Or the banned user could just get a different IP address... go to an Internet coffee shop or a library or use a proxy.

Let's face it. The Nameless One will simply reappear and, no, it's not acceptable. What's further, if many players share the IP, then we all have the pleasure of knowing that TNO may get severely beaten by his/her non-cheating buddies whom have just been deprived of their favourite hobby.

Good times all around.

@FS - Why not?

@CDI - Fair enough. People do run out of options(and the desire to be a goof) eventually.

No, because banning IPs could potentially lead to the accidental banning of legitimate players or new players. It doesn't matter if the IP is banned or not, if someone is determined to come back and troll this site, they can do so, and for the most part we have to react and quarantine the action.

We've had one repeat offender before, and the tactic I used was to use simple tools at my command to dig up information on the user and publicize it, to show that you can't just be a dick on the internet without consequences. I came up with his name, age, location, old high school, and employer as well as a myspace page with plenty of fun facts like his musical preference. I'm happy to report that the offender hasn't returned, lest I dig more thoroughly and find more intimate information such as an address or phone number, or perhaps inform his employer or family.

Yeh, we don't block IPs, but there are things that can be done.
I've never published data, but one group of meta-multi's (several people, several accounts each) were causing an issue, so I emailed one of their fathers.

Chrisp and squidge, those examples of recourse that you have provided are FAR worse than banning a bloody IP or creating a nuisance on a game site. I cannot support those actions.

diplomat1824 and offenders aside, the prospect that the people on this site go as far as stalcking you for private information is not something that I can approve of

You can do that too. It's not all that difficult.

bollocks to them, they try and ruin it for everyone else they deserve it

Haha, I know maple, and I'm not in favour of posting people's data either.
The father email event actually came across because there were a large group with suspicious activities, and most of the emails were obviously fake. However, a number of them had a common theme, and suggested at a family email address. Emailing this I got a response from the father saying he would deal with it. It is still possible that was just one of them lying and claiming to be the father to get me off their backs, but it doesn't matter - they stopped which is what matters.
Reading how I worded the first message does imply i hunted them down and went actively searching for him, which is not the case.

Wouldn't quite work in a gaming situation, but for sheer amusement I'll describe a ban-method I saw on a discussion forum: the offender didn't know anything had changed, but after the ban, their posts were simply stopped being visible to other users, ever. It was pretty funny... and it really stretched out the time before they'd sign on with username #2...

But going real-world is a big, big mistake in my experience. You do that to the wrong guy and you'll find yourself in court. I've seen it happen quite a few times. Somebody with more bank can cause you a lot of pain, regardless of who is right or wrong.

Ninja,
I had mentioned this before. Many many years ago I was an unpaid volunteer in a chat room. We would frequently get trolls, and the preferred method for dealing with them was to make it so no one could see their chat. They could see their own chat, as could the moderators, but no one else could. They would start their trolling and get progressively more provocative, stunned that no one was responding to them. Eventually they would go away.

Chrisp just became my fav mod. Troll the troller off the site. Absolutely brilliant! :D