The reason for creating a forum where IP addresses of posters are not accessible to Admin is when the Admin is a regular participant in discussions/debates of a vigorous nature involving history, philosophy, politics, etc. with the other posters. In such a situation, some animosity may also develop between an Admin and some of the other posters. pro-Admin and anti-Admin cliques may get formed within the forum. So as to have a level playing ground, and to allow all posters including anti-Admin posters to freely articulate their views, i wish to create a forum where the Admin is unable to view IP addresses of posters and for there to be some way for other members to know that the Admin is unable to view their IP addresses.

This kind of a forum will also attract posters who may not otherwise to join a forum where one of the participants in discussions is also the Admin even if they are not anti-Admin to begin with.

One may argue that posters can login using a proxy server if they wish to. The problem is that many posters posting from work are unable to use a proxy server from their workplace because these proxy servers are inaccessible (blocked) from their work systems.

Hello, I voted no.
I think siting the IP of Users can only be seen if you can access IP.

Even I am a Global Mod in a One Forum , I am not authorised to see the IP.

So essentially what i wish to do is to somehow disable IP logging by post. I believe it is not possible for an Admin to view the IP addresses of users logged onto a forumotion chat and i want the same for forum posts.

NikkoBryan14 wrote:Hello, I voted no.
I think siting the IP of Users can only be seen if you can access IP.

Even I am a Global Mod in a One Forum , I am not authorised to see the IP.

i am pretty sure you are wrong. Forum Admins definitely have access to IP addresses of posters through forum posts.

Rashmun wrote:

NikkoBryan14 wrote:Hello, I voted no.
I think siting the IP of Users can only be seen if you can access IP.

Even I am a Global Mod in a One Forum , I am not authorised to see the IP.

i am pretty sure you are wrong. Forum Admins definitely have access to IP addresses of posters through forum posts.

In my Own , Global Mod can moderate all forums as what Admins said in the Forum , when I try to watch it's IP, I just can't.

In my opinion this is just plain silly. Creating a forum that the Admin can't see the IP addresses of its members??

Whos going to create this forum, the Admin?? Pure non-sense. The Admin needs full knowledge of everything on the forum, including IPs.

As far as the chatbox goes, you have to be a registered member to use the chatbox, and the Admin can see all the IPs of its members, as it should be.

Your reasoning for the Admin not to see IP addresses is lame, and no way will there ever be a forum where this is the case, ever.

runawayhorses wrote:In my opinion this is just plain silly. Creating a forum that the Admin can't see the IP addresses of its members??

Whos going to create this forum, the Admin?? Pure non-sense. The Admin needs full knowledge of everything on the forum, including IPs.

As far as the chatbox goes, you have to be a registered member to use the chatbox, and the Admin can see all the IPs of its members, as it should be.

Your reasoning for the Admin not to see IP addresses is lame, and no way will there ever be a forum where this is the case, ever.

Yeah , I am 100% Agree on you. ^6

runawayhorses wrote:In my opinion this is just plain silly. Creating a forum that the Admin can't see the IP addresses of its members??

Whos going to create this forum, the Admin?? Pure non-sense. The Admin needs full knowledge of everything on the forum, including IPs.

As far as the chatbox goes, you have to be a registered member to use the chatbox, and the Admin can see all the IPs of its members, as it should be.

Your reasoning for the Admin not to see IP addresses is lame, and no way will there ever be a forum where this is the case, ever.

Some potential members of the forum i propose to create indicated that they would not join or would be reluctant to join the new forum if the Admin can see IP addresses of posters.

Please elucidate the potential problems in a forum where Admin cannot see IP addresses. At any rate, what i am asking for is the option to create such a forum. I am not saying all forums should be or will be like this.

The problems if the Admin cannot see the IP addresses is they can't compare IP's with other members IP to see who is doing what. Some people like to create multiple accounts if they were ever banned or suspended. If you can check IPs it can give you a general idea of where they are from, and added information to consider if they are using a different computer. Its information you can use in many ways.

