Why doesn't AB use IPs to ID?

[Catso]

Many sites (EG ebay) use IP addresses to identify users and prospective users. I have 2 ebay IDs and I know that ebay know they are both the same person. This is how they are able to link IDs and terminate all a user's accounts should they transgress any of ebays miriad rules (or whims).

Yes, before you say it, they could use the financial information they have but, for example, in my case the financial details don't match up. (No, I'm not going to tell you why)

So, my actual question is: why doesn't AB use IPs to identify users and so be able to permanently get rid of the particularly annoying ones. As soon as an account is terminated, the f-wits are back, with a new, slightly differently spelled account.

Unless of course, they don't wish to get rid of them...

[saxy_jag]

I don't think it would work, especially as more and more people are getting onto broadband. As far as I'm aware, with broadband you get a dynamic IP address, which means it changes every time you connect to the internet. Banning by IP wouldn't work in that case.

Correct me if I'm wrong, someone, but this is what I've been told. I am certainly no expert.

[Catso]

That is true of some accounts, saxy_jag, but by no means all.

[Callithrix]

It's mostly dialup accounts that use dynamic IP addresses.
Even though with some service providers, dynamic IPs can be bought, by default, most broadband connections have static IPs.

[Ethel]

All libraries have free internet access. It wouldn't be much of a problem to register from another computer.

[boobesque]

actually a static ip address would set you back about �100 a month. most internet users have a dynamic ip address as it is assigned by the isp everytime that you sign on. this means that the isp can have say a million users but only 900,000 ip addresses. they assume that not every member will ever be on at the same time. you do, that is everybody, does, have an external ip address that is not used by your isp which is used by your phone company to address the phone calls to you and not some bald guy from bradford. this is your WAN address as opposed to LAN. i suppose that ebay could use this but they probably just use a cookie or something.

but i digress, all AB members can do is say something naughty and get banned again. this trade off is much easier than setting up the facility to scan the non internet portion of the modems connection line for the static phone ip and ban them like this. i imagine that this would be very difficult to set up. its ok for ebay. they bought skype for 4-6 billion dollars a few months back. im sure theanswerbank couldnt afford that.

anyway, if you want to find out your WAN ip go here http://www.whatismyip.com

[Cetti]

saxy_jag is right.

I always understood that IP numbers stayed the same but I've just tried it out and although the first two blocks of numbers are identical the last two blocks change every time you go online. Learn something new every day on AB.

[Catso]

I have a static IP address, it doesn't cost me �100 a month, it is free with my �14.99 a month broadband sub.

As Callithrix has said, I was under the impression that a significant proportion of broadband subscribers got static IPs.