Need technical advice about IPs

[MoneyGuy]

What I don't understand is why anyone cares that anyone might have two log-in IDs. What does it matter anyway?

[mafig]

Was this moderator at one time a moderator here?

[WeBeCruisin']

And another thing the moderater did is publicly post my IP and those of about 50 other people as "proof" that I was guilty. When I read her post, all the other IPs were identical, only mine was different. Several people on that board suggested that she was very foolish to do that, because anyone with intent to do harm could use that to make my life much worse. When I asked her about it, she casually said there was no problem because she had later deleted it. Should I be concerned about this, on top of everything else she's done to me?

 

I just got a private message from her which was confusing, but seemed to be threatening to ban me on her board for any comments I might make about my situation in here. I assured her that neither her name nor even the name of her board would be mentioned on CC, but who knows how she'll react in view of everything else she's pulled? It's very hard not to take it personally and wonder at her motives and whether or not it's all made up just to get rid of me.

 

Allen

[WeBeCruisin']

Was this moderator at one time a moderator here?

 

I think so.

[WeBeCruisin']

By "here", I meant on CC. I don't think she was ever a moderator on the Celebrity board.

[mafig]

By "here" I also meant CC, not Celebrity. I think she still posts, although she does leave out the "Host...."

[usha]

WeBeCruisin', lots of posters here are also posters on that "other" board.

[mafig]

Well, I certainly hope you get the apology you deserve.

 

Somehow I doubt it.

 

It must be difficult to be a moderator and keep your personal feeling to yourself, but that's what a professional should do.

 

Just wonder though.....are you still posting on that board?

 

Are your friends defending you? I know you said they posted they believed you, but are they defending you?

[fleckle]

Since I know that I am innocent' date=' I also know that there is some logical explanation how someone could have been able to use my IP to access that board.

 

Because I am on AOL, several people have suggested that AOL "rotates" numbers and sometimes gives people the same IP when traffic is high or something.

 

The moderator of this other travel board refuses to even consider anything except her opinion that I am guilty.

......................

 

The moderator seems to feel there is no need to try to find out what happened, and has said it is MY responsibility to prove my innocence, not theirs to prove I'm guilty.

 

Thanks,

Allen[/quote']

 

Yes, AOL "rotates" IP addresses. That is why other people may use "your" IP address and you may use "their" IP address. No need to hire a lawyer and no need to muddle through all the technical jargon. Just take a look at what AOL says about the matter at

 

http://help.aol.com/help/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=http--helpchannelsaolcom-kjumpadparticleId218802&sliceId=&dialogID=149620650

 

Then she can apologize to you when you show her that AOL states in plain English: "This IP address is not static, meaning that it may change from session to session."

 

If that is not good enough, here is some more:

 

"More than 87% of active domain names are found to share their IP addresses (i.e. their web servers) with one or more additional domains, and more than two third of active domain names share their addresses with fifty or more additional domains."

from http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/edelman/ip-sharing/

 

Also, a discussion of "static" vs "dynamic" IP addresses states

 

"A new protocol was developed called HTTP 1.1 (to replace HTTP 1.0). The new protocol allowed more than one domain/website to share the same IP address. In fact, hundreds of websites can now share the same IP address."

from http://www.circleid.com/posts/search_engine_optimization_static_ip_vs_dynamic_ip_addresses/

 

 

[Charles4515]

It's NOT impossible' date=' because it happened, and I am being treated like a criminal because of it.

 

Allen[/quote']

 

There are three possibilities. Either one, you did create another identity; two , there is another computer on your network, perhaps you don't know about it, say you have a wireless network and it is open and your neighbor is connecting to it:; or three the moderator is incorrect about the IP's being the same.

[WeBeCruisin']

WeBeCruisin', lots of posters here are also posters on that "other" board.

 

usha, I'm well aware of that.... and there are many on this board who are on four or five other boards. I guess I'm not sure what your point is. :confused:

[WeBeCruisin']

Well, I certainly hope you get the apology you deserve.

 

Somehow I doubt it.

 

It must be difficult to be a moderator and keep your personal feeling to yourself, but that's what a professional should do.

 

Just wonder though.....are you still posting on that board?

 

Are your friends defending you? I know you said they posted they believed you, but are they defending you?

