Block forum guest IP addresses

[Andy135]

I understand that there is currently no way to block a guest IP address from viewing forums, which feels out of step with the ability to block registered members who then see nothing of the forum content, so here's a request to add functionality to block guest access by IP address.

[Nathan Explosion]

Use your firewall.

[Andy135]

27 minutes ago, Nathan Explosion said:

Use your firewall.

We're hosted on the Invision cloud service. Not sure we have the ability to do that?

[Nathan Explosion]

Ask them via a support ticket, but I also doubt it too.

[Charles]

I am curious why you would be concerned about someone who is not logged in viewing your site. At that point it is publicly viewable and everyone and everything (like search bots) can see it by design.

[Nathan Explosion]

I've just found the bigger picture...

 

[CoffeeCake]

It seems that if this is a concern for your community, you might consider registration (and being logged in) as a requirement to view content.

While it's noble to want to prevent someone malicious from seeing content that another person is posting, you'll find that short of controlling who can register and who can see your content, you will not be able to achieve the level of restriction you're seeking otherwise.

[Nathan Explosion]

4 minutes ago, CoffeeCake said:

It seems that if this is a concern for your community, you might consider registration (and being logged in) as a requirement to view content.

Totally agree.

[Andy135]

42 minutes ago, Nathan Explosion said:

I've just found the bigger picture...

 

Yep, that is the backstory to this feature request. I realise this is an edge case, but in this instance it would be super helpful for us to be able to block a guest IP.

[Andy135]

33 minutes ago, CoffeeCake said:

It seems that if this is a concern for your community, you might consider registration (and being logged in) as a requirement to view content.

While it's noble to want to prevent someone malicious from seeing content that another person is posting, you'll find that short of controlling who can register and who can see your content, you will not be able to achieve the level of restriction you're seeking otherwise.

Agreed - however my concern over this suggestion is the potential impact that locking down our content behind a registration-wall would have on our SEO ranking. Our community won't continue to grow if we're not easy to find.

For additional context, our community began life behind a registration-wall on a different platform and the founding members agreed that taking the forum out into the open was the right thing to do for the long-term future of the community. Hiding our content again would feel like a backwards step, and whilst we want to support the member in question, we can't put their needs over the needs of the community at large... which is why this feature request came to mind - seems like a good solution to help protect our members in specific cases like this without negatively impacting the visibility of the community.

[Andy135]

1 hour ago, Charles said:

I am curious why you would be concerned about someone who is not logged in viewing your site. At that point it is publicly viewable and everyone and everything (like search bots) can see it by design.

As @Nathan Explosion has found, the back-story to this request can be found here. Quite a specific use case, but clearly for the user in question it would be very welcome to know that they can communicate freely without fear of their comments being used against them offline.

 

[Nathan Explosion]

I'm having a think about adding an IP address check to this one...but again, IPs can be changed.

EDIT: yup, it's doable

Edited July 29, 2021 by Nathan Explosion

[Andy135]

5 minutes ago, Nathan Explosion said:

I'm having a think about adding an IP address check to this one...but again, IPs can be changed.

 

So instead of showing "site offline" to a user, you could show "site offline" to a guest IP? If so, that would be very helpful in this case.

[CoffeeCake]

34 minutes ago, Andy135 said:

clearly for the user in question it would be very welcome to know that they can communicate freely without fear of their comments being used against them offline.

It's your community, and you know it best, yet I'd suggest this is a slippery slope and offers a false sense of security. How do you know that another trusted long term member won't get into a situation with another member, necessitating you to intervene between those two? Or, that this person's ISP will randomly allocate them a new address? Or that this person has a new address every few weeks through no action of their own? Perhaps the IP space they are connected from blocks a large segment of others interested in your community. I would argue that IP blocks are antiquated and should not be used via IPS software, yet in CIC, it may be your only tool available. This type of blocking should be happening at the firewall.

Making spaces for more closed-knit interaction and giving members tools that empower them to be responsible for their online safety are far better directions to head. Consider using forums that are only available to long-term members, or clubs that members can decide who gets in and who does not. Give members the ability to change their display names. Link to resources that help users understand their role in being safe online.