Blocking in the studied country was erratic and inconsistent: some geographic areas accessed the Internet through channels outside the main government-controlled pipeline and experienced no blocking, while other areas experienced sudden unexplained block-and-unblock cycles (e.g., a video sharing site and a microblogging site were blocked for 2-3 days in 2010 and then unblocked without explanation). Users frequently could not distinguish between deliberate blocking and ordinary technical outages, and this ambiguity itself amplified self-censorship among users who had not been directly targeted.
From 2011-shklovski-online — Online Contribution Practices in Countries that Engage in Internet Blocking and Censorship
· §Blocking as an Abstract Concept / National Internet space
· 2011
· CHI
Implications
Circumvention tools should provide clear, user-facing diagnostic output distinguishing censor-induced blocking from ordinary connectivity failure, reducing the ambient fear that inflates self-censorship beyond actual block rates
The erratic, inconsistent nature of blocking suggests censors may tolerate significant false-negative rates; tools that achieve even partial availability may deliver outsized behavioral value to users