dronebl.org is blocking some IPs

[Dareshiranu 0]

Some IP addresses from AirVPN (outgoing) are blocked by dronebl.org with irchighway.net. I'll get disconnected from time to time and have to hunt around until I find an IP that isn't blocked, or I might be on for quite awhile and suddenly out of the blue get kicked. The latest time was from 134.19.179.243 and when I checked there was apparently an issue back in February. But I'd been shifted from a server I knew to be good to one that was blocked. I guess I'll have to blacklist individual servers now or something. I was happy just using NL as my outgoing node but this is problematic unless you can get in touch with dronebl.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

Sounds like you are not using Eddie, otherwise you'd know the server names because Eddie displays that in different locations before and during a connection, and after it in the logs. You can find the name of the currently connected server out on airvpn.org (always written on the top of the page), the client area (look at the active sessions) and on ipleak.net (displays the exit server name in several locations).

At this point it's probably a lot easier to simply route IRC via your ISP. Most folks and therefore IRC networks are not particularly keen on letting Tor or VPN users in.
Also, it also doesn't make much sense: You want to be more private or whatever, yet IRC is an unencrypted protocol. How does that work in your mind?
 

51 minutes ago, Dareshiranu said:

unless you can get in touch with dronebl

No, we can't, and no one should ever try it. There's usually a reason for being listed, and it's not because "oh, it's a VPN? Let's block this out of spite" but because someone likely used it for harmful actions against some service, or attemted it. If we get in contact and get it unlisted, someone is guaranteed to cause the server to be relisted in a week, probably a few days.

[Dareshiranu 0]

Well, if I took the time I could no doubt get the server. I'm using Eddie. Perhaps I'm just more interested in reconnecting to IRC because the content I'm looking for exists there in a nice, easily accessed format. My use of NL outgoing is due to fewer blocked resources than from other nation states for whatever reason. I don't like accessing things in clear unless they tend to be completely innocuous. And generally I prefer not being spied upon if I can avoid it.

[OpenSourcerer 1435]

9 hours ago, Dareshiranu said:

I don't like accessing things in clear unless they tend to be completely innocuous.

Most of the time everything you access is encrypted, anyway. In 2020 I'd even go as far as classifying everything that is unencrypted as a software bug or at least a config error. There's nothing out there you can't transmit encrypted.
My research also shows that IRC is not as unencrypted as I thought it was. Most networks supposedly use TLS already, so there's that.

If you still want to use a VPN for IRC access, these blockades are what you will have to live with. Nothing can be done about it.