Iranian government blocking all online activity except gaming

by Majed Athab on Jun 26th 2009 2:00AM

The internet has played a big part in the drama of Iran's recent presidential elections, disseminating information about the re-election of controversial leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad faster than most major news outlets. Fearful of this powerful resource fueling further unrest, the Iranian government has cut off all online activity -- all but gaming.

Apparently, Ahmadinejad's government is not afraid of protesters communicating via World of Warcraft to plan the next protest rally, as noted by Security to the Core and GamePolitics. Also, Ahmadinejad has not yet downloaded Prince of Persia's Epilogue and is just dying to know how it all ends.

Source

Tags: iran, online, online-gaming, politics

Reader Comments (63)

Too bad XBox360 Twitter/Facebook isn't up yet. That could be a hell of a loophole!

It would likely connect via HTTP/HTTPS. These protocols are blocked, from what I can tell.

Our enemy dictatorship is online! Seriously, this is so fucked. If there is a way to contact protestors we could still relay messages and I believe you can swap photos now on 360, right?

Keep it classy

With your username, why am I not surprised?

Why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel

Camel jockey? what's wrong with that. Camel Racing is a fine sport

"Ahmadinejad has not yet downloaded Prince of Persia's Epilogue and is just dying to know how it all ends."

"WHAT? WHO THE HELL ARE THESE PEOPLE! 'PRINCE OF PERSIA' MY HAIRY ASS! FUCKING MALLRATS! DEATH TO AMERICA!"

Is it the "Death to America" part? Because if you people think no Iranian, especially that one in particular, has ever shouted "Death to America," you're delusional.

Did you read my comment?

Actually I think they just mostly think Americans are stupid and fat like the rest of the world.

Arich, your mediocre sentence structure has a dangling participle that I'd appreciate you clearing up: did you mean "the rest of the world is stupid and fat," or were you asserting that "like the rest of the world, they think Americans are stupid and fat"?

signed,

Curious American

Actually, YOU are the one who's delusional if you think all Iranian are anti-American.

Enjoy being brainwashed by the news.

Oh, look, another one who needs to read my fucking comment. And maybe the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wikipedia article. Nowhere did I say that he was representative of all Iranians.

Unfortunately, bread and circuses might not work when circuses mainly put on plays against the government.

I can sympathize with the Iranian quite a lot, coming from Thailand which just went through this thing at the beginning of the year. If there wasn't any election fraud, the government would have shown it as a result of an investigation already. I pray that at least the violence can settle soon, and peaceful process can be initiated to solve the problem.

I seriously hope you get a dictionary.

Better make some green wearing Iranian friends.

Download tor: http://www.torproject.org/

Configure it to run as an exit node

Help Iran

???

Profit

Block everything! Except games!

If you can't love the guy after that, I don't know what would make you :P

"I don't know what would make you" ... other than a gun to your head.

Uh...

He knows that if gamers couldn't game, he would be dealing with a combat-hardened threat of incalculable proportions.

That, or he knows gamers rarely get off their lazy asses.

"Also, Ahmadinejad has not yet downloaded Prince of Persia's Epilogue and is just dying to know how it all ends."

The Kitty-Dragon dies!

...oh, wait, wrong game.

Grammar and spelling, now all you need is a comment that sounds offensive and you got a trifecta of idiocy. Oh wait...

IGNORE THIS!!

DAMN COMMENT SYSTEM!!!

I will never ignore it! Mwahahahahahaha!

Joystiq: GOTCHA BITCH!

Grammar and spelling, now all you need is a comment that sounds offensive and you got a trifecta of idiocy. Oh wait...

Leave him alone guys! He's got a hot night of gaming planned with Sean Penn.

Ahmadinejad can go to hell and same goes to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Please show your support for Iran and their protest by not recognizing this idiot as the president. He has forced Basiji to shoot his own people. What type of a government does that? And I don't give a rats ass that he hasn't blocked communication via games.

PS: What does the last sentence of the article have to do with anything? o.O

Iran used to be called Persia. That is why the sentence is lolfuni.

Yes, I think I would know that Iran used to be called Persia, during the time of Cyrus the Great.

Regardless how you feel about any situation in the middle east, isn't it pretty apparent that the world would be a much better place without Ahmadinejad in it?

Congrats to Ahmadinejad on his re-election!!

Who loves living in a free country? this guy. (me)

I saw on 60 Minutes that the Iranians have game companies that rip off counter-strike except they make the good guys Palestinians and the bad guys Israelis

Stop talking, you're a racist POS. If you had any knowledge, you would know that the only Iranians that hate Israel is the Iranian government.

That would be what they'd do for you to worship the guy, which is required of every iranian citizen :P

They said they don't want any ties with the western world, yet they are playing Xbox, ps3 etc feel sorry for those who suffer under his regime

Could have been worse, he could have referred to them as individuals of sub Saharan African descent whom are composed entirely of finely ground silicate deposits.

Your missing a word in the photo caption:

I'd like to still PRETEND to be president in Second life too.

I think that administration realises how unimportant gaming is in the big scheme of things. Gaming is yet another distraction, and, if I have their thinking pegged correctly, distractions could cool some of the heat generated from the latest sham election in the middle east. They're probably covertly encouraging gaming though lax controls at internet cafes and the like. A simple but cunning scheme.

Come on Iran, stop legitimizing all of our pointless time-wasters.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/twitter_creator_on_iran_i?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

This is probably the same reason they're having a Lord of the Rings marathon on State run TV. It's to keep people inside.

This calls for an organize protest on Second Life or PS Home!

@avan: not funny.

Keeps the passive passive, I guess. "Eh, I'd love to, but I have a raid in 45 minutes. Plus I don't want to get beat up by one of those secret-police motorcycle gangs..."

WoW will be a source of news.......wow

Michael Jackson, the singer, songwriter and dancer who earned the title “King of Pop” in a career that reached unprecedented peaks of sales and attention, died Thursday, a Los Angeles city official said. He was 50.

did he drop any gold?

I wouldn't shed a tear if someone sniped him in the head tomorrow, but he doesn't really have any actual power. That's why I laugh when he talks all this shit about bombing Israel and making nukes, when he doesn't have any real say on matters of that.

If you want to talk about taking someone out in Iran, then it's the ayatollah you should be talking about.

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Iranian government blocking all online activity except gaming

Reader Comments (63)

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