Is this against TOS?

*LMAO* I like the way you think as for telling her partner? I did and he told me and I quote, "welcome to the internet *smiles here*" and "what can you do?" so it seems to be a game they play with people I do have DSL and generally ZoneAlarm notifies me "everytime" the IP changes, which is often...thank you "ALL" for your replies to my call for help *smiles* its helped more then you know BTW? I know its against ToS to post what was said to me but I did save the conversation for accuracy when reporting the incident *smiles*

Two additional points. If you use a router on wideband, you probably reboot rarely, so your external IP can stay static for long periods of time. With the exception of business-based requirements, it stays static long enough to test most applications requiring static IP look ups (for instance, if you are putting a server on an open sim and you can change the IP address yourself in a boot file, you probably don't need a true static IP). When I had a non-commercial line, my IP was 'static' on the order of ten days to more than a couple of weeks, based on a two month test period. Pretty much the time between really bad thunder storms.

If you need a true static IP, such as for any use requiring true promulgation of the address accross the Internet, then most ISPs will provide you one, although usually at an additional cost. Verizon, for instance, forces you to move to a business line (more or less doubling your fee). If you have a mail server or an internally hosted web site or web application, you probably need one and there is hardly anything unusual about it. Of course, if you are using SL at work, they can get to the external IP, but would have no way to get to the specific user's internal IP (if they can, immediately fire your IT person).

That was the cue for you to IM back - "Welcome to my AR"!

Clear case of harrassment.

As has been noted, your IP address is not a secret, and you transmit it to anyone who is running a streaming server while standing on their parcel. They can associate your avatar(s) with that IP address with some accuracy. They could maintain a database of all the avatars they've seen going by. I don't think any of that is against the TOS, and in fact I think it is more common than people suspect.

What is against the TOS is disclosing to other people who someone's alts are.
But I don't see how telling YOU that they know who your alts are could be
against the TOS. It's not "disclosure" for you to tell me something about myself!

I don't know why someone would tell you though, unless they didn't want you having multiple alts in the club (at once or on different days). I can imagine lots of reasons why club owners might not like alts very much.




This depends on your ISP; I've sometimes had the same IP address for many months at a time, even when turning the modem off as you suggest. It depends on how the ISP has it set up and how busy they are at the moment you do it. But you can always keep trying until you get a new IP address. Even then, it will still be an IP address that can be tracked to at least your general area (eg. your town). So someone could make inferences that you are the only one actual person behind all the alts coming from your town who walked into the club at the moment.

People assume they are very anonymous on Second Life, but it's not as much as they think.

Outside of bugs in Second Life, nobody can get your Friends/Calling Card list.
I don't know what "personal billing information" means, but your credit card
and such is also secured (unless someone breaks into LL's billing system
or web server). People can see what groups you are in, normally.

So, mostly you are being paranoid.

Except for the part about bugs and security breaches, of course.
(And there have been bugs. And security breaches.)
But the alternative is just not to have a Second Life!

I say don't be silly. If you contact a server, expect it to log your IP address. Website, media URL, it's all the same.

To split hairs further, 'hacker' is sometimes a term of respect for someone of technical skill, usually implying creative thinking, playful cleverness and a healthy disrespect for authority. It's usually applied to computer programming, but could be relevant to an area of expertise.

Even in computer security terms it can refer to testing security for non-malicious purposes, and doesn't necessarily imply illegal behaviour.

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hello Feldspar thank you for your reply - as to the multiple alts aka: avies in the club? My family has a gateway which allows several of us to use the Internet at once [On this gateway we can have two wireless and three desktops, nothing illegal there *smiles* it was one of the selling points to getting the gateway *smiles*], that day the Hostess, and DJ ask us to "tp" in our friends [which benefited them more then me], so I ask my sister to come in-world and check out this club, not unusual since she told me about SL to begin with -- So, I don't see how that could have been the issue. I don't enter contest if that is one of the reasons you might be thinking of so, no... in my way of thinking there was no true reason for it, other then misuse on their part.


I've since gone on and I'm enjoying my SL as most ppl here recommended *smiles* other then those two ppl wanting to scare "this newbie" there was no true reason for what they did, anyway again thank you for your comments *smiles ciao

NOTE: On this day she contacted me to "Inform" me of my IP addy - my sister wasn't on! and again there was nothing going on in the club but dancing so!! it's still a mystery!