Ever since yesterday, browsing the site has been useless for me, as the images simply will not load. Apparently, I can't connect to the image server. (static1.e621.net) I've tried pinging it, and get no response at all. If I click the download link to any image, it tries to load for a while, with no result, and eventually gives up with a "This connection has timed out" error. I've spoken to others and they apparently don't have this problem.

For the record, I'm in the United States, not Russia or China or some other place where they have draconian filters. (Although, given the whole net neutrality thing collapsing... well, I digress)

I normally use Waterfox, but just on the offchance that it was a browser or plugin problem, I've tried using vanilla Firefox (AND the dev edition), as well as Internet Explorer. Same result in all cases. As I previously said, I even tried pinging the server via command prompt, and every ping fails.

Oddly enough, the only exception seems to be if someone posts a direct image link in discord. In that case, it shows up fine.

Has anyone else here been having this problem? It's extremely irritating and mind boggling.

*edit* I forgot to mention, I also cleared the cache, but that obviously didn't help either.

Sounds like you need to bypass something. Your ISP or something isn't connecting to the image server, but seeing it through Discord means indirect connections work.

I just checked through a proxy, and it worked, so that would seem to confirm that theory. I was afraid of that. But then, I just now tried two other devices, one on the same network (and therefor same ISP), and one using mobile data. They both worked fine. So apparently it's something on my PC, but I have no idea what it could be. I checked my windows hosts file, and it wasn't that, as it had no mention of e621 in it anywhere. As far as I can tell, none of my security software has filtered it. I suppose it could be some sort of malware or something, but it'd have to have gotten through said barriers, plus I don't see anything unusual running my task manager. This is strange and perplexing indeed...

Hello!
In order to resolve this issue' can you please provide the following:

• Internet service provider
• Country of residence (not address, something like U.S.A. or Canada would suffice)
• Anti virus software
• Firewall (if using any other than the one built in)
• A traceroute to static1.e621.net (a guide on how to do this is located here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/314868/how-to-use-tracert-to-troubleshoot-tcp-ip-problems-in-windows )

If you are uncomfortable with posting these details publicly, you can send them to me in a dmail by going here: https://e621.net/dmail/compose?to=chaser
Thank you, and sorry for the inconvenience you are experiencing!

I was just about to respond to that, but while running tracert, after a dozen or so hops and several failed hangs, it suddenly connected. And sure enough, I can see images again. I have no idea why. I DID update Microsoft Security Essentials, as well as close discord, but otherwise I can't think of any significant changes I made. I actually have Spybot S&D running a scan in the background right now, but it's only about 30% finished, so I have no idea if it found and stopped something yet. (No indication that it has, that I can see)

But for the record, I live in the USA and also use Avast. And my ISP is wow!, or wowway.com. Yeah, I hate the name- you can imagine the frustration it causes when looking into outages and such, what with World of Warcraft being the thing most people associate with the acronym WOW.

Seems I spoke too soon. Now it's not working again. Did I mention this is infuriating and mind-boggling?? Heh

Sorry to dredge this back up from the dead, but I'm having this problem again/still. It seems to come and go, and I just plain can't figure out what's going on.

To sum things up again:
*Clearing cache didn't help.
*It's not browser- or plugin-specific. I've tried vanilla Firefox, FF Dev edition, and Internet Explorer. Same results on all browsers.
*None of my security software (firewall, antivirus, etc.) is blocking access.
*I tried pinging static1.e621.net directly via command prompt, and it fails every time.
*Tracert makes a few hops then invariably hangs repeatedly as it tries to connect.
*It does seem to have something to do with my connection, but it's not my ISP, as other devices on the network don't have this problem. I can access the images via a proxy, though of course it's a little on the slow side. (Not to mention a pain in the ass)

Other info:
*OS = Windows 7
*ISP = WOW (wowway.com)
*Location = Alabama, United States
*Security Software: Windows Firewall, Avast antivirus
(also Spybot S&D and Malwarebytes, but they're not set to run automatically- I just occasionally open and run their scans once in a while, in case they can catch anything Avast missed, then shut them down again afterwards)

No other site is giving me any issues. Just e621's image server. This is driving me crazy and I can't make heads or tails of it. Does anyone have ANY ideas?