Ask HN: Anyone else having trouble access this site?
I checked the usual sources and was surprised to find that no one was talking about having any trouble getting onto HN. Then I noticed something strange: this problem only occurs from my work IP. Great, I somehow got my IP banned. I followed the instructions to unban, and then I can load maybe one page before it stops working again. It's highly unlikely anyone else is accessing HN besides me from this IP address, so I'm not sure why it's behaving this way.
The error is "Web server is returning an unknown error". Is this happening to anyone else? Any suggestions?
5 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 21.6 ms ] threadJust one:
$ wget https://news.ycombinator.com
Examine the result in a text editor, and pay attention to any errors that wget might print.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HTTP_status_codes
Quote: "520 Origin Error (Cloudflare) ... This status code is not specified in any RFCs, but is used by Cloudflare's reverse proxies to signal an "unknown connection issue between CloudFlare and the origin web server" to a client in front of the proxy."
Basically, the error (if it's a real error indication and not bogus) suggests an inability by the server to establish a connection with your system. Remember that HTTPS (HN's operating mode) signifies extra requirements for a legitimate connection (and a different port: 443 instead of 80), so there might be firewall issues at your workplace that aren't an issue at home.