General Information
What is 451 Tools?
451 Tools is an innovative solution developed by Zamaneh Media to combat internet censorship, ensuring content remains accessible to readers even during internet shutdowns or in heavily censored environments. It includes a JavaScript library and a WordPress plugin, designed to empower publishers with tools for censorship circumvention without requiring readers to use VPNs or unfamiliar tools.
Why should I use 451 Tools?
451 Tools helps keep your content accessible to readers, maintaining reach and readership even when the news is restricted due to censorship or internet shutdowns. It’s designed for ease of use, ensuring publishers can effortlessly maintain content accessibility.
Why does 451 Tools focus on the needs of publishers?
Publishers play a crucial role in information dissemination, especially in environments where free access to information is restricted. By focusing on the needs of publishers, 451 Tools aims to empower them to overcome censorship and internet restrictions, ensuring that vital information remains accessible to all audiences.The plug and play nature of the plugin takes the burden of additional maintenance and design work off publishers and onto 451 tools.
How does 451 Tools support users during an internet shutdown?
451 Tools is specifically designed to help publishers overcome censorship barriers. It allows you to stay one step ahead of censors, ensuring your content remains available to your audience, regardless of censorship efforts. Features like censorship-resilient publishing and the ability to bookmark content for offline reading are key components of this capability.
In scenarios where users experience a complete internet shutdown, 451 Tools ensures that your website maintains a level of functionality. It provides:
- An offline dashboard to communicate with your readership about the situation.
- The ability to pre-select content for offline reading, ensuring that vital information remains accessible.
- A feature for users to access articles they’ve previously bookmarked.
Technical Details
How does 451 Tools work?
451 Tools operates “client-side,” meaning it runs in the browsers and on the devices of your audience. The core of 451 Tools is a JavaScript library that enables a range of interactive, client-side website features. This library is integral to the WordPress plugin and can be customized for use with other CMS platforms or for a fully customized website implementation.
What features does 451 Tools offer?
451 Tools offers a variety of features to enhance your website’s resilience against censorship, including:
- Offline content availability and dashboard
- Content bookmarking for offline reading
- Censorship indicator “traffic light”
- Search fallback pages for blocked URLs
- Customizable offline fallback pages
- Distributed publishing (coming soon)
Can I integrate 451 Tools with my website?
Yes, 451 Tools is available as a JavaScript library and NPM package, making it adaptable for integration with any content management system (CMS) or custom website. The WordPress plugin offers a plug-and-play solution for WordPress sites, while the JavaScript library allows for customized implementations on other platforms.
Can 451 Tools be used with any content management system (CMS)?
Currently, 451 Tools offers a WordPress plugin that can be easily integrated without needing to modify any code. The team is actively working on developing additional plugins for other CMS platforms. If you require support for a specific CMS, you are encouraged to get in touch with the 451 team to request assistance.
What is required to set up 451 Tools on my website?
To benefit from 451 Tools, you’ll need to compose a custom implementation of the 451 Tools library from the modules and features it offers, then host the resulting JavaScript file in the root directory of your website. A custom 451 Tools service worker implementation, along with a registration script and configuration file, will be necessary for setup.
How does the Service Worker and Rest API enhance 451 Tools functionality?
The Service Worker enables offline features and content caching directly on users’ devices. The Rest API facilitates two-way communication between your website and the 451 Tools service worker for features that require additional integration, such as bookmarks and the traffic light indicator.
Are there any limitations?
The current WordPress plugin implementation is specifically for WordPress sites, though the JavaScript library can be adapted for any CMS. Initial setup requires that the user’s first contact with the site (the “install event”) occurs while online or using a VPN.
How can I get more information or collaborate with 451 Tools?
Are you a publisher aiming to reach audiences in censored environments and seeking tools to ensure your news remains accessible to your audience? Or are you a developer or provider of censorship circumvention technology interested in collaboration, sharing knowledge, or simply eager to learn more? If so, please contact us at contact@451.tools.
What happens when my website is censored but internet connectivity exists?
451 Tools extends its functionality under censorship conditions with internet access by:
- Offering all features available during an internet shutdown.
- Providing context-specific feedback to users who find your site through search engines or other sources, informing them about the censorship status and possible actions.
- Planning future enhancements to automatically fetch content from a mirror site if available, ensuring uninterrupted access to your content.
Can 451 Tools redirect users to a mirror site if my website is censored?
Yes, one of the forthcoming features of 451 Tools is the ability to seamlessly redirect users to a mirror site without manual intervention. This feature:
- Automatically fetches the desired content from the mirror, making the website fully accessible even in censored conditions.
- Requires the existence of a mirror site but does not involve the creation of one by the plugin itself.
Does 451 Tools create a mirror of my content?
Yes, 451 Tools WP plugin does but the Javascript library does not yet.
How does 451 Tools differ from technologies like BitTorrent or P2P?
While BitTorrent and P2P technologies are valuable in anti-censorship efforts, 451 Tools operates differently. It leverages “service worker” technology within the browser, capitalizing on the familiarity users already have with their browsers. This approach ensures ease of use and accessibility, making the anti-censorship features of 451 Tools readily available without additional software.
What ensures the resilience of 451 Tools against unforeseen events like server downtime?
Once the 451 Tools plugin is installed on your server and your users have visited your website at least once, the technology is designed to handle server downtimes or censorship seamlessly. From the technology’s perspective, a down server is treated the same as a censored one, activating all the mitigation strategies previously described. If a mirror is available, users might not even notice any disruption, as the website will continue to operate smoothly, fetching content from the mirror.
Future Directions and Enhancements
What future developments are planned for 451 Tools?
451 Tools is committed to continuous improvement and expansion of its features. Future updates will focus on expanding compatibility with other and custom CMS platforms, enhancing customization options for fallback pages, and introducing a search engine fallback page to inform readers about accessing (your)censored websites.
Some planned enhancements include:
- Support for content mirrors, allowing for automatic redirection to mirror sites for uninterrupted access.
- Increased compatibility and integration options, making 451 Tools accessible to a wider range of publishers and content management systems.