cmbl wrote: ↑Sat Jun 20, 2026 3:00 pm
As overused as the word "relationships" is in my circles, I will use it. Relationships are built on trust. The sockpuppet should be banned.
PeterG wrote: ↑Sat Jun 20, 2026 3:09 pm
The untruthfulness that Max/JohnL represents is corrosive to healthy interactions both in real life and online. I believe he should be banned.
If the moderators do decide to allow MaxPC to stay around, I think it would be better if the rest of us would refrain from constantly challenging his stories. I don't think the constant bickering and sniping is healthy for us.
We've been there before. Lying is acceptable, challenging lies is not. The liar builds a faction of defenders over time, and even if the lies have been clearly exposed more than once, they become the truth with repetition, at least for some people. I think that becomes toxic to the environment here. We've seen that with MaxPC. How many people have been burned for telling the truth?
I don't think we have any rules about this, but I think this is also relevant: both MaxPC and JohnL have their own causes, unrelated to anything vaguely Mennonite, and are using MN as a kind of blog, personifying a personality in a way that we mostly do not and would not here. With both of them, it's striking that they aren't actually here for a purpose related to the purpose of MennoNet.
0 x
1. Are we discussing the topic? Good.
2. Are we going around and around in a fight? Let's stop doing that.
3. Is there some serious wrongdoing or relational injury? Let's address that, probably not in public and certainly not for show.
Bootstrap wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2026 9:41 pm
These two posts speak to me:
cmbl wrote: ↑Sat Jun 20, 2026 3:00 pm
As overused as the word "relationships" is in my circles, I will use it. Relationships are built on trust. The sockpuppet should be banned.
PeterG wrote: ↑Sat Jun 20, 2026 3:09 pm
The untruthfulness that Max/JohnL represents is corrosive to healthy interactions both in real life and online. I believe he should be banned.
If the moderators do decide to allow MaxPC to stay around, I think it would be better if the rest of us would refrain from constantly challenging his stories. I don't think the constant bickering and sniping is healthy for us.
We've been there before. Lying is acceptable, challenging lies is not. The liar builds a faction of defenders over time, and even if the lies have been clearly exposed more than once, they become the truth with repetition, at least for some people. I think that becomes toxic to the environment here. We've seen that with MaxPC. How many people have been burned for telling the truth?
I don't think we have any rules about this, but I think this is also relevant: both MaxPC and JohnL have their own causes, unrelated to anything vaguely Mennonite, and are using MN as a kind of blog, personifying a personality in a way that we mostly do not and would not here. With both of them, it's striking that they aren't actually here for a purpose related to the purpose of MennoNet.
The “bickering” certainly is not, was not, limited to Max & JohnL- the forum has constant bickering without their presence.
Maybe this depends how you view MN, i see it as a anonymous forum I can just spout off an opinion and no one can stop me unless its hateful or harmful. I think lying on this level would be a disaster if it was IRL at a church or a more personal setting. Online forums are a free for all so i dont view JohnL lying as a desecration of sacred trust. I dont particularly have much “trust” in anyone here anyway, and i prefer it like that.
Valerie wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2026 8:28 pm
Apparently I’m not sure they were lying (yet) so maybe that’s my fault for not piecing together the case against them.
Wonder if that’s the case- that they were/are lying- why?
There is a preponderance of evidence that JohnL and MaxPC are the same person, or at least using the same home Internet connection. This is something the mods can easily see and confirm.
As far as "why", none of us know - it would be up to the person who calls themself MaxPC / JohnL to try to explain it to us.
It would be best to read the many notes from various members, most of all from mods who oversee responsibly and can be trusted.
Mods see more and know more, with respectable tech savvy.
As for explanations from Max/John (for me) that ship has sailed.
There is evidence of chronic deceit, even directly to mods, even wrt reporting death, then, presumably, witnessing forum members respond to that news. Ugh. A scene from Tom Sawyer?!
Fantasies so frequent even public library use is questioned! (oj wasn’t the only one questioning) he questioned on forum.
My grandmother:
“o.what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”
0 x
i’m perfectly comfortable with an older, wiser, more docile Trump.
