can users see what state you are from?
Submitted by somercamb on Fri, 11/16/2012 - 05:03
Forums:
Hi folks,
I was just wondering if it is at all possible for a user to know what state you are in? I had someone, out of the blue, call me a profanity via chat that was related to the state I live in. How is that possible? I don't know anyone on SLSK.
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Soulseek is a peer-to-peer
Soulseek is a peer-to-peer network, which means that under the hood your IP address is exposed to other Soulseek users. With some technical proficiency, someone could get your IP address and use an IP to location database to figure out where you come from more or less. We use the information to display country flags in rooms, and Google for example uses the information to give you search results that are relevant to your location. It's pretty much unavoidable.
This is actually a feature I
This is actually a feature I like in Nicotine+ ... You can get the IP address of any user. I would like to be able to do that in Soulseek, too. I found it useful when deciding whether to ban a "suspicious" non-sharing downloader. Sometimes their location would be in their favor, other times not.
Disagree. This might cause
Disagree. This might cause trouble, since people might misuse this to effectively ban a selection of users due to political motifs!
Like, for example, one user from Moscow, Russia, who is an avid Putin follower decides to ban a Chechnyan user just because he hates Chechnyans just like the President from the former's country does.
Or some Iraqi might hate Americans 'per se', thus banning whole subnets full of Comcast or Verizon to vent his politically-driven, anti-American hatred. 'Whois' makes tasks like these a layman's job.
No, thanks.
Always consider possible side effects how these features may get misused!
i totally agree with this :)
i totally agree with this :)
we are all the same, no matter what the belief system or origin is.
Peace.