A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines

• For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
• For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.

Bootlegs
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops

Retailers:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Store Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan

Blogs/News:

Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)

Buying & Shipping

1. What’s the best place to buy my anime figures from?
That’s going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, there’s a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Don’t be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if you’re unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices you’ll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.

• Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
• Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
• EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
• Airmail
• E-packet
• Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
  
• DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.
  

3. I placed two+ orders for figures at different times. Will my items be shipped together, or will I have to pay shipping twice?
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:

• Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesn’t matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that month’s shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the “Combine Orders” feature under “My Account”.
  
• Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the “Order Recombination” feature on your account page.
  
• HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their “Private Warehouse”, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the “Private Warehouse” option as shipping when you order.
  

If you’re unsure about whether or not a shop we haven’t listed will combine your orders, please refer to their individual FAQs.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if you’d like. A few with that option are:

• Big in Japan (Japanese store)
• Tokyo Otaku Mode
• Anime Island
• Crunchyroll

Keep in mind that overseas stores will likely get the figure a few months after Japanese ones, so pay attention to the release date stated on the website you are buying from so as to avoid that confusion.
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
• Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
• European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under €150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >€150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
• UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <£135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <£135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >£135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
• Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
• United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely won’t have to worry about them at all.

6. The figure I want is an exclusive, how do I go about ordering one outside of Japan?
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but it’s easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:

• Big in Japan
• Tenso

Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item you’re looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, or you’re having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:

• Big in Japan (Won’t proxy for Yahoo Auctions)
• From Japan

Again, be sure you thoroughly read through each sites proxy instructions.
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. They’re most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread that’s always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. What’s a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if you’re worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If you’re curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the “Releases” section on a figure’s entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! What’s the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the “Shops” section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, you’ll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you don’t know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the “details” in that figure’s listing.
11. Amiami has a figure I’m interested in labeled as “For sale in Japan only”. Does this mean I can’t order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiami’s English site has that warning on many items, and it’s mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so don’t expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesn’t want foreigners buying a certain product, they won’t even list it on their English site.

Displaying Your Figures

12. What display cases do you recommend?
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:

• Klingsbo
• Billy (Often used with Morliden doors (now the HÖGBO and glass shelves.)
• Detolf: Formerly the go-to choice for inexpensive display cabinetry, the Detolf was first made flimsier around 2020 and then essentially phased out of the name, to become the BLÅLIDEN. Knockoff versions of widely-varying quality are commonly found on other shopping sites these days, though.

*If you decided on a Detolf, you might find that there is a lot of wasted space. Here are a few tutorials on raising the shelves or and adding extra ones in.

• Using metal clips
• Using acrylic supports and PVC pipe

If you don’t live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your country’s equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikea’s Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights don’t get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyone’s figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:

• Plastic picture cubes
• Card Deck Boxes
• If you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own!

Check your local hobby store for the first 2 options, or your local hardware store if you want to make your own.
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:

• Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isn’t exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
• Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed won’t raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.

• "Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
• "Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
• "Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
• "Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to describe poseable figure lines such as figma and Nendoroids.

In recent years producers such as Good Smile Company attempted to further bridge the gap between prize quality and scales by introducing figure lines which are intended to be moderately-priced while retaining a higher level of detail than the typical prize figure, to varying levels of success.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:

• Alter
• Max Factory
• Good Smile Company
• Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
• Flare
• Stronger

18. I really love “series X / character X”- how can I check if any figures were ever made for it?
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if you’re looking at a figure’s MFC entry, most of the text under the “Details” section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.

Keeping Up with New Announcements

20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:

• Neko Magic
• Alter’s Blog (In Japanese)
• Kahotan’s Blog (Only GSC and their sister companies)

Many figure companies are active on Twitter, so following them there is recommended for quicker news.
To use MFC for this I’ll quote question #9.

If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.

Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyone’s excited about something called Wonfes….. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that I’m really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search “WonderFestival 20xx_[season]” to see all items announced at that event.

Hi all,
I run calibre web server (using calibre not calibre web) and I've exposed it via a reverse proxy. Previouly I've asked here and have been told that I'd be able to load up my library fine and download books on to a Kobo if I got one (I currently have a Kindle but might switch and this is the main reason as its broken on Kindle).
Recently a freind of mine recently got a Kobo Clara BW, so I thought it'd be a good chance to try it. I've added them as a user and all the normal bits however when they try and access my site they just get a blank page. I have had them try just the normal URL and the mobile. They have also confirmed that the URL works on other devices on their network and also that they can load different web pages on the the browser.
Any idea whats up?

Hello
Well is soundwaves english site broken?
first time i tried to ordre and pay with credit card, my card actully got blocked so i had to get a new one.
now i thought okay i do it on paypal. But then it just comes with a msg payment failed.... I didnt even log into my paypal.
also the english website just seems half backed compared to their korean website.
and unfortunelly you need korean phone number to registre on the page.
So is there a way to buy from soundwave where i do not need to let my proxy do it for me?

I'm having troubles with when integrating the Google Workspace Admin SAML SSO Integration with Firebase. I followed one of firebase's document about SAML Login and my application's login site is working perfectly, the SAML Auth does return token, data and stuff but when I tried to access the app from Idp portal in google it redirects me to firebase auth handler with error "Unable to process request due to missing initial state. This may happen if browser sessionStorage is inaccessible or accidentally cleared. Some specific scenarios are - 1) Using IDP-Initiated SAML SSO. 2) Using signInWithRedirect in a storage-partitioned browser environment."
I've read many articles and tried many solutions including adding custom domain and changing proxy but nothing works. What am I doing wrong at the google workspace admin configuration ?

Hi all,
I run calibre web server (using calibre not calibre web) and I've exposed it via a reverse proxy. Previouly I've asked here and have been told that I'd be able to load up my library fine and download books on to a Kobo if I got one (I currently have a Kindle but might switch and this is the main reason as its broken on Kindle).
Recently a freind of mine recently got a Kobo Clara BW, so I thought it'd be a good chance to try it. I've added them as a user and all the normal bits however when they try and access my site they just get a blank page. I have had them try just the normal URL and the mobile. They have also confirmed that the URL works on other devices on their network and also that they can load different web pages on the the browser.
Any idea whats up?

I have been using 6.29 version of v2rayN-With-Core-SelfContained on my computer until this day and everything was working as should be. But yesterday my connection via this program stopped working, I cannot access any site. My shadowsocks servers are online and I connect to them, also I cant test them for real delay in application but "test servers download speed" now has a "failed to read response from cachefly.cachefly.net > io: read/write on closed pipe' error. Even I downloaded the newest version v6.45 there is still same problem. I cannot use v2rayn to access any site at all now I tried to search for solution, nothing found. Please help :( P.S when proxy is on sometimes with multiple F5 updating of any website page it starts working, however, many site objects are happening to be broken and not showing. I have no idea whats going on
Upd. I just left my launched app with established connection to a random shadowsocks server and went to eat for a 20+ minutes. I came back, sit and everything works again...

"What distinguished the Indian system from that of the ancient Western world is the absence of slavery. The caste system made formal slavery unnecessary in ancient India." - from The Two Classes of the Four-Fold Caste System, by Sudheer Birodkar.

In Nikken's Threefold World, which is "the world of unenlightened beings who transmigrate within the Six Paths" [Hell, Hunger, Animality, Anger, Humanity and Heaven] ... the 1st chapter describes the structure of Nikken's World of Heaven.

Table of Contents

Part I: The Roles

1. The Hindu Caste System and Brahminism
2. The Nichiren Shoshu priesthood and Nikken Abe

Part II: The Actors

1. The First Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Brahmin Caste - Priests and Teachers)
2. The Second Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Kshatriya Caste - Warriors and Proxy Rulers)
3. The Third Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Vaishya Caste - Farmers, Merchants, Artisans, etc.)
4. The Fourth Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Shudra Caste - Laborers)
5. The Fifth Rank of Nichiren Shoshu (Untouchable Caste or Eta - Polluted Laborers)
6. Definition of Heaven (Ten)
7. Getting Some Help
8. The Survivor Gita

As Nikken Abe's successor Nichinyo moves ever closer to the moment that he will no longer be the high priest of Nichiren Shoshu ... those interested in the future occupants of Taisekiji will have in mind a question ... how will events unfold ?
What I will attempt to do in this polemical series laced with satire, is to give a view from which the seeming random or enigmatic quality of the various moves made by the priesthood, can be revealed to be more predictable and easy to understand.
In the analytic method that I have chosen, the grid for analysis, is the Hindu caste system.
The theme that will be employed to portray the flow of events to come is the "Survivor" series from CBS.
Think of it as the "Survivor Gita".

