IP Bans...Please help

[micahdiablo]

No, I am not asking for help to get around IP bans LOL.

Here is my dilemma.

I am Moderator of a forum for a Book Fan site and I have a couple of questions about this.

We have recently begun dealing with a troll and unlike most trolls, he is persistent. We banned his username and the likes but he was able to come back and make multiple usernames(in the past 2 weeks, he has made 30) so we finally IP banned him

Problem Solved...or so we thought?

Apparently he is able to change his IP as much as he likes so even though we IP ban him, within 5 minutes he is able to come back instantly.

So he repeatedly comes back trolls and insults the members and members.

There is a new user who types with similar characteristics of the Troll, I mentioned about so we have suspicions but if the troll can change his IP we don't know if it is a harmless new person/coincidence or the actual troll.

Is there anything we can do to get around him changing his IP?

Also, is there a way we can still tell it is him even if he has changed the IP?
I had a younger brother who was a member of some game site and even though he changed the IP, somehow they could still tell he shared an IP address between user names.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[nyydynasty]

change your registration settings to require a moderator to accept it. Now he cannot post until you physically click 'yes' to his registration. what forum software are you running, vB?

 

[Isthmus]

Another way around it is to do the following two things:

1. Save every single variation of a username he creates. most forum software allows you to reserve user names. Just reserve all the variations he uses and any further ones.

2. Create a word filter. Now this will affect everyone, but it will also have the unintended effect of lowering down any heated rhetoric on the site. basically put in any insulting or foul word you can think off (as well as alternate spellings of each (such as ASS, A>S>S>, A_S_S, etc.) and make your filter replace them with something ridiculous and humurous. For example, if the troll calls someone a 5hithead, have the forum change it to "poopie-noggin" or some other ridiculous alternative (I tend to favor insults a 5 year old could come up with). When they go on diatribes, filters like these take the bite right out f them. Eventually the trolls tire since their threads become ridiculous and people start laughing at them rather than get upset.

You can also record the IP addresses the troll is using, along with the times the posts from that IP are being made, and copies of the messages. use that information to file complaints with the ISPs that correspond to that troll. eventually the ISPs (assuming they are not a proxy specifically designed for this kind of use) will disconnect the account.

 

[andruoid]

If they are changing the IP that fast then I would assume he/she is using a proxy. Something like Tor which can hide you behind several proxies thereby making it very difficult to block and/or trace.

eg;
troll --- proxy1 --- p2 --- p3 --- p4 --- p5 --- p6 --- p7 --- your forum.

With Tor you click once and you'll be behind a whole new set of proxies in seconds.

 

[andruoid]

If you want to ban a list of Tor IPs you could start here; http://proxy.org/tor.shtml ...there are quite a few.

 

[micahdiablo]

Well, I am only a Moderator not the Admin(who runs it) so while I have more powers than the typical user it is a lot harder for me as Admin rarely gets on(And relies heavily on us Mods to actually run the site).

We do have filters against words. For instance today he got on and made fun of someone with Asperger's calling them reeetarded(yes i know i spelled it incorrectly). So when you say that word it automatically types durdle. However, all they have to do is break the censor by typing re.tarded or some variation. This goes with cuss words as well. Witch(replace the W with a B) turns into dog with fleas lol


AS far as his IPs, he brags about the fact that his router allows him multiple IPs as well as he did say he was using Proxies as well to use it.

I'd have figured he would have given up now(He perma banned early July) and it's now in August and is getting even worse(especially now that he is using proxy)

and a lot of our Mods are quitting and it's just starting to get to be a major hassle and stress for me a, 17 year old and contacting Admin is hard.

I figured this was the best place to look as Android users are some of the best tech geeks around

 

[andruoid]

Sounds similar to my cable connection. I can have a switch right after the cable modem, then have a unique IP from the ISP sent to each of my routers. Renewing the IP address on each router is easy, although it could raise flags at his ISP if he is renewing consistently.

Did you happen to log all his IP information so far since they joined? Using their original nick check the logs. Do a nslookup and/or whois on each IP to see if there are any IPs that continually resolves to the same hostname. That might help narrow down his ISP. Like I mentioned before proxies, the good ones, use several different IPs between them and you. Finding the real one could be difficult.

 

[Isthmus]

sounds like your best course of action is to complain to his ISP. If you are succesful they will drop his internet service entirely.

