What this site keeps, and what it does not

Your IP address is never stored

When you comment, vote, request a topic or submit a city, the server turns your IP address into a salted HMAC-SHA256 hash and keeps only a shortened form of that hash. The raw address is not written to the database. The hash does three jobs: it gives you an anonymous display name such as “Green Elephant 42”, it makes sure each person votes once, and it enforces rate limits.

Your browser also creates a random identifier, kept in a cookie named askgib_vid and in local storage, so your display name stays the same when your IP address changes. If local storage is blocked, the identifier is a hash of coarse browser settings (language, time zone, rounded screen size). The server hashes it again with its own secret before use. Clear the cookie and local storage to reset it.

What is stored

• Comments: the text, the article, the reply it answers, your display name and colour, the hash, and the time. Comments are public.
• Votes: the article or comment, up or down, and the hash.
• Topic requests: the title, the optional context and name you type, your display name, the hash, and the status Gib gives it. Requests are public on the topic requests page.
• Beer Index city submissions: the city, country, currency, the four prices, your optional note, your display name and the hash. These are not public.

All of this lives in a Supabase (PostgreSQL) database. Readers can only write through the site's own API, which checks the origin and applies the rate limits. Article pages open a read-only connection to Supabase so new comments appear without a reload.

GitHub issues

Each topic request and city submission is also copied to an issue in a GitHub repository, so Gib gets notified. The issue carries the text you typed, your display name and the row id. It never carries the hash or your IP address.

Rate limits and bans

Limits are counted per IP hash: 100 comments, 5 topic requests and 3 city submissions a day. Posting 100 comments in five minutes triggers a ban that lasts 48 hours and then expires on its own.

Captcha, hosting and analytics

Forms can show a Cloudflare Turnstile challenge to stop bots; Cloudflare processes that check. The site runs on Vercel, which handles every request as the host. Page views are counted with Vercel Web Analytics, which uses no cookies. Fonts are served from this site, not from Google.

Cookies and local storage

• locale: the interface language you pick, for one year.
• askgib_vid: the browser identifier described above, for one year.
• Local storage keeps your display modes (text, dark, monochrome) and where you stopped in an audio narration.

Questions and removal

Gibril Bachouchi decides what this site stores and is the person to ask about it. To see what is held under your display name, or to have a comment, a request or a submission removed, write to askgib@kuzog.com. You can also reply under the article or use the contact page.