IF YOU OBJECT to the legislation currently weaving its way through the US Congress and wish to participate in the 24-hour internet blackout taking place today then we suggest you stop reading now.
But if you are one of the many millions who access the online encyclopedia on a daily basis and wish to do so today then here’s how…
Firstly, the site remains accessible through mobile devices including its own iPhone app which we’ve tested this morning. You can also access it through the Safari browser on your iPhone.
On Android devices, the Wikipedia app works as does accessing the site through the phone or tablet’s internet browser.
On the iPad however, the site appears to have smartened up. Earlier it was accessible through the Safari browser but now any search displays the page momentarily before redirecting to this page:
However, this redirection can be avoided if you very quickly press the ‘X’ button in the URL bar on your iPad’s Safari browser before it loads.
Similarly on your desktop, if you press the ‘ESC’ on your keyboard before the page has a chance to fully load you will avoid the redirection to the blackout page.
This works on Chrome, Firefox and Safari which we’ve all tried this morning. It was less successful on Internet Explorer but it may all depend on how quickly you deploy the escape button and it may also depend on how fast your internet connection is.
The Wall Street Journal reports that cached versions of Wikipedia web pages are also likely to work as are sites which pull in information from Wikipedia – such as Facebook – to populate entries.
And of course if you speak Spanish, Italian, French or other non-English languages then these Wikipedia pages are all still available. ¡Buena suerte
Are you accessing Wikipedia today? What do you think of its blackout? Do you agree? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.
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