Connecting to GoneGambling website - Server not found

[vinylweatherman]

I have been unable to connect to Gonegambling.com from my PC through NTL Broadband from the UK since the start of the weekend. I have gone through loads of diagnostics, including the complete removal on Norton products. I can connect to GoneGambling.net just fine, as I can to all other websites I have tried. This problem seems very specific to this one site. I cannot connect through the FireFox browser either.

I can "ping" the server and I get a response with no packet losses. If I try FTP, it finds the server, but naturally connection then needs a user/password. This just shows that the server is probably visible to the internet.

I have tried connecting directly by IP rather than www.gonegambling.com, but still no luck.

I would like to hear from any other GoneGambling member here who has had this problem before, or even having it now.

According to a "whois" query, the GoneGambling entry was updated very recently, so I am considering the possibility of a DNS error. The fact that I can "ping" the IP of the GoneGambling server as specified by DNS lookup does not prove that this is STILL the right server!

I do NOT want to reinstall the entire OS until I have been able to rule out everything else (for obvious reasons!).

[tantalos]

Seems I can visit their website normally...

[greedygirl]

VinylWeatherman--you've emailed John on this a few times and as he's explained, this is a problem several members have been experiencing. Our host and techs are working dilligently to sort out where the problem is coming from and hopefully this will be resolved shortly.

The best thing to do is hang tight. It will be sorted out.

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by greedygirl

VinylWeatherman--you've emailed John on this a few times and as he's explained, this is a problem several members have been experiencing. Our host and techs are working dilligently to sort out where the problem is coming from and hopefully this will be resolved shortly.

The best thing to do is hang tight. It will be sorted out.

At the time I had not received the E-mail from John. I was faced with a full OS install, so I wanted to find out if I was alone as no other reports of this have been posted for the three days I have had the problem.
John has suggested that my ISP could be at fault, and the more evidence I have of this, the easier I can convince them that THEY need to do something, or reverse something they did on Friday. I notice they have pulled all their old CS numbers and replaced them with premium call numbers. (The old numbers were free, it now costs 5p a minute to be on hold for an hour). This is what I put up with from them - I can well believe it is their fault.
I cannot yet work out how I still can't get on by bypassing their DNS server and using the IP rather than the "friendly" domain to connect - this is supposed to work!
Not knowing makes me worry that I will lose access to other websites. I find it hard to believe that general problems hit only a single website and do not migrate to other parts of the internet.

I recall a similar issue with a US ISP (only certain sites affected with the rest of the net OK), and they were accused of deliberately testing a block in advance of the likely implementation of "THAT" bill through congress. Although I am in the UK, NTL is an American company. I hope to find more in some of the computer tech forums. I am annoyed that NTL did not announce this as a service issue to customers, as I have done alot of unnecessary work, and pay "through the nose" for NTL services which are considerably cheaper elsewhere now.

The only suggestion so far is to use an alternate ISP, something I am now considering on a permanent basis after this latest "stunt" from NTL

[andyhinckley]

Have you tried changing your proxy thru

Tools>Internet Options>Connections>Lan Settings ??

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d...cache.html#ntl

More details there VWM

[vinylweatherman]

This was an old solution, but recently when I tried it I found it no longer worked. I assumed NTL had stopped this trick, as they said at the time it was an "unofficial" bodge, and if too many did this to circumvent local restrictions it would mess up their load balancing.

I have received the GG newsletter, which indicates it is a major US provider, although as I am in the UK I am not sure if this is the whole story unless I connect through the states (easily found out).

I have has a crap response from NTL as expected, they cannot help without a long talk with me, clearly they expect to find my own equipment is at fault and have not even checked at their end.
I have not come upon another non-working website as yet. I will have a go at proxy fiddling to see if this allows a temporary solution.

[vinylweatherman]

ERROR
The requested URL could not be retrieved

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While trying to retrieve the URL: http://www.gonegambling.com/

The following error was encountered:

Access Denied.
Access control configuration prevents your request from being allowed at this time. Please contact your service provider if you feel this is incorrect.

Your cache administrator is btnet-supp@bt.net.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Generated Tue, 13 Jun 2006 10:36:26 GMT by cache.bt.net (squid/2.5.STABLE7)


Looks like NTL and others are pretty determined to block the workarounds

[sophiesmom]

I haven't tried the Gone Gambling site, but I can't get into the WINNING SCREENSHOTS forum on Casinomeister. I can read the threads on every other forum except that one.....keeps coming up DNS error. Server not found.
Very frustrating. That's my favorite. I figure I can't win, but I like to see other people hit a winner.

[andyhinckley]

try this...

Worked for me, and i am on ntl.

Through NTHell and its proxies no joy

But this did

http://www.proxyninja.com/

just enter your site in the box near bottom (says http:// )

[vinylweatherman]

I tried a public proxy last night and the site still failed. I tried again this morning and it was working again.
John from GG said that they changed their upstream provider, and did not expect anything to go wrong as they were just going to provide more bandwidth.
The problems were eventually narrowed down to a Yahoo proxy server system. Given that Yahoo took over Inktomi who provided the NTL Transparent proxies over here this all makes sense.
GG has been working all day since, so I presume the fix is permanent, however it is not yet known exactly why this happened in the first place.

NTL are dangerously close to losing a customer, they should thank their lucky stars that BBC Watchdog did a rather unflattering piece on TalkTalk and the "free broadband" offer. If this was running smoothly it would have been quite a saving over NTL for almost the same level of service.