1. The Hindu Caste System and Brahminism

First, let's get a cursory understanding of what the phenomenon of "Brahminism" is all about.
From "The Caste System and the Stages of Life in Hinduism", by Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D, (abridged):

The Bhagavad Gita says this about the varnas (color):
Brahmins (white) - Priests and Teachers: The works of a Brahmin are peace; self-harmony, austerity, and purity; loving- forgiveness and righteousness; vision and wisdom and faith.
Kshatriyas (red) - Warriors and Rulers: The works of a Kshatriya are: a heroic mind, inner fire, constancy, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and noble leadership.
Vaishyas (Brown) - Farmers, Merchants, Artisans, etc.: The works of a Vaishya are trade, agriculture and the rearing of cattle.
Shudras (Black) - Laborers: The works of the Shudra are service.
Untouchables (Outcastes - no color) - Polluted Laborers.
[chapter 18, Juan Mascaró translation, Penguin Books, 1962]
Associated with each varna there is a traditional color. These sound suspiciously like skin colors; and, indeed, there is an expectation in India that higher caste people will have lighter skin -- although there are plenty of exceptions (especially in the South of India).
So, there are these visibly separable classes of people, which perform specific functions, and which form the basic hierarchical structure of ALL theocracies, explicit and implicit.

An explicit Brahminist theocracy would be the Vatican, where the Pope and Cardinals = Brahmins, the Bishops = Kshatriyas, the Priests tending the flocks = Vaishyas, the Monks, Nuns and the Laity = Shudras, and finally the poor = Untouchables, except for once a year when the Pope washes a foot or two.
An implicit Brahminist theocracy would be the a 10-year-old high tech firm, where the Founder and the Board = Brahmins, the corporate officers and top managers = Kshatriyas, the middle management and technical leads = Vaishyas, the line managers and churn and burn salaried workers = Shudras, and finally the hourly, temp and out-sourced workers = Untouchables.
You get the picture. The need, which is held by all humanity, to improve their own and their family's condition ... is used to betray and undermine their own humanity and render the effect of slavery within a system that appears personally voluntary, however socially coercive it may be in reality.
Ross goes on ...

The twice born [Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas] account for about 48% of Hindus. The rest are Shudras and Untouchables. The Shudras may represent the institutional provision that the Arya made for the people they already found in India. The Shudras thus remain once born, and traditionally are not allowed to learn Sanskrit or study the Vedas. Their dharma is to work for the twice born. But even below the Shudras are the Untouchables, who are literally "outcastes," without a varna [color], and were regarded as "untouchable" because they are ritually polluting for caste Hindus. Some Untouchable subcastes are regarded as so polluted that members are supposed to keep out of sight and do their work at night: They are called "Unseeables." In India, the term "Untouchable" is now regarded as impolite or politically incorrect (like Eta in Japan for the traditional tanners and pariahs).

These kinds of divisions of people only become more bitter, over time, as more and more distinctions need to be drawn to demonstrate clearly that one is not a part of a lower group. (Like the insanity of "Colored" water fountains in the South, when I was a child.)
Following the ritual tenets of animality and thereby preserving the pecking order become the overriding preoccupation of anyone desiring a better life. These demonic activities will ultimately attempt to occupy 100% of all human effort, since this particular evil is determined to undermine humanity's true mission of Kosen Rufu.
Ross finishes with ...

The Untouchables, nevertheless, have their own traditional professions and their own subcastes. Those professions (unless they can be evaded in the greater social mobility of modern, urban, anonymous life) involve too much pollution to be performed by caste Hindus: (1) dealing with the bodies of dead animals (like the sacred cattle that wander Indian villages) or unclaimed dead humans, (2) tanning leather, from such dead animals, and manufacturing leather goods, and (3) cleaning up the human and animal waste for which in traditional villages there is no sewer system. Mahâtmâ Gandhi referred to the latter euphemistically as "scavenging" but saw in it the most horrible thing imposed on the Untouchables by the caste system. His requirement on his farms in South Africa that everyone share in such tasks comes up in an early scene in the movie Gandhi. Since Gandhi equated suffering with holiness, he saw the Untouchables as hallowed by their miserable treatment and so called them "Harijans" (Hari=Vishnu). Later Gandhi went on fasts in the hope of improving the condition of the Untouchables, or at least to avoid their being politically classified as non-Hindus. Today the status of the Shudras, Untouchables, and other "scheduled castes," and the preferential policies that the Indian government has designed for their advancement ever since Independence, are sources of serious conflict, including murders and riots, in Indian society.

If you had a difficulty in understanding precisely what tied together the "Gandhi, King and Ikeda" exhibits around the country ... perhaps the point will become abundantly clear after reading this article, since all three of these men fought to end the exploitation and oppression of a large number of hard-working common people, who supported a parasitic caste system.
Gandhi, King and Ikeda are the three Anti-Brahminist heroes of the Common People, for the modern era.
Some argue that the SGI has Brahminist tendencies, and like all human organizations, that is surely exists ... but it is also true that those tendencies are sporadic, impermanent and rapidly shifting as the SGI undergoes it's own human revolution with the broadening of the Soka Gakkai activities to include all places where Dai-Rokuten-No-Mao (the Devil King of the 6th Heaven, or arrogant authority) might appear in the leadership of any organization, or group.
But let's go a little further in understanding the phenomenon of Brahminism. And then we will talk about the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood, Nikken and his successors.
From "The Two Classes of the Four-Fold Caste System", by Sudheer Birodkar:

The Brahmin-Kshatriya combine was thus the appropriating section as against the Vaishya-Shudra combine who represented the productive section. But although the two appropriating and the two appropriated sections of society performed different functions like the ritual worship undertaken by the Brahmins, warfare by Kshatriyas, cultivation by the Vaishyas and menial work by the Shudras they were essentially two broad economic categories with antagonistic interests of sharing the social surplus product which only the Vaishyas and Shudra created.

Dai-Rokuten-No-Mao is defined as the function of rapturous exploitation of the efforts of others, while grinding those others underfoot.
There is always a gloating rapture present. (Remember the gleeful pictures of those happy Southern men standing around a burning black corpse in the lynchings of last century? Remember how much they are enjoying themselves proudly in the Abu Ghraib pictures? It is the same function, the same demon.)
And there is always a hierarchy being enforced, which is a denial of the Lotus Sutra's universal equality.
Birodkar goes on ...

... Dana along with dakshina (a voluntary payment made to Brahmins for religious services which they rendered), has been represented as an offering to the clergy at our innumerable religious rites. Thus the spiritual clasp of the clergy on the general population came to play a vital role in appropriating the surplus in favour of the clergy, rendering coercion unnecessary and in perpetuating social practices which had lost relevance with day-to-day life.

The reference to day-to-day life and social relevance is indicating that those activities which were initially tribal social functions involving redistribution of food in an agrarian tribal culture, were no longer serving the function of allowing farmers to survive a bad year, or a flood in one part of the locality not affecting another part.
Birodkar goes on ...

The clergy firmly rooted in the minds of the masses, ideas about Karma - faithfully carrying out of duties assigned to each person on virtue of being born in any particular caste. Ideas about rebirth fostered a belief that sufferings of this life were a result of deeds of one's past lives and the faithful execution of duties that fell upon one in one's present life would hold a promise of rebirth in a higher caste. With their minds enmeshed in such dogmas, the masses mutely accepted a secondary status in the social hierarchy for centuries together.

The idea of waiting until the next time around, instead of enjoying this one and only precious instance of YOU, which will not recur in anyone's religious tradition ... this is the worst slander of humanity: wasting one's life, voluntarily, for the foul rapture of another.

