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My replies appear as poster's...?
| Bug Swatter |
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My replies appear as poster's...? |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg 
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I've found a hidden feature, I do believe. OK, I gave one reply to each poem by ShadyMakaveli in Teen Poetry #6. Despite the fact that we are not the same person, the poem wasn't bumped up when I replied, and it now has a white folder, indicating that the last one to reply was the poster, although it was me. Confusing, no? |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Are you working from the same computer? |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
Not to my knowledge, no. Unless someone's using my computer as that username... freaky... I should start locking my door...  Are the ISPs the same? I'm almost positive that I'm the only one posting from my house. I only have one sibling and she's not exactly the poetic type. Learn to place poetry before people |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Yes, the ISP's ARE the same. |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
that is absolutely freaky... I don't know what's going on, I'm the only person who uses my computer in my family. My sister just got hers, but that was after these were posted. Either somebody is breaking into my house and using my computer, or I'm sleep-posting poetry... uh... and then replying to it while I'm awake... That would be absolutely cool, but I doubt it's true, as I doubt the other. This is really weird. I'm going to have to start using my webcam to record security videos.  Parasite Learn to place poetry before people |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
That, or fix your computer with a password. But yes, the ISP address are the same for you and the other poet. |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
I use both my home computer and the computers at my university. The reply I gave to each of his poems was done on my home computer, but could that possibly be a factor? Right now I'm using my university's computers so my ISP right now should be different from the ones on my reply. I'm trying to figure this out. I hope you understand this is extremely confusing for me. |
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serenity blaze Member Empyrean
since 2000-02-02
Posts 27738 |
Perhaps you just have a "beautiful mind?"  I dunno why I find this so amusing, but I do...I would be delighted if I had someone I could talk poetry with here, but to use your puter without you knowing...hmmm..kind of akin to someone digging through your underwear drawer!  |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
Hah... yeah, I think it's kind of funny too, from an objective point of view... It's spooky for me, but I still think it must be some kind of mistake. Teen #6 was around before my sister had her computer, and Shady was posting in Teen #5 long ago. The only possibility is that this person is somebody I know, who doesn't tell me this is their username, and uses my computer (at least for the last few posts) in order to access PIP. Really, really weird. |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Ron will be able to tell you whether or not there could be a more serious problem...and as soon as he gets in here, he may ask you for a trouble ticket, or to respond to him directly through the computer[s] that seem to be posing the problems. As to Serenity's reply about people going through your underwear...that's an entirely DIFFERENT subject matter... |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
I'll check in here later today, after my next class, and tonight, at home on my personal PC. It would make a lot more sense if this was some kind of error. Thanks, Sunshine.  |
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Crazy Eddie Member
since 2002-09-14
Posts 178 |
It may not be that confusing if Ron uses the username to determine whether the post is bumped and the IP address to work out who posted the last reply. For this to work (or not work) properly you’d have to have the same IP as the original poster, which is possible if you use the same ISP or connect via a LAN. In both cases a proxy server would supply the IP for Internet connection and route the requests back to the originating PC. I’m not saying this is what is actually happening, I’m sure Ron will give you the definitive answer, but I thought I’d take a wild stab in the dark until he got round to it. [This message has been edited by Crazy Eddie (09-23-2002 07:28 PM).] |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
I exchanged emails with this member, and it so happens that he's not using my computer and is not even posting them from my house... I don't know how our ISP numbers can appear the same... I've never heard of this before. Perhaps it's a bug somewhere? |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
Another member just posted a reply to one of my poems. Now I don't really care whether or not she bumps it up, considering she's not really replying (I know this girl), but I think I've found what this situation is... We all use the same internet service provider, Shaw Cable, to access the internet. Me, Risa (paintbrusher), and ShadyMakaveli; that is. Does this mean that anybody from Winnipeg, who uses Shaw Cable to go online, can't reply to anyone else who uses Shaw Cable and expect to bump the poem? I should go and try replying to Android 17, as I know he also uses Shaw. (I just did, in fact... and it actually did bump him up to the top. I'm almost positive he uses Shaw, but he might have DSL... I'll have to ask him) I'm sorry, but this is really bothersome for me. The idea that I couldn't reply to someone I know in the city, and see their post bumped as a result, bugs me... because I have been trying to bring people I know into PIP. And like I said earlier, I reply to almost everything in Teen #6... which would leave those posts buried beneath everything else, instead of where they deserve to be. Can this please get some attention? I consider it a rather bothersome problem. [This message has been edited by Local Parasite (09-26-2002 07:34 PM).] |
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Crazy Eddie Member
since 2002-09-14
