Don't save any IP-address at all

[Grendel]

In Germany we have a new verdict, so that it is forbidden to save ip-addresses at all. Is it possible to surpress all ip-saving in vB? If not, could there be any problems if all ip-savings in the DB would be replaced by eg 127.0.0.0?

[Wayne Luke]

It is not possible. If it is law in Germany, you should ask vBulletin-Germany if they are having this implemented or post it in the project tools with links to relevant laws.

[Steve Machol]

You realize too that almost all servers record IP addresses in their logs. I think if this were a law then it would create massive confusion and problems for virtually everyone running web servers.

[Grendel]

It is law - first said on March 27th. I know that this is hard to believe, but that's germany.
And guess who was the first taken to court and convicted: the Federal Ministry of Justice. No joke!

Read for yourself: http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/96861/

[Jobe1986]

Grendel, if your forum is hosted on a server outside of Germany they cant enforce said law on you at all.

Also from what I can read there, it's about recording user behaviour, not specifically IP's

[Grendel]

No, it's about IPs too, I know, because I'm working in that business too and we're confronted with that problem. And my forum is hosted on a server in Germany, so we have to find a solution. But thanks for the answers so far, we've got a discussion running on vbulletin-germany now as well.

[Wayne Luke]

What you want to do is not possible in the software at this time. It would require code modification. If you want the software to support the option of not saving IP addresses then make a suggestion and link to the relevant case law and law code in that suggestion, not newspaper articles.