The thing is, its ridiculous for the Admin not to have full control and see things like IP addresses. Who is supposed to set up this forum that the Admin can't see IP addresses? Of course the Admin! Do you think they are going to do that? No they aren't.

Your potential members that don't want you to see there IP address are not being reasonable. They obviously don't know how websites work. Tell them that every website that they have ever been on the owner or Admin can or had the potential see there IP address, unless they are using a proxy server in which case it wouldn't be there true IP.

Do they screen every website like that before that go to it? Of course they don't.

If they don't like it I'd tell them they might as well just shutdown there computer then because they can't go anywhere without there IP being seen.

runawayhorses wrote:The problems if the Admin cannot see the IP addresses is they can't compare IP's with other members IP to see who is doing what. Some people like to create multiple accounts if they were ever banned or suspended. If you can check IPs it can give you a general idea of where they are from, and added information to consider if they are using a different computer. Its information you can use in many ways.

The thing is, its ridiculous for the Admin not to have full control and see things like IP addresses. Who is supposed to set up this forum that the Admin can't see IP addresses? Of course the Admin! Do you think they are going to do that? No they aren't.

Your potential members that don't want you to see there IP address are not being reasonable. They obviously don't know how websites work. Tell them that every website that they have ever been on the owner or Admin can or had the potential see there IP address, unless they are using a proxy server in which case it wouldn't be there true IP.

Do they screen every website like that before that go to it? Of course they don't.

If they don't like it I'd tell them they might as well just shutdown there computer then because they can't go anywhere without there IP being seen.

Case 1: a person visits dictionary.com site and gets his IP addressed logged in by the site. The Admin does not care about who has visited the site because he has never had any personal interaction with the visitor and never will.

Case 2: A person posts on a forumotion forum in which the Admin is also a poster. Vigorous discussions on philosophy,religion, politics, current affairs, etc. take place in this forum. In this scenario, there is the possibility of the Admin intimidating other posters, for instance invoking his Admin powers in the middle of an argument. I want a forum where it is not possible for an Admin who is also a regular poster in the forum to intimidate or bully other posters whose views differ from the Admin's. If a user becomes a habitual spammer, it would still be possible for the Admin to invoke a handle block on such a spammer (instead of an IP block which can anyways be circumvented by using proxy servers).
At any rate i want the *option* of having this kind of a forum where the Admin cannot see the IP address of other posters posting in that forum. I fail to see why anyone should have an objection to this.

The Admin is the most powerful person on the forum, someone has to run it and have access to that information. In forumotion forums that person is the Admin and of course the owners of the server. To answer your question, there is no way to block the Administrator having access to a members IP. There is no way anyone is going to create an option to block the Admin from seeing it. If you are uncomfortable with that or your members are, perhaps they should not post such topics and strong viewpoints online. Nowhere is anyone completely exempt from this. Your members are not going to find a forum that is any different.

runawayhorses wrote:The Admin is the most powerful person on the forum, someone has to run it and have access to that information. In forumotion forums that person is the Admin and of course the owners of the server. To answer your question, there is no way to block the Administrator having access to a members IP. There is no way anyone is going to create an option to block the Admin from seeing it. If you are uncomfortable with that or your members are, perhaps they should not post such topics and strong viewpoints online. Nowhere is anyone completely exempt from this. Your members are not going to find a forum that is any different.

i understand it is possible to create a reddit forum where no poster in the forum has Admin powers. But since forumotion has superior features i want something like that to be an option for a forumotion forum.

