Originally Posted by AxelWolf View Post
Originally Posted by Dan Druff View Post
In September, when MDawg was accused of being a sockpuppet, I looked into his account, and discovered he was using a VPN to access this site.

At first I demanded he turn off the VPN, as I don't allow them here. They avoid accountability. In fact, they even allow people to get away with illegal activity. I want a real IP so people know that there is something linking them to their posts. I never research anyone's identity, and I don't give out IPs (unless they are used to doxx people or harass the site), but I want that piece of information to be there, just in case.

It's kinda the same reason hotels take your ID when you check in. If you trash the room, they know who to look for.

Anyway, I was about to ban MDawg, but we came to a compromise where he'd turn off the VPN and go to a specific URL so I could see his real IP.

He agreed to this, and the IP which appeared indeed was not that of a VPN.

I can verify that he is in California (he's made this public before), but I won't say anything further. The IP also does not match that of any other user here, nor does he appear to live in the general area of any other user here.

Interestingly, the IP was associated with a certain business. It was not a home IP. It was not a law firm, in case you're wondering, but it was a business to where it's possible an attorney is on staff, so that didn't mean much either way.

Anyway, I still don't know who the guy is, and I don't really care. Just thought I'd mention the whole thing.
Dan, if I wanted to, I could log on to your site from this account from a home IP address that is legit without using a VPN/Proxy from a state I am not currently in I could also make a sockpuppet account from a legit IP/device and you would have no way of detecting it was me or not. I don't have anywhere near the knowledge of others when it comes to this type of stuff.

Obviously, my writing would give me away soon enough.
Come on Axel, Dan said it wasn't an exact science. It also isn't necessary to investigate most accounts. But it is an additional tool. And when accounts are so obviously sockpuppets that a number of members raise concerns, and it turns out those accounts are all using VPN's....well let's just say "what's up with that?".

Sockpuppets are either dupe accounts of a banned member or they are second accounts of a current member, using a make believe "member" to create credibility where he otherwise has none (no one believing him and his claims). Both these are supposed to be against the rules on both forums, so if there is a method another tool, to cut down, it should be applied. That was my point at WoV where we all know the sock puppet thing is running rampant right now.