As a photographer, I make frequent use of several photography community websites, which are mostly used by professionals and serious amateurs (unlike flickr, on which everyone has an account), and so the nature of these websites is most of all to share photography and opinions on everything about photography.

This morning I was fine with accessing 2 of my favourites: www.jpgmag.com and www.photo.net and after an internet outage this afternoon I suddenly can't reach either of them unless I use a proxy...!

Can you guys get on these websites?

If they domestically blocked these websites as well, what's next? How about block the entire internet, while we're at it?

And as a side-note: Australia is the next to implement internet-censorship

I was able to access both of those sites just now without a proxy.

That's weird.. This is a bit too specific to be DNS problems I'd say..

Are there more specific blocks? Per internet connection, or per ISP?

Hmm.. I guess it was a temporary thing; suddenly everything works as normal again without the proxy.

DNS problems then I guess?

Google Videos seems to be blocked recently too. Some of Google News also seems to be intermittent lately.

I would suggest a VPN. I purchased a subscription and can access any site including youtube and Google Videos. If I turn off the VPN, the sites are blocked. Turn it on and voila,everything you could want. Of course, if they turn off the internet, you're out of luck. A VPN runs about $10/month. Well worth not having the frustration of not being able to access your favorite sites.

Ah yes, vpn, but I already use SSH tunneling, which works fine as well, it's just slower than without any such methods (VPN included), which makes uploading a disaster.

Thanks for the suggestion anyways!

I've usually found using a VPN faster than the regular internet because the great firewall can't inspect the packets due to the encryption so data just passes straight through.

This has been becoming more severe problem after continues process of blocking many useful websites in China. It seems like VPN is only solution to make your access to the websites around the world from any such countries. I recommend Strong VPN for China specially. Because It is one of the Best VPN Providers around. And it make your access very smooth by keeping you and your data 100% secure.

HiYereth

I use Smugmug.com, for Paraglide Yunnan's photos.

paraglideyunnan.smugmug.com/

Smugmug is a professional photo / video upload company, they are not a social network and assured me they wouldn't become a social network.They also told me IF the server would be accidently blocked they could switch me to another server for a minimal fee.

They also have REAL people to answer question!!!

You can rate a photo with "Thumbs Up or Down"

On other photo websites verbal comments shared by viewers and replies from photographers are viewed as a social network, therefore blocked I.M.O..

paraglideyunnan.smugmug.com/