16||0|2776|0|
0|0|0|||||Help me with my research|zwol||17:44:56|04/14/2017|Are you in possession of a web browser other than Safari%3F %28yes%2C this means iDevices do not qualify at all%2C say sorry%29 Have you got ten minutes to leave a browser tab idling%3F  Are you physically located somewhere other than Canada%2C the USA%2C or Western Europe%3F  %28This last not strictly required.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AIf you can say yes to some of these questions%2C you might be able to help me with my research project%21  Please visit %5Blink%3Aresearch.owlfolio.org%2Factive-geo%2F%7Chttps%3A%2F%2Fresearch.owlfolio.org%2Factive-geo%2F%5D and follow the instructions.%0D%0A%0D%0A
1|1|0|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|MuninsFire||00:41:43|04/18/2017|Hey%2C not bad - y%27all managed to get the correct coast that my current VPN endpoints are on %3B-%29
3|2|1|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|zwol||08:14:13|04/18/2017|Yeah%2C %22the correct coast%22 is often about as accurate as you can hope for.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe project this is part of started with my suspicions that a bunch of commercial VPNs are lying about which %5Bi%5Dcountry%5B%2Fi%5D their servers are in%2C and fortunately they turn out to be really blatant lies%2C like %22it%27s labeled as Kerbleckistan but really it%27s in a data center in the USA%22%2C so %22the correct coast%22 is good enough.
5|3|3|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|MuninsFire||11:44:00|04/18/2017|In my case%2C I have %5Bcurrently%5D two geographically diverse endpoints that I route through%2C so I was kind of curious as to what would happen%2C given that there%27s a potential for subsequent requests to route through different tunnels depending on the destination. %0D%0A%0D%0AI should probably try it again after my next tunnel reconfig and see what happens if I have a tunnel to the east coast and to the west coast.
7|4|5|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|zwol||13:45:00|04/18/2017|All data points are useful%21 Just please make sure you fill out the form at the bottom correctly each time %28especially%2C marking these submissions as %22proxy in use%22%29.
2|1|0|||1||RE%3A Help me with my research|Gryphon||01:05:43|04/18/2017|Heh%2C the starting map claims that the project is located on the south shore of Millinocket Lake%2C about 10 miles from here.  I%27m going to go out on a limb and guess that isn%27t right. %3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
4|2|2|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|zwol||08:15:49|04/18/2017|The pin that shows up on the starting map is %5Bi%5Dyour browser%27s%5B%2Fi%5D guess of %5Bi%5Dits%5B%2Fi%5D location%2C which for desktops is usually about that accurate.  I should maybe see if I can make the label clearer.
6|3|4|||1||RE%3A Help me with my research|Gryphon||12:40:53|04/18/2017|%3EThe pin that shows up on the starting map is %5Bi%5Dyour browser%27s%5B%2Fi%5D %0D%0A%3Eguess of %5Bi%5Dits%5B%2Fi%5D location%2C which for desktops is usually about that %0D%0A%3Eaccurate.%0D%0A%0D%0AHmm%2C that%27s annoying%2C given that I%27ve turned off every location service I could find on the computer and explicitly told the browser not to tell websites where it is.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
8|4|6|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|zwol||13:48:09|04/18/2017|%3E%3EThe pin that shows up on the starting map is %5Bi%5Dyour browser%27s%5B%2Fi%5D %0D%0A%3E%3Eguess of %5Bi%5Dits%5B%2Fi%5D location%0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EHmm%2C that%27s annoying%2C given that I%27ve turned off every location %0D%0A%3Eservice I could find on the computer and explicitly told the browser %0D%0A%3Enot to tell websites where it is.%0D%0A%0D%0AI was oversimplifying a bit.  Was the pin you saw orange%2C or green%3F  The green pin uses information from the browser%2C but the orange one is based on looking your IP address up in a database.  
