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Interesting that the site uses ipinfo.io, an analytics service that brags about, among other things "Detect[ing] various methods used to mask a user's true IP address, including VPN detection, proxy detection and more." They appear to even offer a service designed to detect "privacy" users using tor and such.

I'm really curious why the site needs such invasive analytics. It's not by accident - it costs a minimum $1200/year.

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I have interacted with this site and its ownership a fair amount online. My guess would be they're trying to gauge true interest in topics so they can refine their editorial perspective.

And $100/mo might not seem so much if it can make debunking interest-spoofing attempts more trivial, especially if there is ever any kind of bonus to the visualization authors for having a big hit.

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