Yesterday evening I tried to post and the system kept saying my i.p. had been blocked because it was blacklisted
The only thing I'd done differently was the day before i'd been trying unsuccessfully to put a pic from photobucket on my avitar.
I know very little about computers and when things go wrong it's a bit like knitting fish fingers ...and i'm no good at that either
as you can see from this post it's working now probably just needed an overnight nap

This happened to me a while ago. My internet supplier is BT and they allocate IP addresses on a random basis.

I was unfortunate enough to be allocated a IP address that must have been a some point used by someone who was placed on a database of blacklisted
IPs - maybe for sending out spam emails from that IP address. Many companies/organisations use this database to blacklist people from sending them emails or in this case contributing to forums.

The day after as is usual I was allocated a different IP address and the problem disappeared.

I tried to inform BT of this and tell them to remove the IP address from their allocation list but they didn't seem to understand the problem and kept wanting to give me support with my email problems!!!

glallotments is indeed correct - and what is happening is spot on

The forum system here uses an 'RBL LIST' Which is a database/website which holds a list of registered blacklisted IP addresses.
Many of these are Nigerian or Russian in origin - and are where many scams, hack attempts and phishing emails come from.

The forum checks against this list for everyone using the forum to post. It would seem (as with a previous chat with glallotments) that several BT IP addresses have been added to this list - most likely after an innocent user whose PC was infected with malware starting sending out junk mail.

(Doesn't this get complicated??!)

The way to complain to BT is to record your IP address (visit www.whatismyip.com to see it) when you see a denied or blacklisted message on a website.

Then report this to BT - saying this IP address is on the RBL list.

Out of interest - you can check if an IP address is listed by going to:

http://whatismyipaddress.com/staticpage ... lacklisted

Sorry for that terribly techy post!!


KGAdmin

Thanks for all that information, I think......
Why did this problem just right itself ? Will it right itself if it happens again?

Have you learnt all that since the weekend when you didn't understand my problem? Have you just started using this system? I found it strange I could connect to other Mortons sites, which is how I reported it. I'm not with BT, I'm a Virgin (.net!).

Amended 17/7/09:
Apologies Jason - just realised my detailed message about blacklisting didn't get through to you so you were responding to a vague "Is there a problem with KG website or is it me?". When I had problems connecting with blacklisted message like macmac I tried to send a detailed email and that was also blocked by the blacklisting. I then went in via Mortons website and managed to post my vague message that you did respond to.

If like me your Internet Provider allocates random IP addresses each day then the day after the problem or at a point when they randomly allocate you a different address the problem is solved as the IP address that you are then using isn't on the database of blacklisted IPs

Sorry if that sounds to be gobbledygook !!!

I was blacklisted again this morning but then had a powercut and when I logged on I was accepted again.

So this time when I logged on my IP address must have been changed. Must admit I tried shutting down and rebooting last time but on restarting my computer must have kept being randomly allocated the same IP address.

It seems to me that the random allocation of IP addresses makes the system being used rather useless doesn't it?

Someone who deserves blacklisting will just gain a new IP address and then go about whatever they did to become blacklisted in the first place using a different IP address. Then along comes an innocent party who is allocated a blacklisted address and then spends ages trying to work out what is happening like I did the first time it happened to me. I started to have all manner of sinister ideas!!

BT should really (pardon my french) pull their finger out and have the blacklisted IP addresses 'cleaned' - they can do this by going to the RBL list maintainer and having their status changed.

If we get many more problems I can just turn off the RBL filter - but it does open the forum to the chance of getting more spam.

KGAdmin

I'll keep complaining to BT when it happens - and hope!!! We had considered changing providers but having looked into it it would cost us a fair bit to jump out of contracts etc. as we would have to swap phone supplier as well.

As you say we don't want spamming.