 

Mafig, I'm reading the other board, but I'm too affected by all this to be in the mood to post anything. I would probably just walk away, but that seems to be exactly what that moderator wants, and I don't want to give her that satisfaction. My friends were defending me until the moderator made threats if anyone kept the topic open. Many of them pointed out the aspect of AOL and Roadrunner "rotating" IPs, but the moderator just blew that off, saying she knew it had to be me. Now everyone is afraid to say anything about it for fear of repercussions.

 

I know a lot of people think I'm making too big a deal out of this, but it's very painful to be accused of something you didn't do, and to be "punished" for something of which you're innocent. It's a matter of principle at this point, and the fact that it could happen to someone else.

 

Allen

[WeBeCruisin']

There are three possibilities. Either one, you did create another identity; two , there is another computer on your network, perhaps you don't know about it, say you have a wireless network and it is open and your neighbor is connecting to it:; or three the moderator is incorrect about the IP's being the same.

 

There has to be something else, too. In response to your three "answers", (one) I did not create another identity.... I wouldn't be protesting the accusation if I had done that and I don't have the technical copmpetency to even be able to do that. (2) I'm not on any kind of network, and what are the odds of a neighbor deciding to come to that other board and lurk? As far as I know, none of my neighbors even take cruises. (3) I don't think she is "wrong", unless she's lying about it just to try to get rid of me. And I really don't think she would stoop to that. I think there is some kind of logical explanation which may or may not have been given in this thread and on the other board by those who were defending me, but that this moderator is either not knowledgeable enough to understand it, or too stubborn to admit she was wrong. Sigh.

 

Allen

[tuggers]

What board is this? tuggers1@mchsi.com

 

I, for one, don't think you are making too much of it. You have been publicly humiliated and accused of actionable behavior. I am on your side.

If you don't like my original suggestion, is there any place higher up to go with this? Is the forum on any master board (aol, yahoo, etc) who would mediate? Or at least listen to your side and speak to the moderator on your behalf? Or chastise her for unprofessional behavior?

[canderson]

There are three possibilities. Either one, you did create another identity; two , there is another computer on your network, perhaps you don't know about it, say you have a wireless network and it is open and your neighbor is connecting to it:; or three the moderator is incorrect about the IP's being the same.

Or fourth, and I'll grant there are some odds involved -- someone else interested in that board picked up the same IP address when it was released and reassigned via DHCP.

[0ldog]

First, Both my wife and I have 'puters on line plus a wireless laptop all using Road Runner. Each has it's own IP address, last digits change 1,2,& 3 so what the moderator said about multiple 'puters is true.

 

Why don't you just go on line directly using RR, eliminating AOL and hopefully your problem will be eliminated, at least when you visit that site.

[tuggers]

As it turns out, I, too post on that board although not much because it doesn't get a lot action. I even bought the lanyard, trying to support them. I have been disappointed lately because some of the avatars they have allowed make it look like you are on a soft porn site. Other than that I don't have much feelings about them one way or another.

 

I still think sticking up for yourself is what you need to do. I haven't read a lot of your posts but assume you are not like our 'flagship' poster who just posts stuff to make people mad because he apparently has way too much time on his hands between diaper changes. An honest opinion, something you believe in, fairly stated should never be censored. And if they have made up a scenario to just to get rid of you, shame on them.

 

In any case, you should not be humiliated by being taken to task publicly. That part is unforgivable and something the rest of us may need to think about if we post on that board. Airing dirty laundry just to get back at someone is never a good idea. I have been told I don't know the 'whole' story, which is true. But the public flogging is not right no matter what.

[Charles4515]

Or fourth, and I'll grant there are some odds involved -- someone else interested in that board picked up the same IP address when it was released and reassigned via DHCP.

 

Highly unlikely. And it is not possible for them to have the same IP number at the same time. Unless it is two computers networked on a router which has the IP number. The number has to be unique. Otherwise the internet could not work!!! That is why I gave the three alternatives. Number four that you posit, well it is possible, so it could be included, but the odds are hugely against it. It is not realistic. And the number had to have been released. They could not have the same IP number at the same time.

[canderson]

Highly unlikely. And it is not possible for them to have the same IP number at the same time.

