Hardware ID's and banished accounts

The new release's change to track hardware information for the logged on client gives me at least some hope for a return to sanity. If Linden Labs were to make it clear that any account which gets banished from SL, weather for lying about their age or for griefing, will also result in ALL alts associated with that hardware info also being banished or moved, as well as locking out that hardware info from creating or logging in with any new accounts while banished, that will go a long way to restoring my peace of mind.

I would like to see some clear statements from Linden Labs on a few proposed points:

If someone's account gets banished from SL by Linden Labs, for a limited period of time as a disciplinary action, or permenantly, will Linden Labs:

1: ... also banish all other accounts associated with the hardware info of the logged on system in the same manner?

2: ...ensure that the hardware is associated with that banned account is not permitted to create any NEW accounts while the ban is in effect?

3: ... ensure that if any banished account attempts to log on from another hardware ID, either because they altered their IP or MAC address info, or because they switched to a different computer, that the NEW hardware info will automaticly be added to the banishment, while the ban remains in effect? (Yes, this means banished accounts need to be able to track more than one hardware profile.)

In all of the above cases there will need to be a remediation procedure in case such banishments also affect a household that shares the same hardware ID profile. Some way for the rest of the family to get back on, even if one member causes them to get locked out.

With the advent of hardware profile tracking, which presumably is a hash of several identified factors for the hardware, and not solely the IP address or MAC address of the system, will Linden Labs PLEASE...

1: ... ensure that if a landholder in SL bans ONE account that someone has, that this also AUTOMATICLY bans ALL OTHER ACCOUNTS that share that same hardware profile. We as end users don't need to know who alll the alts were. Just as long as banning one of them keeps out ALL of that person's alts, without taking up a slot for each alt in the ban list.

2: ... ensure that other anti-griefing tools can ban or limit one avatar, and in so doing also ban or limit all their alts. Again, we don't need to know the names. But if I have a reason to keep one person off my land, that banishment from my land should affect all their alts as well.

Asking about this...

The purpose of gathering information about hardware is to make a best effort at identifying unique computers. If an account commits an offense that warrants permanent banning from Second Life, then the profile allows us to associate other accounts with that computer to ban them as well. It also allows us to identity *new* accounts that fit the profile and prohibit their access to Second Life.

There have been cases where family members or roommates have been banned inadvertently when we're dealing with an account that has shared a computer. In those cases we have worked with the people who shouldn't be banned to try to come up with a solution. There's no single way to address these circumstances -- it depends on the specific situation.

Please keep in mind that Linden Lab is not unique in gathering such information. It's a common way for companies on the Internet to protect themselves against fraud.