Warbler said:

RicOlie_2 said:

there's a possibility that two people share the same IPs.

there is? how does that happen? (other than two people using the same computer)

To some extent what you say is true.

Your router generates an IP address that is shared by anyone on the same LAN. So if another family member or a visitor were to use your internet connection it would show up as the same IP, if you posted roughly around the same time.

However most IP addresses are dynamic, you usually have to pay a premium for a fixed IP and some IPs are more dynamic than others. For example since Sky took over my Beebox account we have been hopping around like crazy. One minute we are in Bath, one minute we are in Yorkshire, one minute we are in Glasgow (we are in Falkirk).

The IP address gives a general idea of where content is coming from. But say I were to set up a sock just as the IP jumped and didn't post as my main account until it jumped again. The IP would probably be useless (though only the most dedicated moron would go to such elaborate measures). If the user is using Tor even more so.

According to the American courts an IP isn't enough to identify someone... but moderators on a discussion forum don't have to be as careful as a Judge.

Usually a sock will present itself more by the posting style than anything else (repeated phrases continual use of bracketed asides over use of paragraphing, misplaced, punctuation use of regional words and spellings) that sort of thing.