2. The Nichiren Shoshu Priesthood, Nikken Abe and His Successors

There are many complaints about the behavior and activities of the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood, related to their pursuits of having a good time with bad women and expensive food, drink and parties with the member's money. It is not my intention to defend those activities, but my view of those activities is frankly, sociological. Impossibly bad and flagrantly unacceptable social behavior is to be expected when great evil is enthroned.
So, I do not expect Nichiren Shoshu priests, especially the priesthood elite, to behave well. This is secondary. It is an effect or symptom, or think of it as the warning label on a pack of smokes, or the nuclear symbol on a container of Plutonium. (It lets you know that you should keep your distance, for safety.)
Indeed, in all cases when the correct practice of Nichiren's Buddhism is considered, secular issues fade into insignificance.
From Nichiren Daishonin's Gosho "On Prayer", WND p. 345:

It makes no difference if the practitioner himself is lacking in worth, defective in wisdom, impure in his person, and lacking in virtue derived from observing the precepts. So long as he chants Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, they [the protective functions] will invariably protect him. One does not throw away gold because the bag that holds it is dirty; one does not ignore the sandalwood trees because of the foul odor of the eranda trees around them; and one does not refuse to gather lotuses because the pond in the valley where they grow is not clean. If they ignore the practitioner of the Lotus Sutra, they will be going against their vow.

The issue is the correct practice. THAT is my complaint against Nikken and his Nichiren Shoshu successors like Nichinyo.
From "Moral Philosophy and Dealings With Priests", written by myself (sorry about the self-quote):

1. Nichiren Shoshu and the Hokkeko have always called themselves followers of Nikko's Fuji School, but from the beginning (1912) they have followed priests that disobey the 25th Admonition against sexual abstinence, and they have followed priests that were trained by Nichiren Shu (5 Senior Priests) at Rissho University - disobeying the 2nd Admonition, and hence according to Nikko they are not his followers, but are instead followers of the Five Senior Priests. (Nikko would have kicked them out of the Fuji School just for training at Rissho.)

From the end of Nikko Shonin's 26 Admonitions:
"I have set forth these 26 articles for the sake of the eternal salvation and protection of humankind. Those who violate even one of these articles cannot be called disciples of Nikko."
In 1969, Daisaku Ikeda founded Soka University to train the future leaders of the Soka Gakkai, among others. This was a necessary move, because of the corruption seen in attitudes of Japanese Academics, and their determined resistance to recognizing the Soka Gakkai as a valid religious organization and worthy of respect. Witness the academic quotes in the LOOK Magazine article (1963) by the President of Rissho University, Rev. Shobun Kubota, D.T. Suzuki of Zen, and other academics, that the Soka Gakkai "can not be Buddhism".
' The Rev. Dr. Shobun Kubota, vice-president of Rissho University of Tokyo, concurs. "The principle of Buddhism," he says, "is to restrain man's desires, such as sex, hunger, wealth and fame, but Soka Gakkai promises the possession of these desires. It uses man's weaknesses as a tool for its own expansion. It has the same characteristics as Nazism. Finally, it is a corruption of Buddhism."' - LOOK Magazine, September 10, 1963
This from academic Buddhists who signed up unanimously, institution by institution, to bear the Shinto Talisman, and promote Imperial Way Buddhism and Imperial State Zen militarism for the God-Emperor. In support of that self-same Nazi Reich, while Makiguchi and Toda alone bore the brunt of oppression to the end. Such evil-doers call themselves Buddhists. Their tongues should rot in their mouths.
Soka University has created at least one academic environment where the Soka Gakkai can be viewed with objectivity by students. This was and remains an absolute good.
Nichiren Shoshu continued to allow the training of their future leaders by the Nichiren Shu Minobu Sect at Rissho University, even though they were aware that this was a slander of Nikko's school, and made them not followers of Nikko.
Excerpts from http://www.geocities.com/smimoza/vol275.html, the "Fake [High Priest]" Newsletter: "My view of the teachings of Nichiren Shoshu has been polluted with Minobu's wicked teachings," Nikken confessed at the opening ceremony for the Fuji Gakurin School (Dai- Nichiren, May 2000 edition).
Fuji Gakurin is the school that Nikken started to belatedly replace Rissho University as the source of priest trainees for Nichiren Shoshu. Apparently, he only took this action after people started talking about the 26 Admonitions publicly (Living Buddhism article by Daisaku Ikeda in 1998). The sad fact is, that Nichiren Shoshu has violated all 26, most by the letter of the admonition, but all 26 by their intent.
In relatively short order after being rebuked in 1998, Nikken officially opened the Fuji Gakurin School on April 10th, 2000. Many attended and heard his statements: Nichijun Fujimoto, Nichiyu Yoshida, Nitto (Juken) Ohmura, Nichijo (Gikan) Hayase, Nissho (Shinei) Yagi, Chief of the Overseas Department Kotoku Obayashi, Chief of the Public Relations Department Kogaku Akimoto and Vice Chief of the Study Department Kosho Mizushima.
Nikken went on to state that "he had been contaminated by Minobu's teachings"...
"I once attended the University run by Nichiren-shu. The hardest thing for me in my campus life was that the teacher said many false things about the teachings and history of Nichiren Daishonin. I had always thought that I should refute these false ideas. However, I cannot say that that was my true intention, because I was only a student."
"When we constantly hear false things, we will be caught up in false ways of thinking, or I can say, we will be trapped in it. As I recall my early days, false ideas did exist in my view of Nichiren Buddhism, especially regarding the legitimate teachings of Nichiren-shoshu. At that time, I was not able to straighten out my thoughts sufficiently from the viewpoint of faith, action, study.... If I were young now, I could study with you, young fellows, in these classes, taught by these engaged teachers."
But his distorted views from Rissho were not left there at the University.
We are reminded of Nikken's words on October 8th, 1985, when he attended the completion ceremony of Komyoji Temple, Hachioji City, Tokyo. Kotoku Hirayama, the chief priest of the temple, asked Nikken, "What is the biggest obstacle you had in your practice?" Nikken answered, "It is that I could not truly believe in the Gohonzon. I cannot believe truly now. I have to really try."
Also, we are reminded of Nikken's statement that "Daigohonzon is a fake" from the Kawabe memo. This statement seems to be influenced by the author of "view of wood honzon is false", Minobu priest Bentetsu Yasunaga, who is an associate professor at Minobu's Rissho University and chief priest of Zenshoji Temple.
'In recent years, the exchange of Minobu priests and Nikken sect priests has become more frequent. Monks of the Nikken sect make pilgrimages to temples of Minobu sect with Hokkeko members, or they invite Minobu monks to Taisekiji. General chief of the Hokkeko federation, Kisoji Yanagisawa, made a pilgrimage to Kuonji Temple, the general head temple of the Minobu sect. We [the Fake Newsletter] have mentioned this issue before, and even "Emyo," one of organ papers of Nikken sect, could not argue against this. Taisekiji priests Kaido Seki, Jikei Maekawa, Kosho Mizushima, Sonfuku Ochiai, Gishu Funabashi, all made visits to Minobu's temples themselves. They later made excuses during lectures at their temples or in their temple newsletters, saying, "We went and saw the temple but did not chant."...etc.'
The proof of Rissho's heritage is on their own website, the page on "History of Rissho":.
'Over 120 Years of Tradition and 70 Years of History as a Modern Educational Institution'
'No other institution of higher education in Japan has a longer tradition than Rissho University.'
'Our founding dates back to 1580 when the "Iidaka- Danrin School" was established to educate student priests of the Nichiren sect of Buddhism. The school took its name from its location, Iidaka Town, which is now Yoka- lchiba City in Chiba Prefecture. Some of the ancient wooden structures have been carefully preserved and form part of the Hanko-ji Temple. These structures include the lecture hall, gate, drum tower and bell tower, which are designated as "Important Cultural Assets" by the Government. The school closed its gates in 1875. During its 295-year history, it produced a great many talented figures who made prominent contributions to promoting Buddhism and education in Japan.'
'Shortly before it [Iidaka-Danrin School] was closed, the "Nichiren-shu Shukyo-in" (Nichiren Religious Academy) was established in 1872 at the Jokyo-ji Temple in Takanawa, Tokyo, to succeed the "Iidaka-Danrin School" in modern times.'
'In 1904, the Academy was moved to Osaki,Tokyo, the present site of the main campus of Rissho University.'
'Authorized by the Government ordinance concerning colleges issued that year [1904], it opened its gates as "Nichiren-shu Daigakurin" (Nichiren Religious College).'
'When the Government issued an ordinance concerning universities in 1924, the University was reorganized into Rissho University with Faculty of Letters newly opened. Its doors were opened to both Nichiren priests and ordinary students.'
Hence, Nikken is more than simply an enemy of the Soka Gakkai and a very bad High Priest at the Fuji School.
Nikken is clearly not a follower of Nikko's School and never has been at any time. He is a follower of the Five Senior Priests and a minion of Minobu, in spite of what his conscious mind tells him. Consciousness is, after all, only one of Five Components.

