IP Address Logging Issues...

[freefall]

hey all,
i am posting in this section as it is development in general, feel free to move it else where if it is not, as im sure you would.

i was just wondering, what are the issues with logging a client ip address when they post a comment on my blog system. this ip address would not be displayed to the public on any page, and only used in the admin section if the post was thought to contain spam, there for enabling an ip blocker...

just wondering if anyone *knows what the issues would be, as i dont want to get caught with illegal activities down the track...

Thank You all,

Justin

[gigemboy]

Logging IP addresses of posters to your website is not illegal at all, especially if it is not even public. Feel free to log to your hearts content An IP address is not, in any means, information that is private. Any site you go to has the right to get the client's IP address, and a user should not expect that this IP address is "private" information. Now if you were to go back with these IP addresses and try to connect to them, or somehow target them in any way for some sort of deviant behavior, then that is a whole other story

[freefall]

of course it would be...but that isnt the intended use for them in my case. thank you for the reply..

Justin

[si_the_geek]

FYI there many sites (including this one) use that sort of system, so it is perfectly legal.

One thing to note tho is that IP addresses can be dynamic, so by blocking an IP you may actually block other members of the same ISP, rather than the original poster.