i, for one, am outraged.

i'd like to see hodogg back here - primarily because i was right in the middle of a discussion with her second personality & had just made a great point.

i must admit i am pretty much computer illiterate..you can probably tell by my typing style and punctuation..but how would someone know if a person were using dual identities??

When you connect to the Internet you connect via a
server. Every server has an IP address.
66.87.212.54 is an address.
If you do an APIS search you can find out
who owns that address.

If two people have the very same address
it becomes suspicious. When three have it,
one can be pretty sure that they are using
the same computer.

The second thing one checks is syntax.
For example;

Mary types; u r 2 crzy!

Linda types; that's crzy!

Jonnette types; i agre w u

(this is a very condensed version of a three
or four sentence post)

and when you ping you find all three
are logging in from 55.67.230.198
it is knee jerk that this is one person.

First of all, we do not ban based on topics about sex as long as they are tasteful and not breaking the rules by use of foul language. Even then, we are slightly easy on that. So don't worry about being banned for talking about sexual activities, disagreeing with each other, or anything of that nature. That is not why those people were banned.

There has always been a link in the forum navigation called "Site Rules" that will tell you all the reasons why you can/will be banned. Please read them.

http://www.womens-health.com/boards/...faq_site_rules

We do give warnings if the poster has a good reputation with us or if the offense is minor. We have different levels of warning: simple PM warning, infractions, and temporary suspensions. Banning happens when you have really irritated us or other members, or you flat out broke an obvious rule that would be known by anyone with common sense.

GentileBen was banned in part because of his posts, but mostly because of numerous member complaints.

"hotdogg", "the dude", and "zoezoe" were all banned for the following reasons:

1. All 3 accounts logging in from the same computer (ip address)
2. All 3 accounts registered with very similar email addresses
3. All 3 users made it a point to fight constantly with "whilhelm" about porn and made that their primary motivation. In addition, they repeatedly claimed that "whilhelm" was the one using multiple accounts.
4. All 3 users (specifically "zoezoe" and "the dude") broke additional rules repeatedly by their foul language and disrespectful statements to other members. Their personallities are all similar.

We have a multiple login detector which alerts us of multiple accounts coming from the same computer. The ip address is actually the unique identifier of the computer you are using to access our site (not the server's ip). Granted, we know there are occassions when there may be multiple family members or friends using one computer, or even if it's a public computer... but even so, it is not okay for multiple users from one computer to gang up on other members. We will not tolerate that sort of behavior.

I did thorough research, read all their posts, and monitored the activity for quite some time before deciding to ban them. In fact, I am monitoring some other members at this time who are also using multiple user accounts. So if you are reading this and have multiple accounts, make sure you are following the rules.

You are all welcome to have heated debates all you want. You just can't be calling each other names, cussing at each other, telling people to leave our forums/threads, constantly bringing up the same negative stuff, or bickering in nearly every forum you go to. If you don't agree with each other, that's fine. But you can express yourselves as respectful adults and agree to disagree. As long as you realize these things, then you won't get banned and you have nothing to worry about.

I am sorry if the recent bans upset anyone, but it was in the forum's best interest. I hope this information helps you all to understand the situation better.

Didn't mean to usurp your function Admin!

One of the things you touched on brings up
an almost humours anecdote.

My daughter when she was young logged
on to sites that I visited and when I realised
it I told the Admin that this was not a dual
that it was my daughter, and the Admin said
she realised that.

My daughter writes as if she didn't get out
of Primary School so the syntax was so
totally different and the interests were so
diametrically opposed that it was clear it
was not me.

However, if someone were to use my computer
to log onto this site, I would think and advisory
would be in order.

Hello WH Admin-

Thank you for this post. I can only speak for myself, but I know I am not alone in when I say this was needed. Talking things out does not have to be a negative experience. This brings some closure to this issue. Now we can get on with going forward.

I will respect your position on this matter.

Looking back over the posts in my mind, along with this explanation, and Kaylar's testimony....I now realize how victimized Whilhelm was by those actions. I knew it before but this really hit it home.

It is unfortunate all this had to happen. But it is what it is. It is good you're on top of it to prevent it from becoming widespread.

I was aware that there was probably more to it than I already knew. Still....I had to speak my piece.

Whilhelm-

It is nice to see you're keeping your sense of humour. It was not my intention to put you in the hot seat. I knew people had issues with you about what happened however, I didn't know to what extent. I must say you handled it with grace for the most part. You took most of it in and didn't lash out/back. I just thought that you would get the same forgiveness and understanding that GB and HD received when they apologized. Then we could all move forward. I believe the intended goal is realized. It just took an unexpected route. Still....it is good to have it all out there and dealt with. I hope that you and I can still be cool. If not now....perhaps in time.