Web scraping can be an extremely useful technique for gathering data from websites. However, it does have some inherent limits that scrapers need to be aware of. In this article, we'll explore common obstacles scrapers face and how to responsibly work around them.
The first challenge is that many websites explicitly prohibit scraping in their terms of service. Scraping data you don't have permission to access could constitute copyright infringement or violate anti-hacking laws like the CFAA. Tread carefully here - get permission where possible, scrape minimally, and don't republish proprietary data.
Even without legal issues, many sites use technical countermeasures to prevent scraping like CAPTCHAs, IP blocks, scraping blacklists, and unpredictable DOM changes. Savvy scrapers can circumvent some measures, but it often becomes an arms race. At a certain point, continuing to scrape a resistant site becomes more trouble than it's worth. Know when to move on.
Scrapers are also limited by compute resources, especially when scraping large sites. Complex sites with extensive JS rendering can require computationally intensive browsers. Scraping too aggressively can get your IP banned or trigger bot protections. Take it slow by scraping in bursts, randomizing delays, and proxying requests.
Finally, scrapers are limited by data quality. HTML was meant for human visualization, not machine reading. Scraped data often requires substantial cleaning to be usable. Information can be nested in complex DOM structures, obscured behind JS rendering, or lacking relational context. Plan to invest non-trivial effort in normalizing scraped data.
In summary, web scrapers should thoughtfully self-regulate to avoid burning sites. Understand both legal and technical limits, scrape ethically as permitted, minimize computational load, and expect to put in work cleaning data. With reasonable expectations set, scraping can unlock useful public data at scale. But the maze has its twists - tread carefully!