Geoportal WMS (detailed aerial images for Poland) block requests with user agent containing "Java", JOSM as result is blocked

[mkoniecz]

default user agent - access blocked to aerial image "Geoportal" and "Geoportal 2"

"JOSM" user agent - as usually "Geoportal 2" is working

"JOSM Java", "Java" user agent - access blocked.

I am unsure what should be done. Assume that they are trying to block something else and changing user agent provided for this WMS? Dropping this WMS from default list? Attempting to contact somebody that introduced this filter?

Problems started at 2015-02-15 (see ​http://forum.openstreetmap.org/viewtopic.php?pid=399498#p399498).

This is the most frequently used source of high quality aerial images in Poland, using this source for OSM mapping is legal.

[Don-vip]

Have you tried to contact them first ? It's their fault, not ours. Our user agent is perfectly valid and I would not like to have specific treatment here.

[mkoniecz]

Yes, but as this is run by government I am not expecting reply sooner than after one month.

[Don-vip]

I don't even know if we can remove "Java", it's automatically added by the JRE if I remember well.

[mkoniecz]

Oh, according to ​http://forum.openstreetmap.org/viewtopic.php?pid=400110#p400110 it is already done, updating list of available imagery providers is enough to unblock it.

[Don-vip]

alright :)

[stoecker]

Hmm, it's a hack thought (and the header option also was introduced as such). You should nevertheless contact them, so that they don't block the standard JOSM agent.

[stoecker]

Probably explain them what JOSM is and why there are so many JOSM's accessing their service. Very likely they detected high load and blocked the user agent causing this.

[mkoniecz]

With around 100 mappers editing in Poland every day I am not sure whatever JOSM is target of the block - traffic should not be so high. I suspect that somebody made dumb bot in Java that attempted to download X GB of tiles.

Anyway, I am waiting for their reply.