This one fact is really starting to worry me!

Christian Miller12 said:It seems like some users manage to sneak back onto the forum using clone accounts, even after being hit with partial or permanent bans. Why on earth are they being allowed to do that?

I'm telling you, Carlos is totally out of line!

Christian Miller12 said:So many posts, yet zero responses...🙂

How am I supposed to give an answer when there isn't even a question? 😕

nimbleviper142 said:If you look over in the moderator section under the archives, there are still threads explicitly stating that such a thing exists and that you actually use it. But hey, maybe I'm just imagining things. It’s probably just an urban legend, much like the rumors about moderator salaries—which, coincidentally, nobody ever writes about either. 😁

Perhaps it’s just me, but nobody ever mentioned it to me, and perhaps that's because I'm not getting a paycheck either.

Christian Miller12 said:So many posts and yet zero answers...🙂

Yes, truly, what exactly is the question here?🤔
If you have a specific grievance, please, go ahead and state it right now.

slywolf45 said:Maybe I’m the only one who wasn't told about this, or maybe I’m just the only one not getting paid.

How exactly are you expecting me to sit down if I didn't provide the current account number? 🙂 You can't really expect someone else to just step in and do your work for you.

Christian Miller12 said:Some users with partial or permanent bans still manage to sneak back onto the forum using clone accounts. Why is this being allowed to happen?

Honestly, why do you even care 🤔

Jose White18 said:I mean, how are you even supposed to sit there if you haven't reported the current balance? 🙂 You can't exactly expect someone else to step up and handle your basic responsibilities for you.

Current balance? Please. All I want is a suitcase full of hundreds. And enough cash to stuff under my mattress.😳

slywolf45 said:Seriously, what kind of question is that even supposed to be?🤔
If you actually have a specific grievance—and I mean a real, substantive complaint—then by all means, lay it out. Speak up right now—don't make me wait..

Look, either speak up or just shut up forever. 🙂

slywolf45 As specified by:
Maybe I’m just out of the loop and nobody bothered to mention it, or perhaps it’s just me—but I don't think my paycheck actually hit my account this time.

Honestly, I’m struggling to see where the actual question is here. What exactly are we asking?🤔
If you have any specific grievances, please speak up now.

Look, you gave me as much of an answer as you possibly could. You can't track every single moving part at once, and that’s just the reality of the situation. It is what it is.😁

So, I’ve been wondering—are you actually worried that we aren't turning up any clones, or is it more that you're secretly hoping we might stumble upon one eventually?
🙂

hollowtrucker77 said:Are you actually worried we aren't finding clones, or are you just hoping we stumble onto one?
🙂

Look, hollowtrucker77, just let it go. This girl is nothing but a total suck-up. Now she’s trying to play the whistleblower, too.

Man, our guys? They need to shut her down so hard her head spins all the way from New York to LA!

Nobody likes a fake or a cheapskate.👎

hollowtrucker77 is just being...👋

hollowtrucker77 said:So, I have to ask—are you actually worried that we aren't turning up any clones, or are you more concerned about what might happen if we actually managed to track one down?
🙂

🙂

I honestly believe you guys have the tools to track down every single one of them, so I’m struggling to understand the inconsistency. Why is it that sometimes they’re allowed to post away, and other times they’re wiped out immediately? Does the moderation strategy shift based on current site traffic, or is there some other metric at play here?
I have to wonder: why is there such an intense veil of secrecy surrounding the fundamental principles of how you all operate? It feels less like standard procedure and more like a coordinated effort to keep everyone in the dark.

