Dear admins,
after today’s infrastructure update Crimean gamers will hardly be able to use your service. The point is that Google supports sanctions against the citizens of our region (see the screenshot). Your forum is the only option available to us at the moment. I wonder if you could possibly suggest the solution for this problem, considering the fact that ways of IP-address change (VPN, proxy, etc) could not be appropriate, because they make it impossible to use the other software simultaneously.
Appart from that, it doesn’t seem ethical to disguise for playing Go.
As a founder of FSTS group, having one of top-10 positions on OGS, I am deeply disappointed that because of this updating I will have to quit all my activities, both playing and supporting my community on you service in case you do not propose adequate solution. Even more disappointing will be the fact that all the efforts organising and conducting tournaments on OGS I have been making for two years were just a waste of my time, if it can be neglected in one day.
Being deeply sympathetic, I have to mention that this has not much to do with the OGS administration. But rather big clouds policy.
I’d suggest you to reconsider using IP-changing techniques (as it is possible to use proxies per thread, without interrupting other software workflow).
@Eleutherios, thank you for your response. I understand that the OGS administration cannot change the policy of cloud servers, and I will have to reconsider my attitude to disguising, if I want to stay here. However, free services for IP-change are not suitable for me, because they are not safe. Using paid options will be done at the expense of my donations to OGS. I think many users facing this problem will act in the same way.
For the long time I have been supporting OGS, bypassing limitations, caused by sanctions. And now I have to adjust not only to donate, but even to play and organise tournaments. I respect OGS, and it hurts thinking, that all my contributions now are at risk of neglection. But there are too many obstacles. So I still hope, that the administration wiil propose an alternative, as it is really possible.
I don’t have a short term solution for you other than the ones you mentioned.
This migration is in part to prepare us for spinning up parts of the service closer to users in other countries, we’ll need to do some research on what parts of our service are being sanctioned, but since we’ll have servers in other countries, I don’t think traffic to and from those machines would be sanctioned even if they’re hosted by Google (I have very little clue when it comes to this sort of thing though, I might be completely wrong, this is just what I’m getting from 5 minutes of googling).
@anoek, thank you for trying to help. The point is Google follows Executive Order 13685 of December 19, 2014 of USA. That’s why regardless of the country of Google servers location, sanctions will be maintained by this company. I’m afraid the only possible solution could be locating your servers at providers that do not support sanctions against crimean people.
We know that in the ancient times it was prohibited for some groups of people to play Go. I want to believe, that something has changed since then. Go must be bigger than any political strife, don’t you think so?
I respect OGS, and it hurts thinking, that all my contributions now are at risk of neglection. But there are too many obstacles. So I still hope, that the administration wiil propose an alternative, as it is really possible.
Go must be bigger than any political strife, don’t you think so?