Walshy wrote:Thank you Josh.

I have read them and it states no where that we agree to allow fellow players to have access to private and confidential information which would also refer to allow others to access our IP address's.

They do need to change the terms and conditions for all to agree and allow all players agree that a moderator is in fact an employee and may have access to private information and state the private information, so maybe this would be a suggestion for ZE to make or to take away Moderation rights for viewing other player details in regards to there IP address?

i think a mod would fall under an agent of the company...the mods are more like unpaid interns;)

The only reason I check IPs is for imping, or in the case of the forums to see if someone is circumventing a ban. Basically if you haven't broken any rules, I don't check your IP. That being said, that's only what I do. I can't attest for the actions of other mods or temp mods. I actually agree that temp mods shouldn't have the right to look at IPs, but I don't know if coding will allow only actual mods and not temp mods from being able to check IPs.

Well in that case, you could probably code a half-op? Someone with the right to kick and ban, but nothing else?

Since there seems to be a typical misunderstanding regarding privacy and IP addresses I would like to emphasize the following:

Each computer contains a unique IP, Internet Protocol address. This particular address will not give away private or personal information, however, a weak link could potentially reveal information from your ISP. Furthermore! If you use the IP address in any combination with other information to identify a user it is regulated under the Privacy act and article 29! Thus making the IP address a personal information and is not viewed as a neutral component from that point of. As you see, the context define wether the IP address is viewed as personal or not!

Dynamic IP addresses are not treated as strickt as static IP addresses ,but they are both bound by the same law and article.

When a moderator in Zorg can combine IP address with a users ingame profile it will be considered as personal information.

No player should be allowed to see any other users IP address or link the IP address to a specific user profile! Its not allowed re article 29 nor is it ethical from Z to allow a player even though he is a "trusted" moderator due to the fact that he is a part of the game! Any player participating in the gameplay is subject to distrust if he is allowed personal information!

If Zorg need players to contribute as moderators etc. then its easy to write a perl, python script or in C / C++ a IP_check_User routine to check the logs for anomalies and push forward information to Zorg employees. Thus respect the users right for privacy but still be able to report suspect gamers!

Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data. Under EU law, personal data can only be gathered legally under strict conditions, for a legitimate purpose. Furthermore, persons or organisations which collect and manage your personal information must protect it from misuse and must respect certain rights of the data owners which are guaranteed by EU law.

Brgs,
BonA.

I have seen some valid points here and I have approved and prioritized this for the next chat update. This will take place alongside with the new login system for chat which will give us flexibility for 1-click chat permanent bans and universe identification with no ability to impersonate anyone (thus IP address will be not needed in any way by then).

As for ability to clone an IP, that's an absolute lie. I am aware of a way with advanced scripting that lets you spoof an IP address but I highly doubt than any person with such high intelligence to do this would ever stoomp this low.

Regarding personal info talk, here is partial info from #3 of our Terms of Service:

Zorg Empire PRIVACY POLICY

Zorg Empire collects minimum data and information from you. Such can be your ip adress and your hostname.

If you cannot accept this, I will happily permanently ban the accounts in game/forums (or you can stop using our service) and this can end here for anyone that feels uneasy.

Realistically speaking, there is very little to worry even if you broadcast your IP to every hacker in this world. But since some people would prefer to hide tit from chat mods, I find this a rational demand therefore it has been forwarded.

There is nothing more to discuss here and this will be locked. Feel free to avoid chat till you see this tagged as Implemented, in case you do not wish your IP to be visible to chat mods.

Implemented