Is it time to clamp down on secondary / multiple accounts now with the advent of ranked tournaments. New accounts seem to be springing up with some pros using them for ranked tournaments. It means you have no idea who you are really playing against when you are drawn against such an account.

No real way to clamp down without making it harder for other users such as family members etc.

Agree totally with the banning of multiple accounts, but could prove very difficult where there are genuine IP address sharing, ie same family.

Where the account is blatantly a second account of a user, they should be banned.

This is happening too often recently

There would be an issue surely with older premium accounts. Talkin as someone who's seen 7 years of this rule bein not inforced unless more rules have been violated I would be very annoyed to all of a sudden see premium accounts being banned!

whats the difference lets be honest, you can have more than one account IF you do not log into both at the same time, using one account for a ranked tournament and the other for friendly i can see nothing wrong with this.

you lose less to a newbie than you would a normal member.

while on the topic of 2nd accounts, i think its wrong that you cannot post on a 2nd account, what if its family, the family members get punished for doing nothing, its wrong imo.

IF people log into both at same time then i would agree that the higher account would need a reset and the 2nd account banned but other than that its wrong.

You'll lose less points against them though if they are on a new account and in newbie mode, and seeing as though you don't choose your opponent in the ranked tournys then this argument for the clamping down on second accounts seems to hold little water when it's actually an advantage for you.

Not interested in the points here - I want to know who I am playing. Certain players have certain styles of play. They have a significant advantage - they are not going to lose rank on their main account if they lose and they know exactly who the opponent is. Whereas if I lose I lose points on my one and only account and I don't know who the opponent is......

That's the same for any ranked game though?

To clarify a 850 pro playing on a newbie second account may play a shot he / she wudn't normally play cos they have nothing to lose in terms of their main ranking account....

So they are keeping their rank on their main account if they lose whereas I would lose rank on my only account if I lose, thus Nick's objective of achieving true rankings is not being achieved.

For the first offence, possibly, the second account could be banned, and for repeat offenders then the main account. Apart from that totally agree Jim.



It's quite clear from the rules you cannot. The fact is that it is not, understandably, something that is routinely policed due to the size of the player base. But just because it relies more on self-policing does not make it OK and where they come to light, for whatever reason, they ought to be removed.



I think that is to underestimate the common sense and judgement of staff members in identifying appropriate cases that warrant action.



sums it up perfectly if you are trying to create a level playing field for all - and yes it applies to ranked games too - even more reason for action.

but if an admin tells you can have a 2nd account as long as you dont log into both at the same time then whats the problem.

poolers are too strict imo as we dont have any problems with 2nd accounts on snooker.

and all the talk of making all tournaments ranked this is a perfect example why they should be a mix of tournaments to suit everyone, the people who want to rank up and the people who don't.

Edited at 19:36 Tue 16/11/10 (GMT)

wont it be difficult to tell if people have second accounts as they will use a different ip address to there main account?

if its the same computer they could find out but the only problem would be to determine if its family or not.

The rule is clear presumably so that it can be enforced when warranted. Because second accounts aren't routinely searched for your scenario of playing friendlies on a second account is not likely to come up on the staff radar causing a problem.

We are talking about something a little more specific here, using the second account for a purpose contrary to the aims and ideals of the site, and when identified the banning of multiple accounts is therby enforcable from an existing rule with little room for complaint.

There is no real common sense argument for some tournaments ranked and some not if you seek a proper ranked system. If that isnt the objective then have whatever mixture you want.

Got to point out the irony of this... When it was created by someone who takes rank off their friend who plays on both their friends accounts?

Just seems it wasn't an issue when it was working out for them fine?

Omg it's a online game you never know who your really playing lmao.

Also i do believe you have relatives who also play on here or did, so do I and many others, this would probably mean they wouldnt be able to play just to make absolute sure people are not multiple using. Silly idea imo play the game, win/lose or draw, its just a game quit with the silly ideas. This is just my opinion btw, i mean no offence.

As I created this post I assume emma_jane ur last post refers to me. I never play on any other accounts aside from this one and I have never met anyone else who plays on this site. I play competitive and friendly games v anoneemouse and it is expensive when I lose cos of rank difference.

I would just like to see an even playing field with one account per user, all tournies ranked, I even think it would be good if everyone reset and then see what the top rankings look like in say 3 months time. I expect they wudnt be much difference but at least Nick wud have achieved his aim.

You only have to look at the current 9 ball rankings to see an example of the system being abused.

I won't put it here but am happy to message you with names? I didn't say *you* played on diff names am saying a good friend you play plays on 2 names same pic on letter diff and you seemed happy to play them on both names.

Not after a row. Just seems a tad wierd that this is now your view

resetting everyone is not an option, all ranked tournaments is not an option unless you want even more users on second accounts, i dont play in ranked tournaments on here and i won't because i like my friendly games.

snooker is a different story as i dont care about my rank on there as i reset once.