So who would control that forum? What if things are posted on it that are not within the servers TOS? Someone has to be in charge of all the forums to address these issues should they arise. You can't reply on the server owners to watch everything. You are not going to be able to create a forum where no one is in charge. Every forum needs a Admin. Part of being in charge is having access to members IP. You need it to ban, and evaluate the situation. Part of the Admin powers is this knowledge of IP addresses. Even if you could block yourself your members would only be taking your word for it that you can't see there IP. And on top of that there is absolutely noway to create a forum where the owners of the server can't see it either.

runawayhorses wrote:So who would control that forum? What if things are posted on it that are not within the servers TOS? Someone has to be in charge of all the forums to address these issues should they arise. You can't reply on the server owners to watch everything. You are not going to be able to create a forum where no one is in charge. Every forum needs a Admin. Part of being in charge is having access to members IP. You need it to ban, and evaluate the situation. Part of the Admin powers is this knowledge of IP addresses. Even if you could block yourself your members would only be taking your word for it that you can't see there IP. And on top of that there is absolutely noway to create a forum where the owners of the server can't see it either.

banning on the basis of IP address seems to be futile in view of the existence of proxy servers. if there is a genuine need to ban a poster (say somebody who keeps spamming the forum with advertisments) then a handle block will suffice. So one of the posters is the Admin but the Admin of this forum has minimal power. The Admin is almost like any other poster in that forum. This ensures that the Admin will not intimidate or bully poster(s) he or she have disagreements with.

I understand your rational, but the simple fact is its not doable, Someone will always be able to see your members IP and that includes the Admin of the forum. Proxy servers can be banned also. But yes the person can simply use another proxy server. If they don't want you in particular to see it there is nothing you can do without turning your admin powers over to someone else. But there will always be someone in charge of all the forums.

Welcome to world of the internet and forums.

runawayhorses wrote:I understand your rational, but the simple fact is its not doable, Someone will always be able to see your members IP and that includes the Admin of the forum. Proxy servers can be banned also. But yes the person can simply use another proxy server. If they don't want you in particular to see it there is nothing you can do without turning your admin powers over to someone else. But there will always be someone in charge of all the forums.

Welcome to world of the internet and forums.

How come it is possible to have a reddit forum with the Admin having zero or minimal powers? I think the Admins of forumotion forums are biased against my suggestion because of their fear of dilution or loss of their Admin powers.

A reddit forum by definition does not mean or include that the Admin or server owner can't see the members IP. There is no such thing as what you are suggesting.

runawayhorses wrote:A reddit forum by definition does not mean or include that the Admin or server owner can't see the members IP. There is no such thing as what you are suggesting.

the server owner can see the IP address but the Admin cannot. The posters of my potential forum have no problem with the server owner(s) seeing their IP address. They have a problem with the Admin seeing the IP address because the Admin will be participating in vigorous debates with them on historical, political, philosophical, etc. issues. Sometimes these discussions may take the form of heated debates. So the posters want the Admin of such a forum to have minimal or no powers.
I have been participating in forums since 1998 and i believe i have more experience on forums from a user perspective than you seem to think.

I have exhausted myself trying to explain this to you. You have already mentioned your reasons why your members don't want the Admin to see there IP addresses. I'm telling you that isn't possible regardless of there reasons. There reasons are irrelevant.

In regards to your accusation as to why you think the Admins of forumotion forums don't like your "suggestion" is again not relevant because its not doable. No one fears your suggestion because its simply not going to happen, its not in anyone's best interest other than people that intend to abuse the forum.

runawayhorses wrote:I have exhausted myself trying to explain this to you. You have already mentioned your reasons why your members don't want the Admin to see there IP addresses. I'm telling you that isn't possible regardless of there reasons. There reasons are irrelevant.

In regards to your accusation as to why you think the Admins of forumotion forums don't like your "suggestion" is again not relevant because its not doable. No one fears your suggestion because its simply not going to happen, its not in anyone's best interest other than people that intend to abuse the forum.

for all practical purposes, nobody will be abusing the forum. and if anyone does abuse the forum there is always the option of implementing a handle block to the Admin. The Admin does not need to know the IP address of posters and one reason for this is the existence of proxy servers.