Re: Determining if a User has multiple accounts?

[lastkozak]

Hi, I have a question about account users who may have multiple accounts.

I noted that in your registration agreement, it says, "No multiple message board accounts by a single person are prohibited."

I am curious if there is a way that Matrix verifies or can determine if a User has more than one account on the Forum? I have been told that some users do have multiple accounts, in case they get banned from the forum, though have never seen anything posted about such things, other than rumor and gossip.

[VPaulus]

Yes, we verify if there are duplicated user accounts and consolidate the accounts under a single username.
If they are banned from the forum they will remain banned.

[lastkozak]

ORIGINAL: VPaulus

Yes, we verify if there are duplicated user accounts and consolidate the accounts under a single username.
If they are banned from the forum they will remain banned.

Ok, thank you for that.

So if somebody uses a 2 different email accounts and register using two different names, you would still notice? Or you do what you can, but some people still manage to finagle their way around it?

I am just trying to determine the likelihood that a forum user, whom you wish to not play, cannot present themselves as a different user and play you anyway? (a few years ago, on a different platform while playing by email, I had my computer hacked, and coincidentally the person stopped playing me right after I got my computer fixed; thus I am a little paranoid as a result, especially when some players insist on email only, when there are safer ways of playing).

[VPaulus]

Unfortunately due to the nature of the internet there are always ways to get around. We cannot, or certainly not easily, stop this.
Where we can see a duplicate we try to get the user to merge this, and where a user has been banned and they use a 2nd account we ban them again, but ultimately there is no way to fully stop what you are suggesting.
However if you use PBEM then the serials are paired to the account, but if you use other systems then these are more open to interference

[Lobster]

"No multiple message board accounts by a single person are prohibited."

First of all that says that multiple accounts are allowed. [;)]

There are instances where more than one person in a household uses the same forum and the same computer. In the case of multiple computers the only IP address you will see is the public gateway IP and there is no way of knowing if one or more people are using the same gateway. So if using the public gateway IP is the way used to sniff out multiple user accounts then it is inaccurate and unfair. So trying to determine if one person has multiple accounts can be very difficult at best. Just saying. [:)]

[VPaulus]

ORIGINAL: Lobster

"No multiple message board accounts by a single person are prohibited."

First of all that says that multiple accounts are allowed. [;)]

We don't allow duplicate accounts with the new login system, and we consolidate the accounts under a unique username and email address.
If we find that a banned user has registered a new account, we will ban the new account. It happened even today.

[Neogodhobo]

But sometime its just very obvious Schekino.

[SparkleyTits]

Nego [:D]