Look, Gjidjimovic, give it a rest. I honestly have no idea who you are, and quite frankly, I couldn't care less. I’m not going to waste my time reporting you.🤣

vBulletin is actually a beast when it comes to hunting down forum clones. It nails things like writing styles, user habits—you know, login times, who they're hanging out with—and even which subforums they frequent. But honestly? Sometimes it just trips over its own feet, leaving mods and admins totally stranded.
The big headache happens when someone dodging a partial ban starts switching up their slang or jumping between different devices to stay online. It’s a nightmare. But word is, version 2.90 is supposed to fix all that mess, finally putting an end to these annoying forum clones once and for all.
The devs have already announced this powerhouse update, and it should be hitting the market by early 2012.
Hey, @cobanko, fingers crossed you'll finally get what you're looking for then. 🙂

Christian Miller12 said:🙂

I’m pretty sure you guys track down every single one of them eventually, so I honestly don't get why you let some slip through to post while others get nuked immediately; does it just depend on how busy the forum is at any given moment or what?
It feels like such a massive mystery, this whole principle you operate by.

Leave gjidjimovic alone, man; I have no idea who you are and I’m certainly not reporting you.🤣

We don't catch everyone,
🙂
it's more like we only start digging once someone catches our eye, whether it's because of their specific style, or they say something incredibly stupid, or... well, you get the idea.
Then there are those people who are basically clones of banned users, but they've actually cleaned up their act and aren't doing the same things that got them kicked off in the first place, so sometimes the moderators decide to look the other way.
The issue is that these folks often forget exactly why they were booted from the site, so they start singing the same old song and then—bam—they're gone again.
Unfortunately for anyone relying on various proxy servers, having different IP addresses doesn't guarantee them any kind of stealth status, much like it doesn't work for people who just manually change their own IP address.
To be fair, the easiest path would be to strictly allow connections only via an email address tied to a Comcast account, but at the end of the day, this forum is meant to be entertainment, and there's really no point in implementing heavy-handed restrictions.

hollowtrucker77 said:we don't catch everyone
🙂
it’s usually when someone catches your eye—either because of their style, or just pure stupidity, or... well, you know
you get people who are basically clones of banned users, but they've cleaned up their act and aren't pulling the same stunts that got them kicked out, so sometimes the mods look the other way
the issue is those types often forget why they were booted in the first place, start acting up again, and then—bam, gone
unfortunately for anyone using various proxy servers, having different IP addresses doesn't guarantee any kind of stealth mode, just like it doesn't work for people trying to manually swap out their own IP addresses
true, it would be easiest if we only allowed logins via an email linked to a specific Comcast account, but at the end of the day, this forum is just for fun and there's no point in bringing in heavy-duty security protocols

..but still, it does happen where "innocent" clones get banned, people who aren't even trying to cause trouble and just want to hang out and have some fun😉

man, you really smooth-talked your way into picking on me this morning.. 🤣 😬

hollowtrucker77 said:we don't catch everyone
🙂
it’s usually when someone catches your eye—whether it's their specific style, a blatant mistake, or... well, something else—that we start looking closer.
there are people who are essentially clones of banned users, but they've cleaned up their act and stopped doing whatever got them kicked in the first place—so sometimes, the moderators might look the other way.
the trouble is, those folks often forget exactly why they were removed from the forum in the first place, and once they start singing that old song again—well, they get booted.
unfortunately for anyone using various proxy servers, having different IP addresses doesn't guarantee any kind of stealth status—just like it doesn't work for those who just manually change their own IP address.
honestly, it would be easiest if we only allowed connections via an email address tied to a specific ISP, like Comcast, but at its core, this forum is about having fun—it wouldn't make sense to implement such rigid measures.

Yeah, that sounds like a solid method. 🙄

I was banned for over a year myself—I wasn't around the forum, heck, I didn't even have internet access—and in the meantime, every single newcomer to Formula 1 was branded as my clone and banned, though some managed to smooth things over with the moderators.

When I finally returned after a year, I asked a moderator to lift my ban, and he just threw insults and stones at me. 🤦

redheron12 said:Yeah, real effective method there 🙄

I was banned for over a year—didn't show up on the forum, hell, I didn't even have internet... meanwhile, every single newbie gets labeled as my clone or some ban candidate, and some of them actually ended up getting into massive fights with the mods.

