Interesting way of going about this problem...ever thought of blocking a range of IPs?

In any case, I don't have a guaranteed way to get yourself blocked, but:

Try plastering your site with [snipped examples] topics which get the Party upset. This is especially true if you can write something inflamatory about these subjects in Chinese characters. I know that well respected organizations such as the BBC's Chinese portal (in Chinese, not English) is blocked due to their coverage of such topics.

I have heard from business associates that no goal of a westerner, and many times of Chinese citizens, gets accomplished without greasing some palms. So, for a large cash bribe you could easily get yourself blocked.

[edited by: Woz at 3:26 am (utc) on Aug. 14, 2008]
[edit reason] Tidying Up [/edit]

Well that's webmasterworld blocked.

[Another example] is probably a good one as well.

[edited by: Woz at 3:28 am (utc) on Aug. 14, 2008]
[edit reason] Tidying Up [/edit]

Interesting way of going about this problem...ever thought of blocking a range of IPs?

Of course. But why waste my precious server resources on I want no dealing with?

I will try to designate a section to these topics and see how it goes. Any way to test and see if a site is filtered?

When I try google.cn and search [example], I can see [probably banned] photos ... isn't this what's filtered in China?

[edited by: Woz at 3:30 am (utc) on Aug. 14, 2008]
[edit reason] Tidying up. [/edit]

When I try google.cn and search [example], I can see [probably banned] photos ... isn't this what's filtered in China?

Yes, it is filtered in China...I would imagine. Your IP doesn't geolocate you to China, though. Hmmm...I am reasonably sure that Google voluntarily filters results; geolocating via IP would seem too risky and unreliable. Maybe the Party is satisfied with having most people blocked? Or Google and the like have some other method to which we are not privy.

Anyhow, as for checking if you have been effectively banned, I think you would need to be route through a Chinese proxy and acquire a CN IP. I doubt too many people do that; reverse commute as such. You could be a trend setter.

[edited by: Woz at 3:32 am (utc) on Aug. 14, 2008]
[edit reason] Tidying up. [/edit]

I suppose there would be no way of finding a tool [to check if a site has been banned in] China without speaking or typing Chinese.

Does anybody know of anything of the such? :)

Or a Chinese-based site that can test your ping?

And here's a question: Is it the server ip / url that's banned or just that specific page/image, critical of China?

[edited by: Woz at 3:40 am (utc) on Aug. 14, 2008]
[edit reason] Tidying up. [/edit]

As mentioned in this thread, by seeding your site with topics that may be out of bounds to the Chinese Government you may get your site placed on the no-go list. However, one would have to think carefully about intentionally getting your site banned and any future ramifications of such an action. IE., what if you wanted your site un-banned in the future? What if you wanted to travel to China in the future, yet your site was flagged for sedition and you were stopped/arrested at the border? And so on. Probable? Perhaps. Possible? Probably.

Me thinks IP banning at your server might be the better option to keep unwanter IPs out of your site so that you are in control, not someone else over whom you have no influence.

As to sites to check whether or not you are banned by the Great Firewall of China, Harvard Uni had one running here [cyber.law.harvard.edu] when the situation first surfaced, however due to changes since then there is some question as to the current accuracy of the tool.

>Is it the server ip/url that's banned or just that specific page/image

Not sure on this one, it has been some time since I was last in China. Whilst there though I was trying to access a site run by a database software engineer but was unable to do so. At the time, neither he nor I could figure out why, in hindsight of course it is clear that he was blocked. However, again in hindsight, there was nothing on his site that would be causing any problem, BUT, his sight was a personal site hanging off an ISP. Si am wondering if another site on the ISP was hosting "dangerous" material which resulted in the complete ISP or IP range being blocked. Again, another reason to be careful as you may take out other sites, your own and/or those of others, hosted by the same company and/or sitting on the same IP block as collateral damage.

I would suggest you think this through carefully.

Onya
Woz

I ran a test trying this for over a year and it doesn't work. It seemed at the time that it would be a good idea, as it would be easier to have China block my site rather than have to use my own server resources to block Chinese traffic.

I've found that you can block normal Chinese traffic using poison words but the majority of these hack attempts seem to be able to "get around" China's filters.

I don't have any proof but it is my belief that a lot of these probe attempts are government sponsored in some fashion, either directly or indirectly.

I was wondering why this got flagged, but when I spotted the clean ups I figured out why. :) Neat.

I don't have any proof but it is my belief that a lot of these probe attempts are government sponsored in some fashion, either directly or indirectly.

Well, that's fantastic..
Also pretty frustrating, to say the least.

One has to wonder what they hope to gain by probing non-polical / non-affiliated sites? (To-date, I have nothing on my site that they would have any interest in, as it's music based, pretty non-bias to say the least)

What if you wanted to travel to China in the future, yet your site was flagged for sedition and you were stopped/arrested at the border? And so on. Probable? Perhaps. Possible? Probably.

Good point, I've never thought of this. But I can say with certainty, that is one country I have absolutely no desire to ever visit. :)

1 of every 5 humans on the planet live in china.
never say never...

I'm willing to incline with other commentators here that getting your site blocked by the government might not be such a good idea. It might be that the government actually allows and/or encourages attacks to sites that they flag as harmful to their citizens. Basically blocking the sites for normal users and keeping them open for damaging traffic.
Additionally, as easy as it might be to get on the black-list by addressing a few touchy issues, I'm quite sure that getting out of the list takes a lot of money and effort.

[edited by: deMorte at 8:38 am (utc) on Aug. 14, 2008]