So I'm trying to view a website [1] (via Bunny via email) and it's not coming up at all under the Mac. It's just a blank page.
It comes up under Linux, but since I don't have speakers hooked up to that computer, watching the video (“Deer for breakfast, anyone?” in Texas—it's not what you think) would be “suboptimal” as they say.
I then try my standard diagnostic technique in such cases. From the command line, I telnet to the offending website and see what I get:
>
```
[spc]marvin:~>telnet www.snotr.com 80
Trying 2a00:d00:ff:131:94:228:131:131…
^C
[spc]marvin:~>
```
Oh! That's interesting!
marvin (the Mac) is trying to use IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) to connect to the site.
Ah! That's right! I was playing around with IPv6 several days ago on the local network here at Chez Boca and I configured Firefox [2] to try connecting via IPv6 if possible. Turning that option off brought the site up immediately.
But! That also explains the difficulties I've been seeing in one of the sites I check daily: The Devil's Panties [3] (think of it as a semi-fictionalized illustrated blog that presents itself as a webcomic). It was taking an inordinate amount of time to come up for the past several days and I kept thinking it was due to a network issue at Keenspot [4].
Nope—it was my browser attempting to connect to the IPv6 address first.
I think it's cool that there are sites responding to IPv6. I wonder how many more of them exist?
[1] http://www.snotr.com/video/2772
[2] http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/