9|5|8|||1||RE%3A Help me with my research|Gryphon||15:28:00|04/18/2017|%3EI was oversimplifying a bit.  Was the pin you saw orange%2C or green%3F  %0D%0A%3EThe green pin uses information from the browser%2C but the orange one is %0D%0A%3Ebased on looking your IP address up in a database. %0D%0A%0D%0AOrange.  In that case%2C I%27m impressed%3B that type of lookup usually thinks I%27m in Biddeford %28where my ISP%27s office is%29.  %22Helpful%22 retail websites like Home Depot%2C for instance%2C are forever pointing me at that store rather than one that%27s anywhere near me.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28It was also labeled something like %22project%22%2C which is what led me to interpret it as the system%27s attempt at indicating where %5Bi%5Dit%5B%2Fi%5D was.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
10|6|9|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|zwol||16:54:04|04/20/2017|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-17 AT 04:54 PM (EDT)]%3Ethat type of lookup usually thinks I%27m in Biddeford %28where my ISP%27s%0D%0A%3Eoffice is%29.  %22Helpful%22 retail websites like Home Depot%2C for instance%2C%0D%0A%3Eare forever pointing me at that store rather than one that%27s anywhere%0D%0A%3Enear me. %0D%0A%0D%0AIt uses https%3A%2F%2Ffreegeoip.net%2F but I have no reason to think that that%27s any more accurate on average than any of the other services that do the same thing. Maybe someone at your ISP is buddies with them and has given them more accurate information.  %2Ashrug%2A%0D%0A%0D%0A%3E%28It was also labeled something like %22project%22%2C which is what led me to %0D%0A%3Einterpret it as the system%27s attempt at indicating where %5Bi%5Dit%5B%2Fi%5D %0D%0A%3Ewas.%29 %0D%0A%0D%0AThanks for pointing this out%3B I%27ve revised the legend and hopefully it will be less confusing now.
11|7|10|||1||RE%3A Help me with my research|Gryphon||17:54:06|04/20/2017|%3EIt uses https%3A%2F%2Ffreegeoip.net%2F but I have no reason to think that %0D%0A%3Ethat%27s any more accurate on average than any of the other services %0D%0A%3Ethat do the same thing. Maybe someone at your ISP is buddies with them %0D%0A%3Eand has given them more accurate information.  %2Ashrug%2A %0D%0A%0D%0AIt%27s been a looong time since I worked in that field%2C and I might be talking out of my ass now%2C but it seems possible to me that sites like Home Depot are only looking at where the traffic they%27re receiving got onto the backbone.  That would make sense in terms of their assuming that everyone using a given ISP is where that ISP%27s NOC is.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
12|8|11|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|rwpikul||15:29:26|04/22/2017|%3E%3EIt uses https%3A%2F%2Ffreegeoip.net%2F but I have no reason to think that %0D%0A%3E%3Ethat%27s any more accurate on average than any of the other services %0D%0A%3E%3Ethat do the same thing. Maybe someone at your ISP is buddies with them %0D%0A%3E%3Eand has given them more accurate information.  %2Ashrug%2A %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EIt%27s been a looong time since I worked in that field%2C and I might be %0D%0A%3Etalking out of my ass now%2C but it seems possible to me that sites like %0D%0A%3EHome Depot are only looking at where the traffic they%27re receiving got %0D%0A%3Eonto the backbone.  That would make sense in terms of their assuming %0D%0A%3Ethat everyone using a given ISP is where that ISP%27s NOC is. %0D%0A%0D%0AI do know that a lot of those systems are just able to narrow it down to a geographic region%2C %28e.g. we know you are in Maine%29%2C and then return a marker saying %22here is the centre of the area it is in.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AThere are people who have issues with this method.  Generally because that geographic centre happens to land on their home.