So I come back after a year, ask a mod to lift the ban, and this jerk just starts throwing insults at me 🤦

..well, what can I say 😬 ..I'm with you on this one 😍

They actually banned Siniša Vuc and Duško Lokin because they thought he was some guy's clone... and then once poor guy shows up again a month later begging for mercy, they just toss him aside like trash..

..plus, Vuco and Lokin are chill people by nature 😬 ..they wouldn't cause any trouble even if they were clones of an unbanned user..

..man, give me a break... honestly, I'm just glad they didn't ban me for cloning after everything, let alone have me sitting here talking about how anyone would dare ban those two legends 😬 😎

ruggedfox28 said:...well, what can I say? 😬 ...I'm right there with you 😍...

They actually banned Siniša Vuc and Duško Lokin—thinking they were just clones of that guy "maminhov"—but once poor maminhov resurfaces after a month of silence begging for a second chance, they'll probably just toss him aside anyway...

...besides, Vuco and Lokin are such easygoing guys by nature 😬...even if they were clones of an unbanned user, they wouldn't cause any trouble...

...honestly, man... I'm just relieved that, after everything, I didn't even get flagged for cloning—let alone have to sit here debating whether anyone would actually dare ban those two legends 😬 😎

😁

All you have to do is check the banned users section to see why someone was kicked—then just open a clone account and pick up right where that unlucky soul left off. After a few times doing that, they're basically back in business without a permanent ban.🤣

hollowtrucker77 said:It’s just not possible to catch everyone.
🙂
It’s funny how that works. You’ll be going about your day when someone catches your eye—maybe because they have a certain style, or maybe because they’ve just done something spectacularly stupid—and suddenly, you feel this inexplicable urge to go digging. You just have to start checking them out to see what makes them tick.
It’s an interesting phenomenon, really. You occasionally run into people who are essentially clones of previously banned users. They’ve clearly scrubbed their old habits and aren't engaging in whatever nonsense got their predecessors kicked off the platform, so they tend to fly under the radar. Every now and then, you'll see the moderators turn a blind eye to them, likely because they’re actually behaving themselves for once.
The real issue is that these types of users often seem to have total amnesia regarding why they were banned from the forum in the first place. They come back, start playing the exact same broken record, and before you know it—it's the same old drama all over again.
Unfortunately, users who rely on various proxy servers seem to be under the impression that having a different IP address somehow guarantees them "stealth mode." It’s a common misconception. In reality, shuffling through proxies provides about as much actual anonymity as someone who just manually changes their IP address at home. Neither method offers the level of true digital invisibility people think they're getting.
Honestly, if you ask me, the path of least resistance would be to just mandate that everyone connects exclusively through their Comcast email address. It would certainly simplify things, wouldn't it? At the end of the day, we have to remember that a forum is fundamentally built for entertainment. It’s a place to hang out and pass the time, so I honestly don't see the point in imposing rigid, heavy-handed rules. It just kills the vibe.

🙂

Is it actually possible to pinpoint someone's exact location—like their specific street or home address—and would it even be permissible to leak that kind of data publicly here on the forum?

And that’s exactly how it goes—someone starts playing games, pushing boundaries, and suddenly everyone feels forced to tighten the screws even harder
until eventually, the whole point of both sides just evaporates into nothingness.

Look, it isn't exactly high art to behave like a total jerk, and honestly, neither the users nor the moderators should have to deal with this kind of nonsense in the first place.
ruggedfox28, I genuinely have no clue how you expected me to just hand you something that clearly violates the rules of this forum.
Isn't there a certain level of sheer audacity in asking for that?
But sure, if I go ahead and hit you with a seven-day ban like I’m supposed to, you’ll just be right back here whining about how the Admin team is being too harsh and how nobody understands you.

Christian Miller12 said:🙂

Is there any way to see where someone is actually located—like their specific street or home address—and more importantly, would it even be okay to post that kind of info right here on the forum?

I can probably dig up the exact address and the name registered to the line
No, absolutely not; you aren't allowed to post anyone's private information on this forum