>
> Hard code it in, but this leads to stopping legitimate users from logging
> in, simply because of the system they are on.
Many systems such as bbs's also have telnet and stuff like that, and the
ip is constant for all of the users. Many of the bbses also do not have
identd up, so the address always looks the same. This would stop bbs
users from connecting to the mud. If I want to multi-play and a mud bans
it, let's face it...there is no way to stop me. I have about 10 different
shell accounts, a bbs account, and an isp account. I am not a unique user
either, many people have multiple accounts. The only way to tell for
sure, is to check idle times, try talking to one char, while talking to
the other suspected character, because even with tintin the conversation
cannot be kept up at full speed, unless there is one hell of a bot in
play. Basically the only way to fully prove it is a full scale
investigation. Even with all of the code checks in the world, if there is
a bbs, and it is a proven bbs that makes all users have the same ip, and a
few players from the bbs play the mud, it is easy for someone who is
multi-playing to just lie and say he isn't, because it is a known bbs.
>
> Hard code a warning in (something like: "Multiple IP: SoanSo Logging in
> from somewhere.com") but that creates work for the immortals. (although
> I'd hardly call that a problem)
>
This is a good idea, because it can guide imms as to which people to
investigate.
> Require users e-mail admin for a player, but this deters a lot of users
> from the MUD, and tends to give an impression of an "elitist" MUD.
>
> Require the e-mail of a user before logging on, and stop duplicates, but
> with free e-mail accounts everywhere, this is next to impossible to stop.
>
When I find a mud with email registration, I leave. It is too much of a
hassle, unless someone tells me it is a good mud or something. Also I get
enough junk email as it is, and I do not care for more. Many muds add you
to a mailing list upon character creation, and I would have no reason to
think that this police policy is anything but that.
The most practical way to stop multi-playing is to do a users every once
in a while, compare idle times, do a where and compare character
locations, and try to converse with the characters at the same time. Once
enough evidence is gathered, then take action. Of course, it never hurts
to ask, because there are those users who do not read the policy, or who
think you are on to them, and know they will get busted, so they apologize
and get their other character off. Another nifty way to check
multi-playing is to compare the dates and ips and times of the characters
that were created. Any one of these alone is not enough to book someone,
but together they are more than enough. Also I know many Universities
have firewalls, and the only way out is via a web proxy server. In this
case, I usually see people mudding via their mail server, which gives them
a shell account so they can use pine. The mail server generally is not in
the firewall, so the players telnet to the mud by there, and that is also
a way of getting the same Ip. Back in High School, we had a novell
network and at first all of the machines had unique ips, but then the
network had something weird done, and used a novell gateway, and then if a
telnet was done, http, ftp, no matter what, the address always ended up
the address of the proxy server. The gateway was this little program that
opened up every time something requested an internet socket. The program
is also relatively new, so there will probably be many more of these
around. This gateway is part of something that allows tc/ip traffic to be
converted to IPX, and then back to IP via the gateway client program. No
matter what kind of configuration of the software, proxy, or no proxy, you
end up going through the gateway, and leaving through the same server, so
everyone in the school on any computer gets the same ip. Although
multi-playing isn't always a bad thing, and in some cases it can be
beneficial, and enhance the role playing environment, after all in Final
Fantasy you control a party. Of course multi-playing should be
reasonable. I have seen people bring on 15 characters at a time, and they
are easy to bust, even with tintin they cannot carry on a conversation
with more than three or four of their characters. This is usually really
easy to detect, because generally there are not that many people from the
same site, and also the player will slip up if he/she doesn't see any
gods, so go invis while investigating, because the person will probably
trip up.
Hmm Why did I reply to the enough subject line? :P Oh well
Just my .02 Cents
Cervo the redoC retsaM
If you cannot convince them, confuse them.
-- Harry S. Truman
+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Ensure that you have read the CircleMUD Mailing List FAQ: |
| http://democracy.queensu.ca/~fletcher/Circle/list-faq.html |
+------------------------------------------------------------+
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : 12/15/00 PST