”Try hard not to offend. Try harder not to be offended.” Robert Martz
Anthony wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2026 11:59 pm
Maybe this depends how you view MN, i see it as a anonymous forum I can just spout off an opinion and no one can stop me unless its hateful or harmful. I think lying on this level would be a disaster if it was IRL at a church or a more personal setting. Online forums are a free for all so i dont view JohnL lying as a desecration of sacred trust. I dont particularly have much “trust” in anyone here anyway, and i prefer it like that.
Many of us here are church members, know who each other are, have met each other in person, respect each other's churches, and would consider deception or other very ungodly behaviour to be a serious problem.
This forum allows people to be anonymous or pseudonymous, but this isn't 4chan. I want to, in particular, deconstruct this:
[quotte]i see it as a anonymous forum I can just spout off an opinion and no one can stop me unless its hateful or harmful.[/quote]
Anabaptists consider deception to be very, very harmful, regardless of where it is done or how it is done. It is interesting that in your moral system, you would consider a "hateful" opinion to be one worth stopping, but not outright deception.
Anthony wrote: ↑Sun Jun 21, 2026 11:59 pm
Maybe this depends how you view MN, i see it as a anonymous forum I can just spout off an opinion and no one can stop me unless its hateful or harmful. I think lying on this level would be a disaster if it was IRL at a church or a more personal setting. Online forums are a free for all so i dont view JohnL lying as a desecration of sacred trust. I dont particularly have much “trust” in anyone here anyway, and i prefer it like that.
Many of us here are church members, know who each other are, have met each other in person, respect each other's churches, and would consider deception or other very ungodly behaviour to be a serious problem.
This forum allows people to be anonymous or pseudonymous, but this isn't 4chan. I want to, in particular, deconstruct this:
[quotte]i see it as a anonymous forum I can just spout off an opinion and no one can stop me unless its hateful or harmful.
Anabaptists consider deception to be very, very harmful, regardless of where it is done or how it is done. It is interesting that in your moral system, you would consider a "hateful" opinion to be one worth stopping, but not outright deception.
[/quote]
From what I hear in some Anabaptists “as long as the Bishop doesn’t find out”. I think really there is more deception & lying in the circles than one cares to admit, this was told to me so I’d take off my rose colored glasses-
In all this confusion I called a buddy of mine who calls himself The Geek Interpreter. His expertise is in computers, routers and satellite uplinks. I sent him the link to this thread because the whole thing just confuses me about IPs and the whatsits. He sent me an email with the info explaining about how they work written in lingo I can understand. Maybe this clears things up. I’ll paste what he said here.
John, I took a look at that forum and I can tell you that someone doesn’t understand IPs and their limitations. The claims there don’t really line up with how IP addresses work. Here’s an excerpt from an introduction to IPs, etc. in an article my team and I wrote. Hopefully it clears up how IPs, ISPs, and any other internet aspects function. This isn’t copyrighted so you can share it publicly.
____________
An IP address uniquely identifies a network interface on a network, serving as a digital locator for routing data packets. However, it does not directly identify the specific individual user or their precise physical location on its own.
* Device Identification: An IP address acts like a return address for data, ensuring information is sent to the router.
* User ID: Because many devices share a single public IP address via a router, the address identifies the connection point, not the person behind the screen.
* Geographic location: The IP identifies the general area, like the city or country where the IP address is based.
* Device type: Sometimes, advanced tracking can reveal whether the device using the IP is a mobile phone, laptop, or desktop computer, but it won’t provide the phone number associated with that mobile device.
* Limitations: While an IP address can reveal generalized geographic location (such as a city or ISP region), it does not provide a street address, phone number or personal identity without a subpoena served to the ISP provider.
* IP addresses alone do not give you access to phone numbers, specific computers or any other highly personal details about the user behind that IP.
* It’s important to note that this is as far as public data goes. Even though there are websites that offer to trace IP addresses, they won’t provide specific details like the phone number, name, or address of the person using the IP. The more personal information, such as phone numbers, is only known by the ISP (Internet Service Provider), and they are legally bound by strict privacy laws to protect that information.
It appears that the computer you bought at that yard sale was used by the previous owner in your general IP location. That’s where someone is getting the wrong signal, pun intended.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
0 x
Free Will Baptist <-> Anabaptist
”Try hard not to offend. Try harder not to be offended.” Robert Martz
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
JohnL wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2026 7:00 am
In all this confusion I called a buddy of mine who calls himself The Geek Interpreter. His expertise is in computers, routers and satellite uplinks. I sent him the link to this thread because the whole thing just confuses me about IPs and the whatsits. He sent me an email with the info explaining about how they work written in lingo I can understand. Maybe this clears things up. I’ll paste what he said here.