13|9|12|||1||RE%3A Help me with my research|Gryphon||15:40:00|04/22/2017|%3EThere are people who have issues with this method.  Generally because %0D%0A%3Ethat geographic centre happens to land on their home. %0D%0A%0D%0AYes%2C one occasionally sees horror stories in the news about hapless randos who are constantly besieged by people who think they%27ve stolen their phones%2C or distributed porn of their kids%2C or otherwise done some deeply egregious thing that some online detective has %22traced%22 to their house.%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
14|10|13|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|JFerio||18:45:10|04/22/2017|%3E%3EThere are people who have issues with this method.  Generally because %0D%0A%3E%3Ethat geographic centre happens to land on their home. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EYes%2C one occasionally sees horror stories in the news about hapless %0D%0A%3Erandos who are constantly besieged by people who think they%27ve stolen %0D%0A%3Etheir phones%2C or distributed porn of their kids%2C or otherwise done %0D%0A%3Esome deeply egregious thing that some online detective has %22traced%22 to %0D%0A%3Etheir house. %0D%0A%0D%0AAs I recall%2C the biggest one is that one of the more %22untracable%22 addresses got assigned a random position... that happened to be a house. Last I knew there was a lawsuit trying to get that address assigned to somewhere else like the middle of a damned lake%2C with a side of %22damages for emotional distress%2Feconomic damage%22 on top of it %28I forget if it was the landowner or their tenant who filed it%29.
15|11|14|||1||RE%3A Help me with my research|Gryphon||18:58:41|04/22/2017|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Apr-22-17 AT 06:59 PM (EDT)]%3E%3E%3EThere are people who have issues with this method.  Generally because %0D%0A%3E%3E%3Ethat geographic centre happens to land on their home. %0D%0A%3E%3E%0D%0A%3E%3EYes%2C one occasionally sees horror stories in the news about hapless %0D%0A%3E%3Erandos who are constantly besieged by people who think they%27ve stolen %0D%0A%3E%3Etheir phones%2C or distributed porn of their kids%2C or otherwise done %0D%0A%3E%3Esome deeply egregious thing that some online detective has %22traced%22 to %0D%0A%3E%3Etheir house. %0D%0A%3E%0D%0A%3EAs I recall%2C the biggest one is that one of the more %22untracable%22 %0D%0A%3Eaddresses got assigned a random position... that happened to be a %0D%0A%3Ehouse.%0D%0A%0D%0AYeah%2C I think I%27ve heard of the one you mean%2C and IIRC it%27s one of the %22center of region%22 problems.  Like some house that happens to stand at the geographic center of%2C I forget%2C the state it%27s in%2C or the continental US%2C or some such.  So it%27s the location that pops up if the best the system can tell is %22it%27s somewhere in Colorado%22 %28or wherever%29%2C but those systems don%27t bother %5Bi%5Dmentioning%5B%2Fi%5D that the error bars on the fix are 1%2C750 miles wide.%0D%0A%0D%0A%28I%27ve heard of a similar one in Florida%2C which is doubly unfortunate for the people that live there because it attracts all the craziness of our craziest state in addition to all the other nonsense you can expect under those conditions.%29%0D%0A%0D%0A--G.%0D%0A-%3E%3C-%0D%0ABenjamin D. Hutchins%2C Co-Founder%2C Editor-in-Chief%2C %26 Forum Mod%0D%0AEyrie Productions%2C Unlimited  http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eyrie-productions.com%2F%0D%0Azgryphon at that email service Google has%0D%0A%5Bi%5DCeterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.%5B%2Fi%5D
16|12|15|||||RE%3A Help me with my research|zwol||19:31:58|04/22/2017|[updated:LAST EDITED ON Apr-22-17 AT 07:32 PM (EDT)]%3Esome house that happens to stand at the geographic center of%2C%0D%0A%3EI forget%2C the state it%27s in%2C or the continental US%2C or some such%0D%0A%0D%0AThe one that got a bunch of press last year was a farm in Kansas%2C %5Blink%3Afusion.net%2Fhow-an-internet-mapping-glitch-turned-a-random-kansas-f-1793856052%7Cat the geographic center of the USA%2C rounded off a bit%5D.  Was being used as the default location for %22we know this is in the USA but not where%22 by MaxMind.  %28Since changed to a lake.%29%0D%0A%0D%0AI saw this a lot in this project - if the geolocation database thinks the computer is at the geographic center of Russia%2C and my measurements tell me that it%27s in Moscow%2C I should %5Bi%5Dnot%5B%2Fi%5D count that as the measurement being off by several thousand miles.