I just found out that some readers using Internet Explorer haven’t been able to visit my blog lately. They’re getting the following error message: “You are banned due to suspicion of spamming the site and/or by choice of the blog administrator. If you believe this ban to be in error, email the blog administrator.”
Of course it doesn’t give an email address for the blog administrator or anything helpful like that. And when I google the error message to find out more about it, the only place on the entire internet where this exact error message appears is on my blog.
Astute readers might recall a similar problem on my blog a couple of months ago. The temporary fix at that point was to go to knitnut.net (without the www). This time the temporary fix is exactly the reverse: go to www.knitnut.net, with the www.
In the meantime, I’ll try to sort it out….again. Thank you Hella Stella and Carole for letting me know.
Okay, I think I fixed it. I had to deactivate Super Cache in order to do it, but that seems to have solved the problem. So you can disregard this entire post, okay?
And here I thought my ban was because of my views on the tofu challenge.
Deactivating Super Cache should have nothing to do with it.
Milan, rumour has it you’re in trouble all over the internet – first the tofu thing, then the Batgirl thing. Sheesh.
Scott, it *should* have nothing to do with it, but deactivating Super Cache instantly solved the problem. I think it has something to do with some of Super Cache’s code in the htaccess file.
Zoom, that error message you were getting (or your IE users were getting) comes from the Wp-Ban plugin. That’s custom text; I know.. I’m the one who put it in there
Regardless of anything else, deactivating the WP-Ban plugin (which you’ve done) will remove that limitation. Super Cache has nothing to do with banning anyone.. IE or otherwise.. and I’ve proved that by turning supercache back on and getting to your site using IE.. using both knitnut.net with and without the www in front.
I’d call it a big coincidence that it worked when you happened to turn Super Cache off.
Deactivating Wp-Ban (a couple of days ago) solved the error message XUP was getting when leaving comments. However, I heard from other users today about this other problem, and, as I say, deactivating Super Cache solved it immediately. I’ve deactivated it again and will leave be leaving it deactivated. Thanks.
I also thought I was being singled out, could hurt one’s feelings. Then I checked on my husband’s computer, he was blocked too, so I felt better. Glad you are back.
Lissa, I’m glad YOU are back. I feel awful thinking that some people might have taken it personally.
Thanks Susan. Soo happy to be able to read you again
bah, the problem is that people are using Internet Explorer!
– RG>
I just figured I was in elite company, as I remembered that your site had blocked even you not too long ago. And, FYI, I’m using Firefox, not IE, so it was not an IE problem after all. So glad you fixed it, though!
Wasn’t there a blog post here earlier?
I am using IE and have never been blocked so I cannot believe it is an IE problem.
It could be affecting some versions of IE and not others. I could only replicate the problem in IE7, and only if I went to knitnut.net instead of http://www.knitnut.net.
I wonder if anybody’s still experiencing it.