People with more than one account

I have noticed recently that quite a few people have more than one account. How? well certain folk who have made comments about myself get noticed by me and when the same comments get repeated in a new account I check spelling and the writing style etc.
I did get paranoid last week when I found out one guy had about 4 accounts. lol
My question is how do the mods find out/know if someone has more than one account? Iam not computer savvy so explain it to me like you would a child
Also what happens if you find a person has more than one account? ban them both?
Cheers BM

ip adresses......

Originally posted by newyorkee
ip adresses......

That is easy to work around. I could have an account at home and one at work. I have wondered about this in the past when I noticed a single star on every inane comment some particular members post.

Originally posted by newyorkee
ip adresses......

posting from behind different IP adresses from the same computer is a bit too easy,you do not even need novice computer skills for it.Anyone can do it and learn it within a couple of minutes.It is a n00b trick but yet a very effective one.

Post from Gemwolf

We don't like multiple accounts. It's not OK because people with multiple accounts usually have ulterior motives, i.e. socks. There is no reason (or rather very few reasons) to have more than one account. So perhaps I should rephrase myself: Multiple accounts are NOT OK, unless you have a very good reason for having one.

16c.) Multiple Accounts: You will not create multiple user accounts and "talk to yourself."

Later in the thread, members are directed to contact mods/staff when they suspect a sock puppet account privately via u2u, and once the acct is determined to be a sock, it will be dealt with, if it is in violation of the T&C, ie 'talking to themselves.'

reply to post by boymonkey74


I too have noticed what I thought were two people posing as friends to each other, and two people with very similar writing style, and grammar, and errors in spelling, or the spelling of certain words, or certain phrases used over and over. Maybe it's just that the religious crowd all sounds the same, like the UFO/Alien debunkers all sound alike.

Our IP address has three accounts. One for me. One for my husband (Bad Dog). One for my daughter (Cookie Doodle). Both my husband and daughter haven't posted in so long that they say they've forgotten their passwords. They are too busy to post anyways ...

Some have multiple accounts on IP addresses because ATS has become a family affair for them ....

Wives and husbands ... and sometimes kids .....

Originally posted by autowrench
I too have noticed what I thought were two people posing as friends to each other, and two people with very similar writing style, and grammar, and errors in spelling, or the spelling of certain words, or certain phrases used over and over.

That's when you hit the alert button and tell the mods to check ________ and _________ (fill in names) and have them go check the IP addresses. They can do it. Tell the mods you suspect multiple accounts. It's an offense that can get a person banned.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
Our IP address has three accounts. One for me. One for my husband (Bad Dog). One for my daughter (Cookie Doodle). Both my husband and daughter haven't posted in so long that they say they've forgotten their passwords. They are too busy to post anyways ...

Some have multiple accounts on IP addresses because ATS has become a family affair for them ....

Wives and husbands ... and sometimes kids .....

why leave out mistresses or lovers ... !




Sorry i just couldn't help myself at that one, it was simply eating me alive...

IP addresses are one of the worst/stupidest ways to be banned.

My husband and I both have accounts, but sometimes his IP is different than mine, because he's posting from in his truck - long haul driver with a phone mobility data pak, or whatever wi fi is in the area. If he's home, his IP will be the same as mine.

Plus IP addresses often change. Mine changes every week. That's just how the provider, provides. Since this provider provides Canada wide, I could end up with an IP number of someone who was previously banned.

Also, even if someone has multiple accounts, they can only talk to each other. If my husband is posting from here, we cannot give each other stars or flags. That feature just does not work on common IPs.

Technically, having a sock puppet (as we call them...i.e. another account) is a violation of the Terms & Conditions (as shown above).

However, we typically don't ban members for it unless that other account is being used in a manner that is disruptive to the board (i.e. such as talking to yourself, being formerly banned and then coming back incognito, etc.).

There are a variety of tools we can use to determine guilt when such cases arise, including, but not limited to some of the tools already mentioned. Except for gross abuses, typically, the offender is warned, then banned if the behavior continues.

It's very subjective, but always approached from a "what is good for the board" perspective.