Wednesday, February 02, 2005

internet - Why can you not share Skype in China?

An odd discovery. Today I got my updated skype VOIP-software, now the application has officially left its 'beta' status. Skype is not only good quality for a fair price, it is also encrypted, so it makes sense to share it with more friends in China.
Strangely enough, despite the heavy traffic they must be having because of their updated software, everything went very fine, until I tried to go to the section of their website where they try to encourage their users to share their experience with others. My screen went blank.
I kept on trying it, but could not get to that specific page. I did not think anything about it, until I was by accident using my proxy and discovered I could get to the page. Until I logged in again, and then I could not go to that specific page.
Now, why wants Skype its Chinese users not to share? Maybe an arrangement with their partner in China, Tom.com? I never saw how such a local partnership could make any sense in a system that is global by nature. Maybe Skype does not want to be _that_ global?
You can still include others, but only when you use a proxy and are not signed in, and then you would also not get rewarded for signing up others.

Update: I tried to invite myself for Skype by using one of my Chinese email address: the invitation never arrived. So, when you invite people, make sure you use a non-Chinese hotmail or yahoo address.
Update 2: Just got the invitation! Previous update should be skipped. Chinese email addresses can be used.

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