THAT is my problem with Nikken and Nichiren Shoshu priests, in general. It is not that they hang out with bad women or good women.
Nikko's intent on that is absolutely clear in the 25th Admonition:

25. My disciples should conduct themselves as holy priests, patterning their behavior after that of the late master. However, even if a high priest or a priest striving for practice and understanding should temporarily deviate from [the principle of] sexual abstinence, he may still be allowed to remain in the priesthood [as a common priest without rank].
(from Living Buddhism 4/1998)

Nikko did not want the priesthood to be a self-sustaining community, where priesthood positions could be handed down to the kids, like a family business. He clearly intended that every priest should come from a family of lay believers, or spring forth spontaneously from the new membership.
This is abundantly clear, since abstaining priests cannot even donate to a sperm bank for artificial insemination. THEY CAN HAVE NO CHILDREN.
Frankly it is not my concern that that imposes an unhappy restriction on priests. Nichiren, Nikko, Nichimoku and Nichikan followed all 26 Admonitions abundantly well, and I only need to have those four priests in my life. I don't need any false priests that are lay-person wanna-bes.
And I am not the author of these restrictions, Nikko is. Argue with him (heh).
For myself, I have ABSOLUTELY no argument with Nikko, I follow all 26 of his admonitions, even the 2nd and the 25th: I will not lower his standards on training at Nichiren Shu or in accepting a priest who does not practice abstinence. PERIOD. Never. Not for anyone.
I will accept a priest that has never had any contact with, or priest-training from a follower of the Five Senior Priests (Nichiren Shu or Shoshu, or any other slanderous funeral Buddhism), and who practices abstinence and follows all 26 Admonitions of Nikko. From an excommunicated (Gakkai) family or off the street (common mortals are the true Buddha, according to Nichiren), either source is fine.
It is Nikko's undying determination in action ... that having violated any of the 26 Admonitions in a clear and obvious way ... one will then proceed to violate all the rest, including Admonition #1, which requires us to practice Buddhism in exactly the same way as Nichiren.
They may erect statues of Nichiren at Taisekiji and worship them, in the same way that the Tendai and Nichiren Shu worship statues of Shakyamuni, but there is ultimately no difference between these two slanders. Idolatry is not Nichiren's Buddhism. The Gohonzon is the "supreme object of devotion in all of Jambudvīpa."
From "The True Aspect of All Phenomena", WND p. 384:

A common mortal is an entity of the three bodies, and a true Buddha. A Buddha is a function of the three bodies, and a provisional Buddha. In that case, though it is thought that Shakyamuni Buddha possesses the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent for the sake of all of us living beings, that is not so. On the contrary, it is common mortals who endow him with the three virtues.

"A common mortal is ... a true Buddha". And Nichiren and Shakyamuni are endowed with the three virtues of sovereign, teacher, and parent BY the common mortal, who is the true Buddha.
If Nichiren and Shakyamuni are somehow "special people", then we cannot match their accomplishment, and attain their Buddhahood.
They are NOT special humans. And we CAN attain their fierce determination for Kosen Rufu, which is no more and no less than their Buddhahood.
Indeed, we MUST attain that determination, or we shall surely fail to accomplish the ultimate intent of the Thus Come One (our true self).
This is why it is a slander for common mortals to worship statues of provisional Buddhas (they are all just humans, not objects of devotion).
This is why we have the Gohonzon, which reflects the Thus Come One inside our very own Sense Field = Six Components in Three Realms.
This is why we do shakubuku. The common mortal (true Buddha) we shakubuku endows the three virtues upon us, and that is our provisional Buddhahood. Without shakubuku, there is no Buddhahood.
So ... slander of Buddhism will always identify itself, by raising one person over another: over the common mortal. In the end, slanderers of the Law all make the same appearance, by worshiping statues of someone or other. (And, by the way, appreciation of your mentors: those who helped you along ... is NOT worship, it is merely showing your gratitude. We need to discard that fallacy.)
Next in Part II, we will apply the grid of the Hindu caste system to the Nichiren Shoshu priesthood. We will talk about some of the priesthood's socially unacceptable behavior, but really ... I only mention these instances to show pattern and connections between priest families.

Hello,
Can anyone help me out with my configuration. Here is the error I got:
Error log:

temp@webje:/etc/matrix-sydent/sydent-env# sydent --config /etc/matrix-sydent/sydent-env/sydent.conf --verbose WARNING: You have not specified a server name. I have guessed that this server is called 'webje'. If this is incorrect, you should edit 'general.server.name' in the config file. WARNING: The path specified by 'general.templates.path' (res) does not exist. 2024-05-28 21:43:35,385 - sydent.sydent - 87 - INFO - Starting Sydent server 2024-05-28 21:43:35,385 - sydent.db.sqlitedb - 32 - INFO - Using DB file sydent.db 2024-05-28 21:43:35,387 - sydent.http.httpcommon - 53 - WARNING - No HTTPS private key / cert found: not starting replication server or doing replication pushes 2024-05-28 21:43:35,393 - sydent.http.httpserver - 187 - INFO - Starting Client API HTTP server on :::8090 2024-05-28 21:43:35,394 - twisted - 147 - INFO - Site starting on 8090 2024-05-28 21:43:35,395 - twisted - 147 - INFO - Starting factory  2024-05-28 21:43:37,088 - twisted - 147 - INFO - "::1" - - [28/May/2024:19:43:36 +0000] "GET /_matrix/identity/v2 HTTP/1.1" 200 2 "-" "Element/1.11.9 (iPhone 14 Pro; iOS 17.5.1; Scale/3.00)" 2024-05-28 21:43:37,100 - twisted - 147 - INFO - "::1" - - [28/May/2024:19:43:36 +0000] "GET /_matrix/identity/v2 HTTP/1.1" 200 2 "-" "Element/1.11.9 (iPhone 14 Pro; iOS 17.5.1; Scale/3.00)" 2024-05-28 21:43:37,134 - twisted - 147 - INFO - "::1" - - [28/May/2024:19:43:36 +0000] "GET /_matrix/identity/v2/terms HTTP/1.1" 200 16 "-" "Element/1.11.9 (iPhone 14 Pro; iOS 17.5.1; Scale/3.00)" 2024-05-28 21:43:38,470 - sydent.http.matrixfederationagent - 353 - INFO - Fetching https://ee2e.domain.tld./.well-known/matrix/server 2024-05-28 21:43:38,504 - twisted - 147 - INFO - Starting factory _HTTP11ClientFactory(.quiescentCallback at 0x7f92b709f620>, ) 2024-05-28 21:43:38,521 - sydent.http.matrixfederationagent - 362 - INFO - Response from .well-known: {'m.server': 'ee2e.domain.tld:8008'} 2024-05-28 21:43:38,550 - sydent.http.matrixfederationagent - 405 - INFO - Endpoint created with b'ee2e.domain.tld':8008 2024-05-28 21:43:38,550 - sydent.http.matrixfederationagent - 410 - INFO - Connecting to ee2e.domain.tld:8008 2024-05-28 21:43:38,554 - twisted - 147 - INFO - Starting factory _HTTP11ClientFactory(.quiescentCallback at 0x7f92b709f6a8>, ) 2024-05-28 21:43:43,523 - twisted - 147 - INFO - Stopping factory _HTTP11ClientFactory(.quiescentCallback at 0x7f92b709f620>, ) x2024-05-28 21:44:37,101 - twisted - 147 - INFO - Timing out client: IPv6Address(type='TCP', host='::1', port=33036, flowInfo=0, scopeID=0) 2024-05-28 21:44:37,136 - twisted - 147 - INFO - Timing out client: IPv6Address(type='TCP', host='::1', port=33042, flowInfo=0, scopeID=0) 2024-05-28 21:44:38,557 - sydent.http.servlets.registerservlet - 72 - WARNING - Unable to contact the Matrix homeserver (ResponseNeverReceived) 2024-05-28 21:44:38,558 - twisted - 147 - INFO - "::1" - - [28/May/2024:19:44:38 +0000] "POST /_matrix/identity/v2/account/register HTTP/1.1" 500 100 "-" "Element/1.11.9 (iPhone 14 Pro; iOS 17.5.1; Scale/3.00)" 

