cannot access some popular websites from Linode, geolocation is wrong, ARIN is to blame?

Mon Mar 4 22:16:08 UTC 2013

Constantine A. Murenin(mureninc at gmail.com)@Sat, Mar 02, 2013 at 01:58:09PM -0800:
> Dear NANOG@,
<snip>
> Additionally, it seems like both yelp.com and retailmenot.com block
> the whole 173.230.144.0/20 from their web-sites, returning some
> graphical "403 Forbidden" pages instead.
<snip>
> And in regards to yelp and retailmenot; why are they blocking Linode
> customers in 173.230.144.0/20?  I've tried contacting both on multiple
> occasions, and have never received any replies from yelp, but
> retailmenot has replied several times with a blanket "someone may have
> tried to scrap, spam or proxy our site from this network".  I have
> repeatedly asked retailmenot if they'd block Verizon or AT&T if
> someone tries to scrap or spam their web-site from those networks,
> too, but have never received any replies.  I have also tried
> contacting Linode regarding this issue, and although they were very
> patient and tried troubleshooting the problem, reporting that it
> appears that other addresses within 173.230.144.0/20 are likewise
> blocked, but some of their other address ranges at another DC are not,
> they have not been able to get in touch with anyone at yelp or
> retailmenot to isolate the problem.

For what it's worth, I've contacted Yelp about this issue a number of
times, and they're wholly uninterested in traffic from Linode.  They're
also unwilling to discuss the issue with someone coming from Linode.  So,
good luck on that front!

-- 
Bill Weiss