Posts 178 |
The ISP being the same would seem to point to the problem being IP related. While you is in a testing mood why don’t you try and find out what IP address you are both using. You can do that by looking at your profile in the members area, at the bottom of that page the last IP presented to the server is displayed but bear in mind that the address you are using now may not be the same one you were using when the problem occurred. If you want to confirm that you are being routed through a proxy all you need to know is the IP of your machine and compare the two, if they’re the same you are using a unique IP, if they are different you are using a proxy. The easiest way to find your PC’s IP under Win95 is to open a DOS session and at the command prompt type: Winipcfg It should return the address of your machine laid out in a set of four three-digit numbers. Later versions of Windows use a similar command - ipconfig Like I said earlier having the same IP address isn’t uncommon, the number of IP’s available is finite so ISP’s and LAN managers cheat a little by masking the original users IP with one or more generic real world addresses. If Ron is using the IP along with the username to determine who the user is a scenario such as the one you describe is possible. Does that mean that all members using the same ISP could have the same IP? They COULD but it’s not guaranteed, ISP’s generally have a range of numbers that are given out on a round robin basis to their users, in other words it’s potluck. As I said this is only a stab in the dark, Ron will I’m sure get back to you with a more knowledgeable answer. |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
Thank you... I don't really know how IP numbers work or anything, so your input was really helpful to me. I'll just wait around for Ron I guess. |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
Your problem is almost certainly a result of the ISP using a proxy server as detailed in this thread. It's a bit unusual to see a local ISP do it, and even more unusual for a cable provider (they typically assign static IP addresses that never change). As I indicated in the tech thread cited, it's far more common for the big ISP's or for companies on a LAN. The program checks the Username of the person who posted the poem against the Username of the person replying and, if they're the same, does not bump the post. This is our standard un-bump feature. The intent is to make the system more fair, so that a few people can't keep their work on page one constantly and so that even more can feel free to thank people without "seeming" like they are trying to keep their post on page one. About a month ago, I noticed there were a few people using aliases to bump their own work. I also noticed a few instances of nepotism, where valid Members were bumping the poems of others in the same household. That detracted a bit from the fairness of the un-bump, so I changed the programs to also start checking IP addresses. If the IP of the computer making the originating post is the same as the IP of the computer replying, there is no bump. The situation, as I saw it, revolved around two people sitting at the same computer. If Jack wanted to tell Jill how great her poem was, he had probably already done that verbally and (we would hope) in much greater detail than a posted reply. So why bother with posting a less detailed reply? The only reason would be to bump the poem, and that wasn't fair to all the others here. In your unusual case, that's admittedly a bit unfair. But only a bit, because the bump isn't really meant to keep someone's friends near the top. The intent of the bump is to bring the best poetry to the top. I'm not suggesting you would ever purposely bump a "bad" poem, just because it was posted by an off-line friend, but you and I both know that a lot of others would (and probably still do). Even if you didn't do it purposely, most courts would consider you a "prejudicial" witness just because of the personal ties to someone. You can still reply, of course, but the system assumes you are responding to the person and your reply doesn't carry the same weight as a stranger who is replying to the poem. Again, your situation is unusual and, yea, probably a little unfair. Unfortunately, I'm afraid the alternative would be unfair to everyone else. The good news is that, if your friends are posting superlative poetry, there are a whole lot of others here who CAN bump them to the first page. |
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Allan Riverwood
since 2001-01-04
Posts 3502Winnipeg |
Ahhh, okay... much clearer. Guess I'm just in bad luck.It's strange that three people who use Shaw all have the same IP address... but I understand why my case isn't reason enough for you to change the way things work. Thanks for the input.  |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Is Local Parasite really Allan Riverwood? The mystery continues... |
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Sudhir Iyer Member Ascendant
since 2000-04-26
Posts 6943Mumbai, India : now in Belgium |
huge mystery indeed.... regards, sudhir |
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bsquirrel
since 2000-01-03
Posts 7855 |
Oops. |
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Local Parasite
since 2001-11-05
Posts 2527Transylconia, Winnipeg |
Want me to solve the mystery? The answer is yes. I apologize if it was any mystery. Don't ask, don't tell, right? Oh and Ron - I think I may have misled you somewhat. Winnipeg is a very large city, and I've known many people who post on here to have come from Winnipeg, and still be complete strangers. Today, for example, I was running through Teen and replied to the member "quietlydying," only to find my reply didn't bump her poem up. I suppose she lives in Winnipeg, too. It's surprising that so many people share my ISP, and disheartening to know that my replies won't be the same for them simply because they happen to come from the same city as me. I wish there was some more obvious solution. [This message has been edited by Local Parasite (09-30-2002 02:15 AM).] |
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Marshalzu
since 2001-02-15
Posts 2681Lurking |
Local Parasite is Allan Riverwood *feels a frontpage headline coming on*  |
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