Allow Listing IP Addresses

During an event where multiple people on the same internet connection, register a new account or sign in to wordpress.org, the internet connection may be blocked from accessing anything on the WordPress.org infrastructure. This is because the mass number of connections can make it look like a bot attack and trigger defences.

This will typically happen at WordCamps, but any large event where there is a potential for on-boarding many users to wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ can be faced with this issue.

To avoid from getting blocked, it is a good idea follow the guidelines below.

Part 1: Find out what the internet connection IP address is

The IP address is a numerical label. It is like a house address to where your internet connection is. To get the IP address of your internet connection please do the following:

  1. Make sure you are not using a proxy or a VPN to connect to the internet as this will alter the results.
  2. Visit the URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org https://wordpress.org/whatismyip? (including the ?) while connected to the internet connect that the event will be using. This will help you find the public IP address.
  3. You will be faced with a white screen with some numbers that are separated by dots. This is the IP address – make a note of it.
The screen shown when someone has visited wordpress.org/whatismyip? in a browser. The screen has a white background with black text. 
The text shown is a group of numbers separated by dots.
Example of WhatIsMyIP output

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Part 2: Communicating with Meta team

Now that you know your IP, you have to communicate that information with the MetaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. team, who are able to make changes. There are two ways to do this.

  1. Contact the #meta team on the WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/..
  2. Email support@wordcamp.org

Contacting WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Support might be able to put it in front of a WordCamp Dev, who can do the same, but they’re not always available.

In both cases, there is no guarantee to how long it will take for the IP address to be added or to take effect. Please remember the #meta team is spread across the world and allow a reasonable time frame for someone to get back to you.

To make it easier please try and start communication at a few days ahead of the event.

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Request for a IP address to be added to the allowlist

If you have the IP address as per Part 1 of the guide, please open communication with the team by including the following information:

  • The name of the event
  • The WordCamp or MeetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area. that is organizing the event
  • The public IP address as found using part 1 of this guide
  • The expected time frame of that connection being in use
  • Number of attendees expected

The template below can be used:

Hi #meta team. My name is [name] and we are running a [name of the event] at [WordCamp ABC / ABC meetup]. Please can we get the public IP address [1.2.3.4] rate limit increased for [14th and 15th of September] as per the handbook page : https://make.wordpress.org/meta/handbook/documentation/allow-listing-ip-addresses/

We are expecting [123] number of attendees. 

Ideally, you would know what the public IP address is before the event starts. 

If you are using the venue Wi-Fi, you can ask them for their public IP address. You can ask them to follow the instructions above.

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What if finding out the IP address ahead of time is not possible?

If you are unable to get the IP address ahead of event, please inform the #meta team in advance with the following information:

  • The name of the event
  • The WordCamp or Meetup that is organising the event
  • The earliest time you will be able to access the internet connection to pass over a IP address
  • Number of attendees expected

By doing so, you might be in luck and someone may be able predict whether the event will hit the rate limit or  someone may volunteer to be around to help you on the day.

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On the day

Sometimes, even though you have sent in the IP address of the internet connection the event is using, people may still get IP blocked.

This may be due to the IP address changing since it was given to the #meta team. For this reason, it is a good idea to check the IP address once again.

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#Meta: How to allowlist IPs

TODO:

Write about:

  • IP rate limits
  • How to allow list IPs for Registration purposes:
    • For those with a sandbox, you can use php bin/reset-registration-rate-limit.php $ip whitelist
    • For those who manage Registration moderation, you can whitelist an IP address through the registration settings page.

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