RationalWiki talk:Check user

Truth about CheckUser on this site - they say it is disabled, but they are lying. Do you remember the time that Nx "temporarily installed" CheckUser to "prove some point" to Eira. Well, he installed it alright, but he never really removed it. Fact is, the cu_changes table still exists and is still being populated with everyone's IPs. Nx hacked it so that the CheckUser extension wouldn't come up in Special:Version, and it's Special page was not available in the UI, but all the data in cu_changes is being populated, and anyone with direct SQL access to the RW database can use it. (Also, when Nx says he gave up server access and only Trent has it now, Nx lies again - unknown to Trent, Nx has a secret backdoor so he can still gain access. Really quite clever, actually, he recompiled certain OS components from source to do it.... although not as thorough or impressive as Ken Thompson's famous hack) Nx admitted all of this to me recently, so that's how I know. 65.49.70.245 (talk) 04:30, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

A) Why would he tell you? B) Why would he bother C) Whats in it for him to do it? --Revolverman (talk) 04:33, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Nx would do it just because Nx is Nx - a nasty bastard. AceModerator 04:35, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * These are serious allegations, and demand a thorough investigation, not a whitewash. 176.31.108.212 (talk) 04:36, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Can't Trent see if it was installed in like half a second? --Revolverman (talk) 04:36, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Well, that would be a start. Maybe Trent should offer a screenshot of "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM CU_CHANGES" in MySQL. But Nx is smart yet sneaky, I would not put it past Nx to have cooked up some way of capturing the CheckUser info for himself yet hiding that from Trent. 176.31.108.212 (talk) 04:38, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

You realize that the base database structure of mediawiki stores IP address information? Tmtoulouse (talk) 04:45, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * , BON. Appeal to Nx is soooo boring. sterileevolutionist story telling 04:49, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * To elaborate a bit, as I said MediaWiki tracks IPs used by accounts as part of the base software installation. Checkuser is not needed for that. Individuals with server access have always had access to IP information, as well as a lot more information from server logs. We state this clearly in our legal FAQ and its just part of what happens when you use the internet. We protect this data though and don't user it except under special circumstances and the information is never made public or sold. As for nx, he left voluntarily of his own volition. In fact he reminded me of a few things I had to change or else he would still have access to the servers. There would be no need for a "hack." Tmtoulouse (talk) 04:53, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

@Trent, where does the base Mediawiki schema store IP addresses for logged-in users? I'm looking at the manual, and I don't see it. Sure, Apache logs would have IPs for even logged in users, but I guess you don't keep them forever, do you now? So tell us, is there data in the CU_CHANGES table or not? 74.120.15.150 (talk) 05:09, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Recentchanges table, CU_CHANGES last entry is 2011. Tmtoulouse (talk) 05:11, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * So are you going to delete CU_CHANGES?? Otherwise CheckUser hasn't really been uninstalled, despite Nx's claims to the contrary. And what is $wgRCMaxAge set to?? 93.182.132.103 (talk)
 * It's not on the top of my priority list. It's all set to default values, which is I think 3 months. Tmtoulouse (talk) 05:29, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

Seriously?
It's the internet. Websites log where you go. If the BON has an issue with this, it should go back to sending letters through the mail. I access the site from my home IP, my university and sometimes from the coffee shop down the way. Anyone who follows the wiki knows that I live in Michigan, that Ace is a Kiwi, that Human lives in New Hampsha, etc. etc. If NX, TmT or anyone else has the numbers that prove that, well, that's how the technology works. tempest in a teapot. Theory of Practice "I never set out to hit anybody. It's just that a lot of people got hit." -- Andy Roberts 13:03, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Bob Soles (talk) 13:13, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Wait! What? I'm being queitly monitored as I browse the internet? Well, fuck that for a game of soldiers! 16:06, 23 April 2012 (UTC)
 * Big Brother is watching.--Colonel Sanders (talk) 16:44, 23 April 2012 (UTC)