Config Sydent:

[DEFAULT] server.name = identity.domain.tld log.path = /etc/matrix-sydent/sydent-env/sydent.log log.level = DEBUG pidfile.path = sydent.pid terms.path = address_lookup_limit = 10000 templates.path = res brand.default = matrix-org enable_v1_associations = true delete_tokens_on_bind = true ip.blacklist = ip.whitelist = 172.25.1.50 homeserver_allow_list = enable_v1_access = true db.file = sydent.db clientapi.http.bind_address = :: clientapi.http.port = 8090 internalapi.http.bind_address = ::1 internalapi.http.port = replication.https.certfile = replication.https.cacert = replication.https.bind_address = :: replication.https.port = 4434 obey_x_forwarded_for = False federation.verifycerts = True client_http_base = email.from = Sydent Validation identity@domain.tld email.subject = Your Validation Token email.invite.subject = %(sender_display_name)s has invited you to chat email.invite.subject_space = %(sender_display_name)s has invited you to a space email.smtphost = localhost email.smtpport = 25 email.smtpusername = email.smtppassword = email.hostname = email.tlsmode = 0 email.default_web_client_location = https://app.element.io email.third_party_invite_username_obfuscate_characters = 3 email.third_party_invite_domain_obfuscate_characters = 3 bodytemplate = Your code is {token} username = password = ed25519.signingkey = [general] ip.whitelist = 172.15.10.10 homeserver_url = https://ee2e.domain.tld:8008 [db] [http] [email] [sms] [crypto] ed25519.signingkey = ed25519 0 qFnE7h+I [logging] level = DEBUG [homeserver] base_url = https://ee2e.domain.tld:8008 [identity_server] base_url = https://identity.domain.tld 

Config Matrix:

#enable_registration: true #registration_shared_secret: "xxxxxx" macaroon_secret_key: "9Ey2ssdasdasdasdw2r6E=" enable_registration: true enable_registration_without_verification: true server_name: "ee2e.domain.tld" #media_store_path: "/mnt/matrix" account_threepid_delegates: msisdn: "https://identity.domain.tld" enable_3pid_changes: true pid_file: "/varun/matrix-synapse.pid" listeners: - port: 8008 tls: false type: http x_forwarded: true bind_addresses: ['0.0.0.0'] resources: - names: [client, federation] compress: false database: name: psycopg2 args: user: synapse_user password: xxxxxxx database: synapse_db_new_correct host: localhost cp_min: 5 cp_max: 10 log_config: "/etc/matrix-synapse/log.yaml" media_store_path: /valib/matrix-synapse/media signing_key_path: "/etc/matrix-synapse/homeserver.signing.key" trusted_key_servers: - server_name: "matrix.org" trusted_third_party_id_servers: - "identity.domain.tld" 

.well-known/matrix/server:

{ "m.server": "ee2e.domain.tld:8008" } 

Apache Matrix config:

 ServerName ee2e.domain.tld DocumentRoot /vawww/matrix RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{SERVER_NAME} =ee2e.domain.tld RewriteRule ^ https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [END,NE,R=permanent]  AllowOverride None Require all granted    ServerName ee2e.domain.tld DocumentRoot /vawww/matrix SSLEngine on SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/ee2e.domain.tld/fullchain.pem SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/ee2e.domain.tld/privkey.pem Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Proto "https" ProxyPreserveHost On # Ensure the .well-known directory is served by Apache  ProxyPass !   AllowOverride None Require all granted  # Redirect all other traffic to Synapse ProxyPass /_matrix http://localhost:8008/_matrix ProxyPassReverse /_matrix http://localhost:8008/_matrix ProxyPass /_synapse/client http://localhost:8008/_synapse/client ProxyPassReverse /_synapse/client http://localhost:8008/_synapse/client # Federation traffic ProxyPass /_matrix/federation/v1 http://localhost:8448/_matrix/federation/v1 ProxyPassReverse /_matrix/federation/v1 http://localhost:8448/_matrix/federation/v1  

Apache config Sydent:

 ServerName identity.domain.tld DocumentRoot /vawww/matrix # Redirect HTTP to HTTPS RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{SERVER_NAME} =identity.domain.tld RewriteRule ^ https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [END,NE,R=permanent]  AllowOverride None Require all granted    ServerName identity.domain.tld DocumentRoot /vawww/matrix # Enable SSL SSLEngine on SSLCertificateFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/identity.domain.tld/fullchain.pem SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/letsencrypt/live/identity.domain.tld/privkey.pem Include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-apache.conf RequestHeader set X-Forwarded-Proto "https" ProxyPreserveHost On # Ensure the .well-known directory is served by Apache  AllowOverride None Require all granted  # Matrix Identity Server ProxyPass /_matrix/identity http://localhost:8090/_matrix/identity ProxyPassReverse /_matrix/identity http://localhost:8090/_matrix/identity  Please help me out! Many thanks already, cheers! 

i downloaded chat RTX successfully , but it wont run , I get the error of
httpx.ConnectError: [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1007)
and here what does it look like in the web:
and here what look like in app cmd

This site can’t be reached

127.0.0.1 refused to connect.
Try:

• Checking the connection
• [Checking the proxy and the firewall](chrome-error://chromewebdata/#buttons)

ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSEDReloadHide detailsCheck your Internet connectionCheck any cables and reboot any routers, modems, or other network devices you may be using.Allow Chrome to access the network in your firewall or antivirus settings.If it is already listed as a program allowed to access the network, try removing it from the list and adding it again.If you use a proxy server…Check your proxy settings or contact your network administrator to make sure the proxy server is working. If you don't believe you should be using a proxy server: Go to the Chrome menu > Settings > Show advanced settings… > Change proxy settings… > LAN Settings and deselect "Use a proxy server for your LAN".This site can’t be reached
127.0.0.1 refused to connect.
Try:

• Checking the connection
• [Checking the proxy and the firewall](chrome-error://chromewebdata/#buttons)

