[tor-relays] What if my favorite online store website blacklists all Tor Relay IP addresses?

[David Carlson]

On 8/25/2013 2:41 PM, Dave Lahr wrote:
> I'm in the same boat:  for example yelp.com <http://yelp.com> and
> TDBank North are blocking us.
>
>
> On Sun, Aug 25, 2013 at 2:30 PM, David Carlson
> <david.carlson.417 at gmail.com <mailto:david.carlson.417 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     It seems that at least two 'normal' online store websites that I visit
>     from time to time have apparently decided to block my IP address
>     which I
>     am also using for a non-exit Tor relay.  I have had extended
>     discussions
>     with one of them and they considered unblocking my IP address to be a
>     risk greater than the lost income (US $160/year revenue) was worth.
>     They suggested switching to a different IP address, which was like
>     pulling hens' teeth from my ISP.  To do that, I had to have a
>     technician
>     visit my house and install a new modem because they do not have a
>     person
>     who understands tech talk available for ordinary users, and I couldn't
>     get sufficiently elevated in their support hierarchy.  The supposedly
>     dynamic IP address that I get from them hardly ever changes, probably
>     because I am buying U-verse television service from them.
>     Now, after a couple of months, the "new" IP address is also blocked.
>
>     My question is this.  What if it becomes common practice for
>     commercial
>     entities such as online stores to block all IP addresses that they
>     find
>     on lists of Tor relays such as <https://www.dan.me.uk/tornodes> or the
>     official Tor metrics data?
>     That list is updated every half hour, includes all nodes, and is not
>     limited to exit nodes.  It currently lists 4438 nodes.  That is a
>     manageable size for a blacklist, but it could represent tens or
>     hundreds
>     of thousands of clients.
>
>     Wouldn't this eventually either cripple the Tor network or generally
>     discourage Tor clients that can no longer buy products online from
>     store
>     XYZ through the Tor network?
>
>     David C
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>
>
>
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In the short term, it is possible to to circumvent these practices by
using one or more of several different methods, but informing the online
store that they are shooting themselves in the foot is not one of them. 
After all, they are experts and we are just ignoramuses, even if we know
what an IP address is.
Also, client tactics like going to a public hotspot is either not an
option for someone who wants the Tor anonymity, or problematic at best
if all or nearly all Tor node IP addresses are blocked at the vendor end.

That is why I asked the general question.
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