# What Can a Message Board Mod/Admn Learn About Visitors to Their Site **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 26, 2003, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101 "2003-12-26T07:50:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/1 "2003-12-26T07:50:06Z")
Say on a MB like the SDMB/UBB, what identifiable things can be known to the people that run the board from an unregistered person lurking around? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/2 "2003-12-26T08:10:30Z")
I don’t know of any way a moderator can get any information about an unregistered lurker, and I think don’t Admins can either. I’m moving this to ATMB. **DrMatrix** - GQ Moderator ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/3 "2003-12-26T08:10:44Z")
not sure what options SDMB has for it’s mods but any server program can usually get ip address, general location, browser/os, what site they came from, and a few other I don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/4 "2003-12-26T08:37:18Z")
Thanks. Not really about this MB, just used it as an example. So if all available options were available are there any other things that may be found? I thought the IP Adderss on some Internet accounts like AOL, change every time the user logs on. What can be learned from the IP Address? \>\>What site they came from\<\< As in if one found the site from a Google search and then clicked on the link? Should have just said this first - the reason I asked. I have heard that a person was asked to register and become an active member by a mod/admn that noticed somebody frequently visiting the MB - BTW, it was not this board. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/5 "2003-12-26T09:28:05Z")
I run a website based not on VBB software but IPB and all I see if the ‘guests’ IP address. Then again it’s pretty luch all I see for ‘real’ members too actually. ---
**Author:** ![Gnarly\_Narly\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/858c86/32.png) [@Gnarly\_Narly\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gnarly_Narly_Dude)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/6 "2003-12-26T21:31:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Blown & Injected \* > \*\*\>\>What site they came from\<\< > As in if one found the site from a Google search and then clicked on the link? \*\* Yes. The usual reason for this is that if you come via an ad button placed on another site, then they can be given a “click-thru” ad credit. This is usually ignored unless there is a referal payment system in place. As for other things, it might surprise you to see all they can learn. Go to this site to see: [http://www.showmyip.com/](http://www.showmyip.com/) For example, when I go I see this: IP #… Browser/user-agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 95) Date/time stamp: 20031226 163020 EST Friday, December 26th, 2003 16:30 pm Time Server stamp: ([time.nist.gov](http://time.nist.gov)) 52999 03-12-26 21:30:25 00 0 0 146.2 UTC(NIST) \* Local Date/time: Friday, December 26, 2003 1:30:41 PM Fri, 26 Dec 2003 21:30:41 UTC Country: US-United States State: CA City: Stockton Language(s): en-us Internet Service Provider (ISP): Pac-West Telecomm, INC. IP Address belongs to (Organization): Pac-West Telecomm, INC. Accept:image/gif, image/x-xbitmap, image/jpeg, image/pjpeg, application/vnd.ms-excel, application/msword, application/x-shockwave-flash, application/pdf, _/_ Accept-Encoding:gzip, deflate Connection:Keep-Alive ---
**Author:** ![Kristen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c4cdca/32.png) [@Kristen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kristen)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/7 "2003-12-26T22:57:12Z")
Anyother way is if it’s one of the shared bulletin boards that have a common login. Like the Yahoo boards. Sign in to one, and cruise another, and they can see who you are. Same with Passport sites on your Microsoft/Hotmail account. If you’ve been reading email and are still logged in and then go to their photo system, your email name is logged at that site. I think Usenet is similar? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/8 "2003-12-27T04:48:25Z")
From http logs you can tell referrer, IP address, browser and OS. Well, at least what your system reports it is. All of these can be faked of course; I will refrain from posting more about that. From the Admin controls and “Who’s Online” you can tell IP addreses of all unregistered guests. You can trace these back to some extent, even on AOL. For some reason even AOL traceroutes will sometimes go back to the user’s city or even their house. Other times it will die very early on. I admit that I do not yet know why this happens, but it does. Ones from Washington D.C. seem to go back to the house, as do some from Connecticutt. ---
**Author:** ![Blown\_Injected](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@Blown\_Injected](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blown_Injected)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/9 "2003-12-27T06:45:29Z")
Thanks for the replies! ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/10 "2003-12-27T09:20:07Z")
Are your eyes really blue? your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-can-a-message-board-mod-admn-learn-about-visitors-to-their-site/221101/11 "2003-12-27T09:20:25Z")
Just kidding. your humble TubaDiva