hope someone can help, Thanks
Environment path found: C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag
Privileges of original process: ['SeShutdownPrivilege', 'SeChangeNotifyPrivilege', 'SeUndockPrivilege', 'SeIncreaseWorkingSetPrivilege', 'SeTimeZonePrivilege']
Privileges of restricted app token: ['SeChangeNotifyPrivilege']
Process Id = 17940
Environment path found: C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag
App running with config
{
"models": {
"supported": [
{
"name": "Mistral 7B int4",
"id": "mistral_model",
"ngc_model_name": "nvidia/llama/mistral-7b-int4-chat:1.2",
"is_downloaded_required": true,
"downloaded": true,
"is_installation_required": true,
"setup_finished": true,
"min_gpu_memory": 8,
"should_show_in_UI": true,
"prerequisite": {
"checkpoints_files": [
"config.json",
"rank0.safetensors",
"license.txt"
],
"tokenizer_ngc_dir": "mistral7b_hf_tokenizer",
"tokenizer_files": {
"config": "config.json",
"tokenizer": "tokenizer.json",
"model": "tokenizer.model",
"tokenizer_config": "tokenizer_config.json"
},
"checkpoints_local_dir": "model_checkpoints",
"tokenizer_local_dir": "tokenizer",
"engine_build_command": "trtllm-build --checkpoint_dir %checkpoints_local_dir% --output_dir %engine_dir% --gpt_attention_plugin float16 --gemm_plugin float16 --max_batch_size 1 --max_input_len 7168 --max_output_len 1024 --context_fmha=enable --paged_kv_cache=disable --remove_input_padding=disable",
"engine_dir": "engine"
},
"metadata": {
"engine": "rank0.engine",
"max_new_tokens": 1024,
"max_input_token": 7168,
"temperature": 0.1,
"prompt_template": "Default"
},
"model_info": "The Mistral-7B is a instruct fine-tuned text generation model License ",
"model_license": " License ",
"model_size": "4GB"
},
{
"name": "Llama2 13B int4",
"id": "llaam2_model",
"ngc_model_name": "nvidia/llama/llama2-13b:1.5",
"is_downloaded_required": true,
"downloaded": false,
"is_installation_required": true,
"setup_finished": false,
"min_gpu_memory": 16,
"should_show_in_UI": false,
"prerequisite": {
"checkpoints_files": [
"config.json",
"rank0.safetensors",
"README.txt",
"license.txt"
],
"tokenizer_ngc_dir": "llama13_hf_tokenizer",
"tokenizer_files": {
"config": "config.json",
"tokenizer": "tokenizer.json",
"model": "tokenizer.model",
"tokenizer_config": "tokenizer_config.json"
},
"checkpoints_local_dir": "model_checkpoints",
"tokenizer_local_dir": "tokenizer",
"engine_build_command": "trtllm-build --checkpoint_dir %checkpoints_local_dir% --output_dir %engine_dir% --gpt_attention_plugin float16 --gemm_plugin float16 --max_batch_size 1 --max_input_len 3072 --max_output_len 1024 --context_fmha=enable --paged_kv_cache=disable --remove_input_padding=disable",
"engine_dir": "engine"
},
"metadata": {
"engine": "rank0.engine",
"max_new_tokens": 1024,
"max_input_token": 7168,
"temperature": 0.1,
"prompt_template": "Default"
},
"model_info": "LlaMa 2 is a large language AI model capable of generating text and code in response to prompts License ",
"model_license": " License ",
"model_size": "6.8GB"
},
{
"name": "ChatGLM 3 6B int4 (Supports Chinese)",
"id": "chatglm3_model",
"ngc_model_name": "nvidia/chatglm3-6b-chat-int4:1.0",
"is_downloaded_required": true,
"downloaded": false,
"is_installation_required": true,
"setup_finished": false,
"min_gpu_memory": 8,
"should_show_in_UI": true,
"prerequisite": {
"checkpoints_files": [
"config.json",
"rank0.safetensors",
"license.txt"
],
"tokenizer_ngc_dir": "Tokenizer",
"tokenizer_files": {
"config": "config.json",
"model": "tokenizer.model",
"tokenizer_config": "tokenizer_config.json"
},
"checkpoints_local_dir": "model_checkpoints",
"tokenizer_local_dir": "tokenizer",
"engine_build_command": "trtllm-build --checkpoint_dir %checkpoints_local_dir% --output_dir %engine_dir% --gemm_plugin float16 --max_batch_size 1 --max_input_len 7168 --max_output_len 1024",
"engine_dir": "engine"
},
"metadata": {
"engine": "rank0.engine",
"max_new_tokens": 1024,
"max_input_token": 7168,
"temperature": 0.1
},
"model_info": "ChatGLM-6B is an open bilingual language model based on General Language Model framework, with 6.2 billion parameters License ",
"model_license": " License ",
"model_size": "3.8GB"
},
{
"name": "Gemma 7B int4",
"id": "Gemma_model",
"ngc_model_name": "nvidia/llama/gemma-7b-int4-rtx:1.1",
"is_downloaded_required": true,
"downloaded": false,
"is_installation_required": true,
"setup_finished": false,
"min_gpu_memory": 16,
"should_show_in_UI": false,
"prerequisite": {
"checkpoints_files": [
"config.json",
"rank0.safetensors",
"Prohibited_use_policy.txt",
"license.txt",
"Notice.txt"
],
"tokenizer_ngc_dir": "Gemma7b_hf_tokenizer",
"tokenizer_files": {
"vocab_file": "tmp_vocab.model"
},
"checkpoints_local_dir": "model_checkpoints",
"vocab_local_dir": "tokenizer",
"engine_build_command": "trtllm-build --checkpoint_dir %checkpoints_local_dir% --gemm_plugin float16 --gpt_attention_plugin float16 --max_batch_size 1 --max_input_len 4096 --max_output_len 1024 --output_dir %engine_dir%",
"engine_dir": "engine"
},
"metadata": {
"engine": "rank0.engine",
"max_new_tokens": 1024,
"max_input_token": 7168,
"temperature": 0.1
},
"model_info": "Gemma-7B is a 7B parameter model from Gemma family of models from Google License ",
"model_license": " License ",
"model_size": "6.6GB"
},
{
"name": "CLIP",
"id": "clip_model",
"hf_model_name": "openai/clip-vit-large-patch14-336",
"is_downloaded_required": true,
"downloaded": false,
"download_link": "https ://huggingface.co/openai/clip-vit-large-patch14-336/resolve/main",
"is_installation_required": false,
"setup_finished": false,
"min_gpu_memory": 8,
"should_show_in_UI": true,
"prerequisite": {
"checkpoints_files": [
"README.md",
"config.json",
"merges.txt",
"preprocessor_config.json",
"pytorch_model.bin",
"special_tokens_map.json",
"tokenizer.json",
"tokenizer_config.json",
"vocab.json"
],
"checkpoints_local_dir": "clip_model"
},
"metadata": {},
"model_info": "CLIP is a multi-modal vision and language model used for image-text similarity and for zero-shot image classification License ",
"model_license": " License ",
"model_size": "1.5GB"
}
],
"selected": "Mistral 7B int4",
"enable_asr": true,
"supported_asr": [
{
"name": "Whisper Medium Int8",
"installed": true,
"metadata": {
"encoder_engine": "whisper_encoder_float16_tp1_rank0.engine",
"decoder_engine": "whisper_decoder_float16_tp1_rank0.engine",
"model_path": "model\\whisper\\whisper_medium_int8_engine",
"assets_path": "model\\whisper\\whisper_assets"
}
}
]
},
"sample_questions": [
{
"query": "How does NVIDIA ACE generate emotional responses?"
},
{
"query": "What is Portal prelude RTX?"
},
{
"query": "What is important about Half Life 2 RTX?"
},
{
"query": "When is the launch date for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart on PC?"
}
],
"sample_questions_chinese": [
{
"query": "NVIDIA ACE是如何生成富有情感的回复的？"
},
{
"query": "传送门：序曲是什么？"
},
{
"query": "半条命 2 RTX版有什么重要意义？"
},
{
"query": "瑞奇与叮当：时空跳转何时会在PC平台发布？"
}
],
"sample_questions_clip": [
{
"query": "Pictures of bicycles"
},
{
"query": "Pictures of toys"
},
{
"query": "Pictures of dinosaurs"
},
{
"query": "Pictures of computer"
}
],
"dataset": {
"sources": [
"directory",
"nodataset"
],
"selected": "directory",
"path": "dataset",
"path_chinese": "chinese_dataset",
"path_clip": "images_dataset",
"isRelative": true
},
"strings": {
"directory": "Folder Path",
"nodataset": "AI model default"
}
}
[TensorRT-LLM] TensorRT-LLM version: 0.9.0
Privileges of app process: ['SeChangeNotifyPrivilege']
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\langchain\chat_models\__init__.py:31: LangChainDeprecationWarning: Importing chat models from langchain is deprecated. Importing from langchain will no longer be supported as of langchain==0.2.0. Please import from langchain-community instead:
`from langchain_community.chat_models import ChatAnyscale`.
To install langchain-community run `pip install -U langchain-community`.
warnings.warn(
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\langchain\chat_models\__init__.py:31: LangChainDeprecationWarning: Importing chat models from langchain is deprecated. Importing from langchain will no longer be supported as of langchain==0.2.0. Please import from langchain-community instead:
`from langchain_community.chat_models import ChatOpenAI`.
To install langchain-community run `pip install -U langchain-community`.
warnings.warn(
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\langchain\embeddings\__init__.py:29: LangChainDeprecationWarning: Importing embeddings from langchain is deprecated. Importing from langchain will no longer be supported as of langchain==0.2.0. Please import from langchain-community instead:
`from langchain_community.embeddings import HuggingFaceBgeEmbeddings`.
To install langchain-community run `pip install -U langchain-community`.
warnings.warn(
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\langchain\embeddings\__init__.py:29: LangChainDeprecationWarning: Importing embeddings from langchain is deprecated. Importing from langchain will no longer be supported as of langchain==0.2.0. Please import from langchain-community instead:
`from langchain_community.embeddings import HuggingFaceEmbeddings`.
To install langchain-community run `pip install -U langchain-community`.
warnings.warn(
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\langchain\llms\__init__.py:548: LangChainDeprecationWarning: Importing LLMs from langchain is deprecated. Importing from langchain will no longer be supported as of langchain==0.2.0. Please import from langchain-community instead:
`from langchain_community.llms import AI21`.
To install langchain-community run `pip install -U langchain-community`.
warnings.warn(
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\langchain\llms\__init__.py:548: LangChainDeprecationWarning: Importing LLMs from langchain is deprecated. Importing from langchain will no longer be supported as of langchain==0.2.0. Please import from langchain-community instead:
`from langchain_community.llms import Cohere`.
To install langchain-community run `pip install -U langchain-community`.
warnings.warn(
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\langchain\llms\__init__.py:548: LangChainDeprecationWarning: Importing LLMs from langchain is deprecated. Importing from langchain will no longer be supported as of langchain==0.2.0. Please import from langchain-community instead:
`from langchain_community.llms import FakeListLLM`.
To install langchain-community run `pip install -U langchain-community`.
warnings.warn(
C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\langchain\llms\__init__.py:548: LangChainDeprecationWarning: Importing LLMs from langchain is deprecated. Importing from langchain will no longer be supported as of langchain==0.2.0. Please import from langchain-community instead:
`from langchain_community.llms import OpenAI`.
To install langchain-community run `pip install -U langchain-community`.
warnings.warn(
Using the persisted value form dataset_vector_embedding
Open HTTP s://127.0.0.1:48710?cookie=48e206cf-1b47-40a3-a517-ff7f0223f1ed&__theme=dark in browser to start ChatRTX
Running on local URL: HTTP s://127.0.0.1:48710
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_transports\default.py", line 69, in map_httpcore_exceptions
yield
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_transports\default.py", line 233, in handle_request
resp = self._pool.handle_request(req)
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpcore\_sync\connection_pool.py", line 216, in handle_request
raise exc from None
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpcore\_sync\connection_pool.py", line 196, in handle_request
response = connection.handle_request(
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpcore\_sync\connection.py", line 99, in handle_request
raise exc
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpcore\_sync\connection.py", line 76, in handle_request
stream = self._connect(request)
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpcore\_sync\connection.py", line 154, in _connect
stream = stream.start_tls(**kwargs)
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpcore\_backends\sync.py", line 152, in start_tls
with map_exceptions(exc_map):
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\contextlib.py", line 153, in __exit__
self.gen.throw(typ, value, traceback)
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpcore\_exceptions.py", line 14, in map_exceptions
raise to_exc(exc) from exc
httpcore.ConnectError: [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1007)
The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "D:\chatrtx\CRTX\RAG\trt-llm-rag-windows-ChatRTX_0.3\app.py", line 706, in
interface.render()
File "D:\chatrtx\CRTX\RAG\trt-llm-rag-windows-ChatRTX_0.3\ui\user_interface.py", line 426, in render
interface.launch(
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\gradio\blocks.py", line 2209, in launch
httpx.get(
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_api.py", line 198, in get
return request(
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_api.py", line 106, in request
return client.request(
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_client.py", line 827, in request
return self.send(request, auth=auth, follow_redirects=follow_redirects)
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_client.py", line 914, in send
response = self._send_handling_auth(
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_client.py", line 942, in _send_handling_auth
response = self._send_handling_redirects(
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_client.py", line 979, in _send_handling_redirects
response = self._send_single_request(request)
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_client.py", line 1015, in _send_single_request
response = transport.handle_request(request)
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_transports\default.py", line 232, in handle_request
with map_httpcore_exceptions():
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\contextlib.py", line 153, in __exit__
self.gen.throw(typ, value, traceback)
File "C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\NVIDIA\ChatRTX\env_nvd_rag\lib\site-packages\httpx\_transports\default.py", line 86, in map_httpcore_exceptions
raise mapped_exc(message) from exc
httpx.ConnectError: [SSL: CERTIFICATE_VERIFY_FAILED] certificate verify failed: unable to get local issuer certificate (_ssl.c:1007)
Press any key to continue . . .

