Ben Brockert (ben@mepotelco.net) [050413 13:50]:
On Tuesday, April 12, 2005, at 06:35 PM, David Gerard wrote:
Special:CheckUser is the IP-to-username checker Tim Starling implemented for en:. Those able to use it are him and me, and I hardly dare touch the thing :-)
YA-feature request: how about making it more private for the users? Instead of the utility taking one username and giving IP addresses, have it take two usernames and have it say whether or not they are the same IP? Or the same /24, to catch the dialup users. I don't think all sysops should have access to all user's IPs (I say that as a sysop, not as a tinfoil'd user), but I also think kicking sockpuppets should occur well before arbitration.
The trouble is the process requires considerable understanding of what's actually going on and what is and isn't a match, and that can't be automated. Clue cannot be Taylorised.
Basically, you have to either trust the person with the ability to see the numbers, or not.
- d.