Riot IP Bans

Qrowº·May 5, 2015·1 votes·887 views

I just finished a game where one player who was mad at something that was said in champ select demanded an apology or he would throw the game. Needless to say, he didn't get one, so we lost. We of course all reported him afterwards, but he said it would be pointless as he could just buy another account for like $15.

After doing some research, i found that Riot doesn't do ip bans. So what do they do to limit this kind of behavior? People who just buy new accounts constantly can easily avoid bans, and therefore, punishment. So i'm curious, does Riot have an answer for this?

10 Comments

disregardableMay 5, 20153 votes

IP bans? I'd be surprised if that specific account even got a warning notice.

QrowºMay 5, 20151 votes

Right, but I'm just wondering if Riot is aware of this hole in their punishment effectiveness

Ice Weasel XMay 5, 20153 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ice Weasel X,realm=NA,application-id=LFfTlAky,discussion-id=RlsvcNso,comment-id=0005,timestamp=2015-04-16T03:36:46.092+0000)

IP bans are not a fix for this. Reasons this would be ineffective:

Most users these days are given dynamic, temporary IP addresses. This is because IPv4 is still widespread and simply doesn't have enough numbers available to accommodate all Internet nodes. An IP ban only affects someone until he changes to a new IP address.

Due to the limitations of IPv4, private networks often are assigned only one public IP address (larger organizations may have more than one). The computers on the private network have their own private IP addresses which are not visible to the outside world. Internet traffic is sent to the public address through a gateway, which is then routed to the correct individual on the private network.

Since an entire private network only uses one public IP address for the Internet, all of its users are publicly identified by that single address. An IP ban would deny access to every person on that private network. "No big deal," you think? Here are examples of private networks:

Home network: Most homes with multiple computers share a single connection to the Internet. Your little brother got an IP ban? Well, so did you.

Public library: Every Internet-enabled computer is part of the library's network. That asshole on the other side of the room got an IP ban? So did everyone in the library.

Internet café/PC Bang: Those computers aren't on individual connections. If a player gets an IP ban, that business is screwed.

University network: Each building or group of buildings may have a separate LAN which is part of a larger WAN. All connections in the same campus are funneled into a single gateway. Someone got too drunk at a frat party and decided it was the perfect time to troll LoL? Too bad, everyone in the WAN is now banned.

Business network: An entire workplace may have separate VLANs for departmental structure, but all computers in the same location still use the same gateway in most cases. Someone had a bad day at work and decided to vent on his lunch break? Oops, he crossed a line and got banned. No more LoL for anyone at that company.

In some countries, even completely separate companies/organizations are forced to share a single IP address due to limited availability (I spent some time in the Philippines and noticed a few businesses whose ISPs placed them on a private network instead of assigning them a public address. Due to the cramped metropolitan area, it was physically possible, but still sucked.).

Often the person who earned the ban can circumvent it for his own purposes (making the ban worthless), but that still leaves anyone else using that IP address with a "banned" status.

In other words, ban one turd, and you potentially ban thousands of people. For small, personal networks, that's not a big deal and can easily be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. For larger scale businesses with millions of connections (like Riot), this is a HUGE problem and is bound to cause massive losses in potential revenue.

QrowºMay 5, 20151 votes

Perhaps the discussion title was misleading, but I know ip bans aren't the solution, and that Riot doesnt do them. I'm just wondering if there might be another solution.

Ice Weasel XMay 5, 20152 votes

[{quoted}](name=I KillingEdge I,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=LoPT5bzE,comment-id=00020000,timestamp=2015-05-05T08:06:50.333+0000)

Perhaps the discussion title was misleading, but I know ip bans aren't the solution, and that Riot doesnt do them. I'm just wondering if there might be another solution.

Well, they already ban transferred accounts once they determine they have changed hands. They aren't going to ban the accounts before they're sold unless they're found guilty of other transgressions such as botting/boosting. They don't issue site-specific permanent bans because too many innocents are potential victims. There isn't really a lot they can do that they aren't already pursuing. They just don't publicize everything they do to avoid letting people know how to escape detection.

Occams RaiserMay 5, 20151 votes

people don't do this a lot. they create new accounts worse case. then they get to troll and smurf. And no one gets banned anyway. You can troll 100 games if you want. Don't look for just ice in game land.

QrowºMay 5, 20151 votes

[{quoted}](name=Occams Raiser,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=LoPT5bzE,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2015-05-05T07:04:59.964+0000)

people don't do this a lot. they create new accounts worse case. then they get to troll and smurf. And no one gets banned anyway. You can troll 100 games if you want. Don't look for just ice in game land.

I'm not sure i like this philosophy.

Occams RaiserMay 5, 20151 votes

Someone posted an account with over 30 games in a row where the "player" was afk (script bot) failed to build or cs. Even if they got banned shortly after the post that was still bullshit. 30 ranked games ruined by one account. Reports that aren't verbal abuse seem to be a waste of time. Leave busters get afk's (happen to me) with a slap on the wrist. All other reports are filed under trash.

Aurora DonnMay 5, 20151 votes

While I hope this isn't true, It certainly feels this way right now.

I hope riot finds a way to fix the situation. TwistedFate

Angry MonsterMay 5, 20151 votes

How would an IP ban do anything for you. You just call your isp and ask them to assign your modem a new one. Most people have something called Dynamic IPs.

Also people play can play from different locations. Each location will have a different IP.

Why on earth would you think an IP ban would work? Please do some research.