h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

yes , post can be picked up on , but one can easy act as one other ,

as for proving you can't ,so there there is no law saying you cant change names accounts ,addys , as many times unless it is in the rules of h2g2 ,you can't break anything that is not there .

People can try (and have tried) to impersonate others but it can be very difficult, the accounts PS gives a lot of information and also it is *very* difficult to remove all the little quirks and mannerisms we have when we try to act like someone else. All this means is you can have yor suspicions which can be proved by ways that I don't understand
Nope, and that wasn't the issue. What was at stake was the fact Apple *may* have used one of her alternate personas to sidestep her pre-mod, which would have been an issue for the Italics

Looks like we've hit bedrock and kept digging.

I'm debating whether or not to Thread Bomb every post (no matter who the perpetrator is) which doesn't attempt to resolve the situation in a constructive fashion.

"You're lying"
*Thread Bomb*
"No I'm not"
*Thread Bomb*
"Yes you are and you're stupid"
*Thread Bomb*
"No I'm not and you're a bully"
*Thread Bomb*

Hi Az

'Meanwhile, at the rate she's posting she's going to bog down the system just as Hoo threatened to'

at last I know what Hoo was talking about in 'that' post. I have been wondering all this time!

Let me take the side of the mods for a moment. We are hosted by the BBC, a global brand which in various guises is trusted around the world for it's honesty and standards. We have the luxury of posting our personal views on a site that can be read by presidents, paupers and princes. That is high risk for the BBC and, even in the information age, a fabulous facility. We have been discussing rights and responsibilities in other conversations and we should be bearing our responsibilities to the BBC in mind. Threatening to publish a design for any sort of bomb in the present climate is utterly irresponsible.

H2G2 is a tiny part of the BBC empire. If, by the actions of it's researchers, it threatens to damage the reputation of the BBC then the management will, quite rightly, meet their reponsibility as managers and act to protect that reputation.

For goodness sake get things into perspective. If you continue in this manner we could loose the entire site. If I was a BBC manager that option would now be on my list.

>>>

yes , post can be picked up on , but one can easy act as one other ,
as for proving you can't ,so there there is no law saying you cant change names accounts ,addys , as many times unless it is in the rules of h2g2 ,you can't break anything that is not there .
<<<

shifty, the Italics can tell to a certain extent if a banned researcher (or any researcher I guess) is using multiple accounts. I think they can tell from people's Internet Protocol (IP) numbers (that are assigned to an internet access account by the ISP).

There is significant history of this on h2. The one I remember reading was a researcher in the US who claimed to be a doctor and was eventually banned. I do remember in that process that the Eds could tell the town the researcher lived in.

So with that information, plus the similarities in posting styles, it does become easier to narrow it down. Although there have been some mistakes as well.

And yes, it is against the House Rules to post from another account while suspended or banned.

~~~~


Ferrett, the Eds DID give warning, six days ago:

>>>
Hello all,

There have been far too many cheap shots in this thread (and others), and we're really tiring of it.

It's all gone on far too long: general mean-spiritedness, and repeated attempts to bring up past incidents by whatever pedantic means necessary. We're happy for you to discuss issues but there is absolutely no need for personal attacks of any variety and if this goes on any longer then our only option will be to put several of you on pre-moderation.

Now please - be civil with each other. This is your final warning.

h2g2 Editors
<<<

F135418?thread=524287&skip=2200&show=20


Both Apple and Hoo were active in that thread at the time.

So were several other people - is it just those two who have had sanctions applied?

>>For goodness sake get things into perspective. If you continue in this manner we could loose the entire site. If I was a BBC manager that option would now be on my list.<<

Last week the top 5 convos linked off the Front Page were:

Ask h2g2

The Forum

WIBBLE

PROD

Peer Review


In four of those pages there were active threads that showed considerable animosity and conflict (the D wars thread on Ask plus all the h2g2 is going downhill ones, a number of The Forum ones, a number of the PROD ones (about PR), and a specific one in PR related to PROD).

I did wonder at the time how that would seem to a BBC big chief who was passing by to see what this site was about.

I also wondered about how newbies who had just seen the movie would cope

The only ones I know of are Apple and Hoo.

"as for proving you can't ,so there there is no law saying you cant change names accounts ,addys , as many times unless it is in the rules of h2g2 ,you can't break anything that is not there .

You're right Shifty there is nothing in the house rules about lying.

I could say that things you have said had caused me tremendous emotional pain and caused me to become anorexic and cut my self as a result of you calling me a bully.

It wouldnt be true though would it. It would break my own rules of striving for honesty. That to me is a much more important rule thatn any of the H2G2 rules and frankly I have little respect for anyone who actively tries to mislead others.

If we cant have a little honest and trust within the community then we have no community.

one love

i was not sure about peoples (IP) if they can trace back to the persons (IP) or not as i don't now much on that side of it.// Blinky i can't mind of the bit where i called you a bully but iam sorry , I Mind i was talking on a thread about bullying in general .

I'm sure the Eds will be able to access the IP address. If you have a static IP address then they can tell it is you no matter what h2 account you use. Unless you use different computers or ISP accounts. But even then they can still tell what general area you are from which narrows things down alot.

But as I said, mistakes get made, and it's alot of work for the Eds if someone sets up multiple accounts.

<>

Whether an IP address can be accurately traces depends on the person's ISP. Many ISPs assign each and every user an IP address but others do roaming IPs (where the IP is randomly chosen from those available when you log on) or assign IPs by area.

Hmm I think all of these arguments are old hat.

Read the "LeKZ" threads.

Regardless of IP status Jim Lynn has ways and means to trace IP ness and all that. Has done. And no doubt will do again.

If that ever becomes necessary, the Italics are capable of contacting the ISPs involved for assistance resolving such matters. That's come up on several other boards I'm on.

good point kea / ok as for people getting banned etc ,i amit to doing my share of winding up , but mostly what kicked me off was some mocking me about my spelling etc , plus some of my views on topics may sound over the top to some but its how i see life ,everyone differs ,i don't go out of my way to slag off a person ,but if someone if digging at me iam not going to just sit there ,people with lerning problems some don't come on threads because of people poking fun at them ,well they have just as much right as the so-called normal .shifty

I thought ISPs could only divulge personal detail where there was a legal need eg the police wanted it, or a court could order the information released under certain circumstances, of if the ISP thought its own rules had been broken. i.e. they won't give out information to third parties without a bloody good reason. I'm not sure that internal h2 issues would constitute such a reason.

In most such cases, the policies of the ISP itself are being violated -- for example, using the account to harass others is often considered a violation. On one board I was on, a user had started up several different accounts and was threatening to post child porn to the board in an attempt to get it shut down. Didn't take much to get the ISPs involved there.

Oh, and ISPs can definitely confirm -- yes, all of these postings were made from the same home computer without divulging any personal information about the individual whatsoever.

<>

Wow. That's very possibly the most immature thing I've ever heard of.