I had specifically asked about this earlier in the thread to assure that this wasn't the case. The OP indicates that the 2nd identity was not online with the same IP address at the same time.

[WeBeCruisin']

And it is not possible for them to have the same IP number at the same time. The number has to be unique. Otherwise the internet could not work!!! That is why I gave the three alternatives. Number four that you posit, well it is possible, so it could be included, but the odds are hugely against it. It is not realistic. And the number had to have been released. They could not have the same IP number at the same time.

 

I agree with the improbability of someone being reassigned my IP when I wasn't online, and then accessing the same small travel-related board that I was on. But obviously it happened, unless it was some deliberate hacker-related situation, or unless it was an untruth. The one time the two of us were on the board at the same time, this person had a different IP from mine and many people cut and pasted that in an effort to prove that I was innocent. The moderator said all that proved is that I had two computer, which I don't have. Sigh.

 

Since the board banned that person, the possibility of our being on that board at the same time is now negated, and there's no chance of that person coming on with my IP in my absence. But that also probably means that there's no likelihood of the situation being explained, if the other person is not allowed to "lurk" on that board.

 

Also, the moderator has apparently not made any effort to contact that person and ask them questions about why they're there, or who they are, or whatever information might help. It's very possible that this other person doesn't have a clue. The moderator implies that the fact that the other person using my IP never questioned her about the banning is "proof" that it's me being malicious. :confused: There is probably another innocent person out there who is just shaking their head wondering what's going on and what kind of strange place have they stumbled onto. A newbie wouldn't necessarily know how to even contact a moderator.

 

Apparently the other person was banned the first time they even connected to that board because the moderator at that time thought that it was a former board member who had been banned for devious behavior. The basis for that was that the new person had the word "cruising" in their screen name, as did the banned person, and had New York City as their location, whereas the banned member lived in Connecticut. There couldn't have been any similarities in posting style, because the person only lurked. Then the moderator "unbanned" the person and let them lurk long enough to get their IP and then immediately banned them again, although before the banning, the person did come on again, the night that we were both on the board, but the new person had a different IP that time.

 

The moderator still refuses to tell me what time the person was online and she supposedly traced it to my IP. She had said "last night" and I hadn't been on the computer from about 8:00 on. Of course, she has accused me of lying when I said I only have one computer. :mad:

 

Somewhere there has to be a logical explanation that she can comprehend and accept.

 

Allen

[WeBeCruisin']

I had specifically asked about this earlier in the thread to assure that this wasn't the case. The OP indicates that the 2nd identity was not online with the same IP address at the same time.

 

Right. When the other person was online at the same time, they had a different IP address.

[Charles4515]

I had specifically asked about this earlier in the thread to assure that this wasn't the case. The OP indicates that the 2nd identity was not online with the same IP address at the same time.

 

He seems to be saying that the 2nd identity and the first have been using the same IP address, maybe not online at the same exact time but I thought he meant they continue to use the same exact IP addresses on that other board although at different times. Maybe I am misunderstanding what he is saying. I haven't seen the discussion on the other board, I don't even know which other board it is so we only are getting one side of the story so to speak.

 

With any moderated board the moderators can do what they want. They do that here at Cruise Critic. I have had some posts edited. I have had some disappear although no one has ever told me why. Threads get removed. I am surprised this off topic thread hasn't been removed. I'd probably remove it if I was a moderator here! Since it is their board they can do whatever they want. While I might not agree with what they censor, or who they might ban, since they own it they have the right to make the rules. They have the right to be unfair. If I don't like it, or others don't like it I or they can go elsewhere or start my own boards.

[Charles4515]

The moderator still refuses to tell me what time the person was online and she supposedly traced it to my IP. She had said "last night" and I hadn't been on the computer from about 8:00 on. Of course' date=' she has accused me of lying when I said I only have one computer. :mad:

 

Somewhere there has to be a logical explanation that she can comprehend and accept.

 

Allen[/quote']

 

The logical explanation could be that the moderator of the other board has a preconcieved notion or another agenda. Nothing you say might have any effect and if you continue you might just get banned. It might be best to just let the issue die down.

[Nitemare]

I stand by my advice.

 

;)

[WeBeCruisin']

I stand by my advice.

 

;)

 

Nitemare, LOL. That's becoming more and more a likelihood. :D