IPs Intranets and WA membership

[Baxter Thwaites]

I have a technical question? How does NationStates handle the situation when more than one person, each using their own computer, is a WA member, but they are on the same intranet and/or have the same IP? For instance if a few players are in an office or a classroom (or even a home, I guess) and their computers are all on the same internal network behind a single server or hub which has the same IP? Also what if different users are using computers in a school or university computer lab to log in to their nations and that lab has one gateway and IP and, in this case, users cannot be certain who used the same machine before them or what machine they will be assigned the next time they use the lab? Thank you for the info.

[Katganistan]

Don't use public computers, period.
Don't let anyone sign their WA nation onto your computer.
Don't sign your WA nation onto anyone else's computer.

If you remember to do that, you should be ok.

[Baxter Thwaites]

Perhaps you misunderstood me. I’m not suggesting that I sign in on anyone else's computer. I'm asking about when the computer I (or anyone else in the same situation) I use is on a network, and it uses the same gateway and IP as all other computers on the network. Does the game simply assume that all computers with the same IP are the same machine? (Some people have home networks, and most businesses with multiple computers are networked together, but these are different machines.)

Regarding my other question, back when I was in college I couldn't afford my own computer, but there were computers in the complab that we could sign in and use. Where I live now, people can go to the library and sign in there for internet access. Some people's only access to the net is that way. But you don't always get the same machine when you do that. I thought this would be a problem for NS, but I didn't know, and I wanted to ask for those people who don't have access of their own.

[Erastide]

Computers in a dorm situation have generally been okay when it's just your computer and only you use it for NS. What Kat says would apply to your situation of using the library computers though. Generally not a good idea if you have a WA you want to keep safe.

[[violet]]

You can use your common sense. If you play in a library, and it's unlikely many others (or anyone) uses those terminals for NationStates, you'll probably be fine. But if you play in a school library, and many of your friends are also NS players, and you frequently swap back and forth at the same computers, the game will likely think you're a WA cheat.

As discussed elsewhere, it's not just done on IP addresses.

[North Wiedna]

Really?

The thought didn't cross my mind...

Oh, wait, NW doesn't have WA status! SAFE!

Speaking of course of the GT Laptop. Many a NS user has passed through its hallowed keys with some green stuff on the Enter button.

[Bears Armed]

You can use your common sense. If you play in a library, and it's unlikely many others (or anyone) uses those terminals for NationStates, you'll probably be fine.

For example, I've been using library computers since July 2005 without any problems along these lines...

[Baxter Thwaites]

That's good. Thanks for the information, everyone. Thanks, especially, violet, about the IP info. I use my office computer sometimes and there are a lot of other machines in the building. I don't know if anyone else plays nation states, but we are all on one intranet, with one IP, so that is what worried me most. Thanks again, all.