John, I took a look at that forum and I can tell you that someone doesn’t understand IPs and their limitations. The claims there don’t really line up with how IP addresses work. Here’s an excerpt from an introduction to IPs, etc. in an article my team and I wrote. Hopefully it clears up how IPs, ISPs, and any other internet aspects function. This isn’t copyrighted so you can share it publicly.
____________
An IP address uniquely identifies a network interface on a network, serving as a digital locator for routing data packets. However, it does not directly identify the specific individual user or their precise physical location on its own.
* Device Identification: An IP address acts like a return address for data, ensuring information is sent to the router.
* User ID: Because many devices share a single public IP address via a router, the address identifies the connection point, not the person behind the screen.
* Geographic location: The IP identifies the general area, like the city or country where the IP address is based.
* Device type: Sometimes, advanced tracking can reveal whether the device using the IP is a mobile phone, laptop, or desktop computer, but it won’t provide the phone number associated with that mobile device.
* Limitations: While an IP address can reveal generalized geographic location (such as a city or ISP region), it does not provide a street address, phone number or personal identity without a subpoena served to the ISP provider.
* IP addresses alone do not give you access to phone numbers, specific computers or any other highly personal details about the user behind that IP.
* It’s important to note that this is as far as public data goes. Even though there are websites that offer to trace IP addresses, they won’t provide specific details like the phone number, name, or address of the person using the IP. The more personal information, such as phone numbers, is only known by the ISP (Internet Service Provider), and they are legally bound by strict privacy laws to protect that information.
It appears that the computer you bought at that yard sale was used by the previous owner in your general IP location. That’s where someone is getting the wrong signal, pun intended.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The claim is that you and Max are the same person.
What say you?
JohnL wrote: ↑Mon Jun 22, 2026 7:00 am
In all this confusion I called a buddy of mine who calls himself The Geek Interpreter. His expertise is in computers, routers and satellite uplinks. I sent him the link to this thread because the whole thing just confuses me about IPs and the whatsits. He sent me an email with the info explaining about how they work written in lingo I can understand. Maybe this clears things up. I’ll paste what he said here.
John, I took a look at that forum and I can tell you that someone doesn’t understand IPs and their limitations. The claims there don’t really line up with how IP addresses work. Here’s an excerpt from an introduction to IPs, etc. in an article my team and I wrote. Hopefully it clears up how IPs, ISPs, and any other internet aspects function. This isn’t copyrighted so you can share it publicly.
____________
An IP address uniquely identifies a network interface on a network, serving as a digital locator for routing data packets. However, it does not directly identify the specific individual user or their precise physical location on its own.
* Device Identification: An IP address acts like a return address for data, ensuring information is sent to the router.
* User ID: Because many devices share a single public IP address via a router, the address identifies the connection point, not the person behind the screen.
* Geographic location: The IP identifies the general area, like the city or country where the IP address is based.
* Device type: Sometimes, advanced tracking can reveal whether the device using the IP is a mobile phone, laptop, or desktop computer, but it won’t provide the phone number associated with that mobile device.
* Limitations: While an IP address can reveal generalized geographic location (such as a city or ISP region), it does not provide a street address, phone number or personal identity without a subpoena served to the ISP provider.
* IP addresses alone do not give you access to phone numbers, specific computers or any other highly personal details about the user behind that IP.
* It’s important to note that this is as far as public data goes. Even though there are websites that offer to trace IP addresses, they won’t provide specific details like the phone number, name, or address of the person using the IP. The more personal information, such as phone numbers, is only known by the ISP (Internet Service Provider), and they are legally bound by strict privacy laws to protect that information.
It appears that the computer you bought at that yard sale was used by the previous owner in your general IP location. That’s where someone is getting the wrong signal, pun intended.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
I am not an engineer, but “server assigns ip” has been the standard for like 30 years. Static ip addresses are fairly uncommon. So, it is what network you are using, and what subnetwork you are connecting to that causes the assignment of an address that you are getting.
So, it is not the computer that determines the address, but where you are connecting. As your friend suggests, it is the connection point. I think many here have have sufficient knowledge to understand how network hand out addresses. The use of NAT means that while many may share the same outside address, they would be connecting to the same router or gateway.
