IP addresses, banned, assume different names

[rockridgecattle]

Ok, so this has happens here. Someone gets the boot, and then a few weeks later, maybe longer they come back reinvented as someone else. Do they just get the user name shut down or does the IP address get banned to?

I ask because I'm on another site. The forum is very specific and it's not like you can google it and find it. It's found only by being on a specifc website, follow a few links, then registering and being approved access by the site administrator. Someone who knew me, came on the site, attacked me....there is a story here....and she got banned.

I stopped posting as who I was, changed my name and limit who sees my profile. I also quit posting but rather read and help other women when I feel safe. When I hope it won't expose me as writing styles can give us away.

So my question is, can someone resurrect themselves under a different name once the IP adress has been banned? I assume that if she was banned from her home router, and she had a smart phone she could still sign in under a different name I guess. Are people really this much of a jerk to come back and hide and lurk and hope they figure out who I changed my name to?

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Ok, so this has happens here. Someone gets the boot, and then a few weeks later, maybe longer they come back reinvented as someone else. Do they just get the user name shut down or does the IP address get banned to?

I ask because I'm on another site. The forum is very specific and it's not like you can google it and find it. It's found only by being on a specifc website, follow a few links, then registering and being approved access by the site administrator. Someone who knew me, came on the site, attacked me....there is a story here....and she got banned.

I stopped posting as who I was, changed my name and limit who sees my profile. I also quit posting but rather read and help other women when I feel safe. When I hope it won't expose me as writing styles can give us away.

So my question is, can someone resurrect themselves under a different name once the IP adress has been banned? I assume that if she was banned from her home router, and she had a smart phone she could still sign in under a different name I guess. Are people really this much of a jerk to come back and hide and lurk and hope they figure out who I changed my name to?

I think the general answer to your question is YES.

People can and do reincarnate themselves under new IP addresses all the time both here and elsewhere.

 

[Nesikep]

Forums use pretty low tech to ban people in the grand scheme of things...

There is a massive amount of technology out there to mask who you are, I'm going to say TT is right, yes, people can, and will rejoin.

It sounds like this forum of which you speak exposes you a little.. Perhaps, when possible, take it to PM's if you feel there could be a safety issue.. or even better, email.. (emails are protected under the privacy act.. PM's are not)

 

[dun]

Doesn;t have to be a new IP just a new email address. With the large ISP companys, you never can tell what IP is going to be. Frequently a dozen people will have the same IP. Like everyone that uses verizon or centurylink, etc.

 

[greybeard]

There's a 100 ways to get by an ip block--tor, proxies, dynamic ips--there are even websites devoted to teaching such things.
It all depends how many layers of security a website has and how many the ghost or reincarnated member has on their side.

Like dun said, they would have to restrict a whole ip block in some cases.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Doesn;t have to be a new IP just a new email address. With the large ISP companys, you never can tell what IP is going to be. Frequently a dozen people will have the same IP. Like everyone that uses verizon or centurylink, etc.

Exactly. Husbands and wives use the same computer. Which one are you talking to? Is there anything wrong with them having different user names?

The best solution is to not cross the lines.

 

[regolith]

yes, people really are that much of a jerk and yes, they can get around an IP ban.

Have been involved with communities where some individuals graduated to new names five or six times for similar reasons to what you describe - we still knew who they were.
PMs and e-mails as suggested are safer but even with those, it's better to err on the side of caution. Basically good people often fail to understand the importance of privacy and may pass on information given that way.

 

[Tim/South]

I was involved in running a very large forum at one time. We had banned members come back. The software we used kept track of every IP address an account used. AOL used hubs and many shared an IP. We began dropping an invisible tracking cookie on banned accounts. We were alerted when that computer was used. We never shared how we knew the member was the same. It was a tough decision to make as we all felt personal rights were important. A major hack was the straw that broke the camels back and we had to resort to the tracking cookie for banned accounts.

 

[rockridgecattle]

Thank you for your responses.

Thank you for the eye opener!

Oh bother.

 

[greybeard]

I don't remember why, but one forum I've been on since 2001 posted a notice a couple-3 years ago that they wouldn't accept any Hotmail email addy for new member accounts. Something about being too easy to spoof..

Thing is tho, on forums, leopards just don't change their spots---it's pretty easy to spot a reincarnated member--they just always post in the same mannerisms they did before.

 

[James T]

yes, people really are that much of a jerk and yes, they can get around an IP ban.

Have been involved with communities where some individuals graduated to new names five or six times for similar reasons to what you describe - we still knew who they were.
PMs and e-mails as suggested are safer but even with those, it's better to err on the side of caution. Basically good people often fail to understand the importance of privacy and may pass on information given that way.

Emails could be safer but depends on the circumstances. One female I know is still getting emails from a newly wed guy and has been given a new email address to respond to. Creepy to say the least.

The tables can be turned on a forum harasser but it would take a good deal of time and effort.