👋 Welcome to the /ukpolitics General Election Campaign Megathread. The mad lad Rishi Sunak has called a general election, and now we're bracing ourselves for 6 weeks of bacon sandwiches, newspapers begging you to support their candidates, and a downpour of manifesto pledges.
This is our new daily megathread for all of the day's news until the election. Polling day is on 4th July, and you need to make sure that you are registered to vote if you haven't already, and that you have a form of photo ID (passport, driving license, etc). If you don't have photo ID, you can apply for a voter authority certificate.
Please do not submit articles to the megathread which clearly stand as their own submission. Comments which include a link to a story which clearly stands as its own submission will be removed. Comments which relate to a story which already exists on the subreddit will be removed, to keep everything in one place. Links as comments are not useful here. Add a headline, tweet content or explainer please.
This thread will automatically roll over into a new one at 06:00 GMT each morning.
You can join our Discord server for real-time discussion with fellow subreddit users, and follow our Twitter account to keep up with the latest developments.

Useful Links

📰 Today's Politico Playbook · 🌎 International Politics Discussion Thread . 🃏 UKPolitics Meme Subreddit
🗳️ Register to vote · 🪪 Apply for a voter authority certificate if you have no voter ID · ✉️ Apply for a postal vote (or here for NI) · 🚶🏻 Apply for a proxy vote (or here in NI)

📅 Key dates

from the Electoral Commission

• 30th May - Parliament is dissolved.
• 5th - 16th June - Party manifestos expected to be published (based on Institute for Government analysis of past election periods).
• 7th June - Deadline for candidate nominations.
• 18th June - Deadline for new voter registration (to be able to vote in this election).
• 19th June - Deadline for new postal vote applications (for this election).
• 26th June - Deadline for new proxy vote applications and voter authority certificates (for this election).
• 4th July - Polling day. Emergency proxy votes deadline at 5pm. Polls will open at 7am and close at 10pm.

Yuyu Proxy offers a complimentary web proxy service designed to provide users with a straightforward, rapid, and cost-effective. Acting as an intermediary between your device and the targeted website, it enables web browsing without disclosing your actual IP address. This proxy service allows access to popular websites such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, all while safeguarding user privacy and security.

Advantages of Employing Yuyu Proxy

Anonymity: The Yuyu Proxy service serves as a unique tool for anonymous web surfing. It ensures the confidentiality of your online activities by functioning as a barrier between your device and the websites you visit. This barrier conceals your true identity, including your IP address, thus making it difficult for external parties to track your online behavior.
Accessibility: One of the appealing aspects of Yuyu Proxy is that it is offered free of charge. However, due to its free nature, it has certain limitations, such as slower connection speeds and restricted access to specific websites. For instance, it cannot be used for web scraping, creating multiple social media accounts, or performing tasks requiring proxies with higher standards. Overall, it is an excellent choice for basic browsing requirements.
Ease of Use: This web proxy does not require any software downloads or installations. Simply visit the website and input the URL you wish to access. Its user-friendly interface ensures that even individuals with limited internet knowledge can navigate it effortlessly.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use it

Step 1: Visit the Yuyu Proxy Website

1. Open Your Browser: Launch your preferred web browser on your device.
2. Navigate to the Website: Enter https://www.yuyuproxy.com into your browser’s address bar and press Enter.

Step 2: Enter the URL

1. Locate the Input Box: On the Yuyu Proxy homepage, you will find an input box.
2. Input the Desired URL: Type in the URL of the website you wish to access. For example, you can type in www.duckduckgo.com for a test run.
3. Use Quick Links: Alternatively, you can use the quick links provided below the input box for commonly used websites.

Step 3: Access the Website

1. Click “Go”: After entering the desired URL, click the “Go” button.
2. Wait for Loading: Wait for the loading indicator to signify that the proxy is processing your request.

Step 4: Verify Your IP Address Change

1. Check the Result: Once the website loads, verify that your real IP address has been masked.
2. Search for IP Information: For confirmation, search for “IPinfo” on your chosen website (e.g., DuckDuckGo) and visit the top result.
3. Compare IP Addresses: Ensure that the displayed IP address is different from your actual one.

