I have an honest question. How do you ban a user? I have been a member for many years, and read and post on many boards. I see the topic come up now and then about bannng certain people. I am not opposed to that. There are people I would like to see banned. My question is how is that possible? You sign up here anonomously with an email address. If you get banned, can't you just sign up again with another email adress, and again, and again... Is it an IP adress thing? Can't you just use another computer? I mean how many people have access to only one computer these days? Computers at work, computers at home, desktops, laptops, ipads, smartphones, libraries, coffeeshops, ... I'm no computer techie, so maybe I am missing something, but it is just something I have wondered about for years. Many posters call for banning of certain posters, and TER rules even say they will ban users for certain offenses. I just don't see that as being possible. Or I take that back. They can ban anyone, but there is no way to prevent them from coming back the next day, (or five minutes later for that matter.) as a new member.

If you used a computer or smartphone before it will likely be 'tainted' as far as use for future sign-ups to TER.

Or credit card verification.

Mobile phone SMS verification is the standard now for many email account sign up.

Credit cards would not work because you can register any name and address you can think of to a prepaid visa / MC card.

Similar problem with trac, straighttalk, virgin mobile type phones.  I have four myself.

Some services change IP often or others if you reboot the cable box...  though they remain in the same range assigned to the service provider.  There are ways to route through another servier.  
I admin a non-hobby board & can "ban" by IP but that does not prevent them from trying to come back.  Which p*sses off the staff & we ban the new IP...  as many times as necessary.  
TER is set up to catch self reviews or hobbists using the providers computer or wireless.  
skb

I have never heard of that. Kids have email accounts and they don't have credit cards. And while most people have mobile phones, not everyone does. I can't see how they would require that for an email account. But anyway, as I said I just created a new one, so your point is not true. And yes if TER required credit card information or SS numbers or some true identity verification, then they could of course ban people, BUT they would have almost no one to ban because most people would not sign up with their real information, so there wouldn't be members. People join this site anonomously because of what is discussed no this site. My point was how can you ban an anonymous person. Of course you can ban a real person, but they would lose thousands of members if they demanded real information to begin with.

You can only ban someone temporarily because they can keep coming back with a new identity and a new ip. So in essense you can't really 'ban' someone

but my point was they would come back with a different computer or smartphone.