IP Addresses

[BustersOfDoom]

After the threads last night and recent discussion re trollery, sockpuppeting and identifying it using IP addresses I have a question that I'd be grateful if someone could answer.

I normally post from my laptop or phone via my home broadband. But - as I'm doing now - I sometimes post from my work PC or laptop.

I work in a building with over 3000 other people and there are 5 servers. As it's a government building we are on a secure network and external websites, such as MN, are only given access to the server IP address, not individual ones.

I have at least 3 colleagues in my own team who are on here, but no doubt there are plenty more spread across the building. Chances are that I, or they, will occasionally post using the same IP address as someone working 6 floors up that we have never met, because we are on the same server. If they were to post something controversial or breach the talk guidelines I'm just a bit concerned that inaccurate assumptions could be made about individual MNers or that by banning a particular IP address, it could wipe out access for for a few people. I'm sure I can't be the only one on here whose work internet access isn't much the same.

I'm not sure if there is any solution to this kind of technical issue but I just wanted to check that MNHQ are aware that sometimes there is a genuine reason for several posters having the same fixed IP address for some of their posts.

Don't know if it's changed in the past few years, but it used to be that if you banned an AoL IP, you banned a whole lot more than one person. [/voice of experience]

Oh God. I'm on AOL at home! I know with AOL you get allocated a different IP address from their batch every time you connect, to technically I suppose you could get allocated one that had already been banned.

Hello.

And please don't worry, BustersOfDoom. We certainly do understand that several posters might have the same IP address - and having the same IP address as several other users does not mean you get an automatic ban.

Otherwise, everyone at MNHQ would have to be banned for a start

And, without giving too much away, we think it pretty unlikely that our banning one poster who happens to be using the same IP as you would mean that your access to MN would be wiped out, too.

While we're here, though, it's worth saying VERY LOUDLY that we take a pretty view of anyone with multiple registrations to Mumsnet.

So, if you have registered with MN more than once - perhaps because you don't know how to nickname-change any other way? - now might be the time to mail us ([email protected]) and fess up!

We'd be happy to help anyone who needs a few pointers about name-changing.

Thanks Helen

I thought there must be more to your super secret powers than that but just wanted to check!