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    But, if a person in Russia tries to connect to SO and it fails, how will they know who did what? Especially if Putin is controlling the news that Russians see? Commented Mar 5, 2022 at 5:03
  • 45
    @Scott You get HTTP 451, that's how. Here's a collection of banners different Russian providers show. Commented Mar 5, 2022 at 21:15
  • Any dev seeing this can easily use a vpn or tor to circumvent Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 21:36
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    @DmitryGrigoryev That implies Moscow will respect the HTTP spec, which is a pretty wild assumption Commented Mar 11, 2022 at 9:13
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    @sco With Stack Overflow being by far the largest Stack Exchange site, it's somewhat reasonable to assume above average tech savvy-ness amongst its user base. Let's not underestimate the ability of the average Stack Exchange user to diagnose connectivity issues. Commented Mar 11, 2022 at 10:39
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    @IanNewson Sorry if I didn't make myself clear: I'm not referring to provisions in the HTTP spec, I'm saying you actually see those pages when you try to access FB or Twitter via a Russian provider. It's not an assumption. Commented Mar 12, 2022 at 8:08
  • @jjxtra It only makes sense if finding your answers elsewhere takes more time than setting up Tor/VPN, and keep them running. As far as I know, it takes to try several VPN providers before you find one that still works, and Tor bridges are being regularly banned so you'll have to configure new ones each week. It's a hearsay from my side though, I don't live in Russia. Commented Mar 12, 2022 at 8:27
  • 1
    I'm not here to advocate whether it should be blocked but I would like to point out that the Russian citizens are responsible for this and only the Russian citizens can stop it. Commented Mar 20, 2022 at 23:12
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    @KyeRussell I disagree it's the same way. Maybe Russia won't bother to block SO and there will be more anti-war messages for developers (and their bosses) to see. And if SO is banned by the Russian government, I don't see how a reasonable Russian dev could hold grudges against SO or US in general for cutting them off. Commented Mar 22, 2022 at 9:23
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    @Dmitry Grigoryev It would really surprise me if Russian SO users did not support Putin. I don't see what makes them any different from the rest of the Russians. Commented Mar 23, 2022 at 21:04
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    @Scott Mar At least, it will be russia, banning it's own citizens from using SO, not vice versa. The moral clause, so to speak, would not be on the company. Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 13:59
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    How about requiring that IPs from VPN or Russia pass a short test about the war, otherwise they hit a HTTP 451 as @DmitryGrigoryev suggested? Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 18:34
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    @dcsan It sounds like something that is easily dismissed as Western propaganda, that's what it sounds like. See also: the concept of making voters take a test before voting. Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 17:24
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    " it will be much more clear to the Russian SO users who their real enemy is." <<- { can't beat, can't join them } = enemy ? | imho, we CAN get peace, we HAD one. Whose earth is it anyway? (I just know we only have 1 home.. no planet B, n I plan to stay put.. together..) Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 21:40
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    @Ya., "I don't see what makes [SO users] any different from the rest of the Russians." - Education level. Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 13:38