Step 5: Enjoy Anonymous Browsing

1. Browse Confidently: Continue browsing the web anonymously and securely.
2. Mobile Use: You can also follow the same steps on your mobile browser for seamless access.

Tips

• Speed and Performance: Be aware that free proxies like Yuyu Proxy may experience slower speeds and occasional interruptions due to high user traffic.
• Website Restrictions: Some websites may block proxy IP addresses, causing disconnections.
• Activity Limitations: Free proxies are best suited for basic browsing needs. For high-bandwidth or sensitive tasks, consider using premium proxy services.

Alternatives to Yuyu Proxy

For advanced proxy needs, consider OkeyProxy, a leading proxy provider offering residential and datacenter proxies. Catering to personal and business requirements, OkeyProxy provides solutions for social networks, account creation, accessing blocked sites, and web scraping.

EDIT:
I solved this by putting a NAT Gateway in front of my server so it goes out of its static IP instead of a dynamic public IP of the cloud.
____
Hey, a web scraping noob here.
I have a scraper for an e-commerce website. As the title says, I don't know what is it about my request that the website recognizes.
Locally, every single proxy and non-proxy request I make to that site works. They don't even restrict my local IP. However on my cloud machine, I tried multiple proxies from countless sources, both free and not free, residential, mobile, different regions, etc. No matter what, the cloud server gets 403 when using those. If I use them on my local machine, it works as usual.
I know there must be something trivial about the fact that my request is from a local machine as opposed to a cloud machine, but I don't know how to fix it. It seems like a common problem. Does anybody know?

So with the new set coming soon my local group was discussing the possibility of doing an "escalation league" where you get X boosters to start to build your deck and then each week you get one additional booster to add to it. Scarcity is, of course, the main concern with doing that.
I suggested that if someone had made a random booster generator that we could just use that to tell us which cards we are allowed and then just pull those from our own collections and/or proxy what we dont own.
So...has anybody made a "random booster generator" type site or app? I dont think I've heard of any yet for this game, but I know I've seen some for other games over the years.
Thanks!

i’m heading to caratland 2024, preferably for both days as i’m in korea! i have my carat membership but because i’m a foreigner, i have to use the global interpark site instead of the korean site.
now i know the reputation of interpark but i intend on going to a pc bang to do the ticketing. will that make a difference? i want to get good sites because ive seen videos of gocheok and i know the higher-up seats are just absolutely terrible 😞 i’m really trying my best to get floor, if not first level seats for both days, and it’s my last resort to turn to proxies who are charging me close to 400,000 won per ticket for floor seats per day (if i have to, i will but again its my last option).
is global interpark really unsalvageable and hopeless or would the godspeed connection at pc bangs in seoul do the trick?

Welcome to everyone who has been directed here from another post. Before reading anything else below, here's the best workaround if you're seeing the PEC-SUB-0002 error on your computer:

1. Access the Prolific job queue on your phone with your wifi turned OFF.
   
2. Accept a study on your phone but do not launch it.
   
3. Go back to the Prolific job queue on your computer, and refresh the window.
   
4. Launch and complete the job on your computer.
   

If that's all you came here for, feel free to bounce. If you want to learn more, read on!
The rest of this post is designed to give more information on the "dreaded PEC-SUB-0002 error", or its companion, seeing the "take a break" teacup on wifi but not your phone, or vice versa. Thanks to Phrogster for the original post which inspired this one, and has seen dozens of pointers in the year-plus since it's been up!
What does PEC-SUB-0002 mean, anyway? Prolific has an extensive page on their various PEC errors, but this particular one is the most common - it means that the IP address for your device has been automatically flagged, and you cannot launch studies from that device (this distinction is important).
How do I know I'm affected? The easiest way is if you get the error pop-up when you try to accept a job in your queue, or accept one from an email notification that you have a study available in Prolific. A temporary banner will appear in the top-right of your screen displaying the error. Other times, you may notice that you have the "Take a break" teacup (with or without a person inside it) on your computer screen, but you can see studies on a different device (or when connecting to a different network). If you run into either of these situations, your IP address is blocked.
Why did this happen to me? Most of the time, it has nothing to do with you. Prolific uses an automated third-party system that checks for IP addresses (and ranges of IPs) that are known to be problematic, most often due to spamming, fraud, or suspicious traffic. So it could be someone in your "network neighborhood" who is causing the block, or it could be someone who had the IP address before you did. There's really no way of telling, but Prolific has had distributed denial-of-service attacks in the past that brought the platform down, so they are trying to avoid this happening again. They also explained that "Certain IPs and ISPs carry a high risk of VPN and/or proxy usage" in this blog post.
How can I get Prolific to fix it? Short answer: you can't. But keep reading! Because this third-party system is used by other companies, Prolific cannot remove IP addresses from the blacklist manually. They also do not add IP addresses manually - the process is entirely automated, and does not happen because of anything else you have done on the platform. If Prolific wanted to ban an account, they would just ban it, not restrict your IP address.
What are some other ways to fix this error?

• Make sure you are not using a VPN or proxy, including iCloud Private Relay on iOS, the Secure Network built-in VPN that Microsoft Edge uses by default, or any bandwidth sharing apps like Nielsen, Honeygain, Pawns, etc.
  
• You may be able to take steps to get your IP address removed yourself. This system relies on multiple blacklists, so it can take quite a bit of effort.
  
• Your IP address may just cycle off the list automatically - some blacklists only last for a week or two.
  
• Your service provider may automatically give you a new IP address after a certain amount of time. But because ISPs have a small pool of addresses that they reuse over time, you could easily end up with another blacklisted IP right away, or get your old blacklisted one back.
  
• You can ask your service provider for a new IP address. This could have the same issue as the previous point, but at least it's quicker.
  
• You can reboot your router, which may give you a new IP address, or unplug it for 15 minutes and then plug it back in. The same caveats apply as above.
  
• If your service provider has tied your IP address to the router that they provided, you can buy your own compatible router (which will save you money in the long run!) and learn how to change your IP address on your own equipment. Note that two of the methods on that page - using a VPN and using a proxy - are strictly prohibited on Prolific, so steer clear!
  

What about using a hotspot? Hotspots usually work, since they use mobile data rather than wifi. But they are overkill, since you only need to accept a job on a non-blacklisted IP address. Also, many hotspots have bandwidth limits that you may not want to use up taking studies.
Is there a workaround? Yes! Prolific is merely trying to verify that the device accepting the job is from a non-blacklisted IP address. It is much less likely for a cell phone on mobile data to be blocked than for a device on wifi or wired Internet to be blocked. Once the job is accepted, it can be completed on any device (and this is acceptable practice, as shown by the notice that reads "This study should be completed on the device specified by the researcher. You may reserve a place, but please complete the study on one of the supported device types." So those steps again:

1. Access the Prolific job queue on your phone with your wifi turned OFF.
   
2. Accept a study on your phone but do not start it.
   
3. Go back to the Prolific job queue on your computer, and refresh the window.
   
4. Launch and complete the job on your computer.
   

Why does my phone need to be on mobile data for this workaround? All devices connected to one wifi network are seen as having the same IP address - the address of your router. So if your IP is blocked, then ALL devices on your wifi are blocked.
What if my phone gets the PEC-SUB-0002 error? Unfortunately, this does happen, although it is more uncommon. Some potential solutions, bearing in mind that some of these steps may need to be repeated multliple times to get a new IP address:

• Make sure iCloud Private Relay is turned off if you're on an iPhone, as it's essentially a VPN.
  
• Restart your phone.
  
• Toggle your data off and on again (airplane mode).
  
• Toggle from 5G to LTE and back again.
  

I currently have 5 or 6 low volume Wordpress sites on a creaky old Centos 6.last server (Shodan has to paginate all the vulns it finds on my web server).
New to docker, but love it. Using docker locally and OracleCloud. I really like the nginx reverse proxy thing too. Now I want to stand up those Wordpress sites on a similarly small local machine that us fully up to date.
I don't want to run 6 Wordpress containers and 6 mariadb containers + nginx reverse proxy. Should I just run one Apache/PHP container and one mariadb container and configure multiple Wordpress sites the "old fashioned" way like I did on Centos?
Thoughts?