.x=0&submit.y=0
) reveal that our domain is not black listed. I personally track this
with an eagle vigil.

If Verizon is using the fantastic technology AOL used to use to block
domains, then I'm afraid the best we can do is to write to them, which
we have already done.

As snippers, you can only help us by writing to them yourself too.
Some customer feedback can only help them wake up.

Snipurl has triggered several knockoff services over the years, but
not one of them (still) has the ease of reporting and fighting spam --
we allow our users to report using http://snipurl.com/site/reportspam
which instantly flags the snipurl in question for abuse checking and
we follow up on it within a few minutes or an hour at the most.

Admins from the best of them -- ebay, Yahoo, Twitter, BT, Facebook --
work with us directly to combat spam. Mindlessly blocking domains
which were "spamvertised" is the most simple-minded way to deal with
this collective problem.

Anyway, please let us know which ISP you use and we will be happy to
write to them. The big American telcos such as Verizon and AOL are not
the most responsive, but we can do our part.

Thanks,
Shashank
SnipURL

[SnipURL Editor]

On Tue, Sep 8, 2009 at 10:31 AM, nbr<> wrote:
>
> Thank you. I ran tracert but I'm not sure what to look for. The route
> leads to a datacenter in Dallas and then times out after that (with
> asterisks). Does that help?

Nathan, could you please write directly to me at edi...@snipurl.com
and include the tracert results? Also, let me know which browser you
use, and extensions if any.

Thanks

[nbr]

Thank you. I've just sent the email.

Nathan