 

[ToastPwnz]

What board software is the forum running? If its MyBB I know a couple solutions, though if its VBulletin I won't be of much help.

 

[micahdiablo]

I tried to contact Admin but i have not heard back from him.
One of my fellow Mods, said the board is

board3 Portal based on phpBB3 Portal

For now...we have removed the registration button so NO new members can register. It's just a temporary solution since this disables new members(non-trolls) the ability to register.

 

[ToastPwnz]

One relatively easy "universal" solution is making the forum invite only, but thats only assuming said troll doesn't have people already registered that would invite him.

 

[micahdiablo]

One relatively easy "universal" solution is making the forum invite only, but thats only assuming said troll doesn't have people already registered that would invite him.

That is a good suggestion but I guess, wouldn't that also prevent fans from joining as well?

case in point you...if you wanted to join the site because you were a fan of the book series, "invite only' would not allow you to join UNLESS you knew someone who was already a member? Am I right?

 

[ToastPwnz]

That is a good suggestion but I guess, wouldn't that also prevent fans from joining as well?

case in point you...if you wanted to join the site because you were a fan of the book series, "invite only' would not allow you to join UNLESS you knew someone who was already a member? Am I right?

Yep, pretty much every "tried and true" solution has some sort of downside, banning his IP range (or his ISP completely) would probably be the method with the least downfalls.

 

[karandpr]

I suppose this is the ultimate solution .
Well just serve him some thing with heavy legal terms (I dont know about your country laws)

Spoiler

 

[micahdiablo]

Well, for now, we just disable to register the button so no one can register(troll or not) and we will do this for about a week to deter the troll.

Admin FINALLY decided to get on today so hopefully he can figure out a long-term solution(i passed along your suggestions)

Thanks so much & I'll keep you posted!

 

[Isthmus]

Just keep expanding the filters. every time a new word gets through, just add it to the filter. eventually the troll will raise the bar so high for himself, he will make it impossible to troll.

 

[jerofld]

Another solution would be to allow all to register, but can only post in one subforum. When the new person introduces themselves and makes a few posts without trolling, you can give them more forum access. That way, it doesn't muck up your current convos, either.

 

[BiggestManEver]

Another solution would be to allow all to register, but can only post in one subforum. When the new person introduces themselves and makes a few posts without trolling, you can give them more forum access. That way, it doesn't muck up your current convos, either.

This is the best solution. Keep them quarrantined until they prove to be useful members of the community, then open them up to the rest of the world.

Also, no offense, but who cares about some random "book fan" site enough to troll it with that kind of veracity? Seems kinda sad.

 

[ToastPwnz]

This is the best solution. Keep them quarrantined until they prove to be useful members of the community, then open them up to the rest of the world.

Also, no offense, but who cares about some random "book fan" site enough to troll it with that kind of veracity? Seems kinda sad.

You would be amazed at the lengths people will go to to be stupid.

It is quite sad.

 

[Slug]

who cares about some random "book fan" site enough to troll it with that kind of veracity? Seems kinda sad.

The same could be said for some random "Android fan" site, yet you'd be surprised how much time and effort staff here have to spend in combating a handful of persistent troublemakers who return time after time. Maybe they see it as a game or challenge, or maybe they like stroking their egos while picking fights with random strangers.... who knows?

 

[ToastPwnz]

The same could be said for some random "Android fan" site, yet you'd be surprised how much time and effort staff here have to spend in combating a handful of persistent troublemakers who return time after time. Maybe they see it as a game or challenge, or maybe they like stroking their egos while picking fights with random strangers.... who knows?

One can only imagine. I've never understood what part of acting like an idiot is fun, that is of course assuming that they are acting.

 

[alostpacket]

The funniest solution I have heard/read to deal with problem members is to let them post, dont ban them or give them warnings or infractions, but make it so only they can see their own posts.

When no one else can see the posts but the troll, they get bored and wonder why they are getting no attention. Hopefully, they eventually givie up.


hmmmm...I wonder...


Wait guys, you can read this post right?

You see what I'm saying right?????? Right????? Guys????!?!?

 

[mikedt]

One solution against trolls and spammers that a couple of forums I'm a member of use. That is to moderate and approve a new member's first few posts, like say 10. It's a lot more work for the mods though. Trolls can soon get bored when they find their posts don't appear.

 

[Crude]

 

[Crude]

nice, well i cant fix this so i guess you can all have fun with that. lets hope no one here misunderstands my intent and i get perma banned this time.