Safe to delete IP-banned users?

I have a bunch of troll and spammer accounts cluttering up the database, and would like to remove them. If I delete those accounts and they visited again, would they find their IP address unblocked? Should I just change their names so they won't be noticeable to someone browsing the member list?

 

If you have added their IP to the banned IP's list I am pretty sure they wont be unblocked.

 

I'm still new to this but I've had spammers return after deleting their IPs from the system.

 

Thats because you deleted the IPs. :p

If you have banned an IP in the banning options, then removing user accounts will not affect that ban. Obviously removing the ip from the ban list will.

 

Keep Em Banned FOREVER!

 

Yes and No.

Some peoples ip address never changes, even if they restart their computer or turn it off for a little while - mostly because the home router has the public IP and not the computer.

Some ISPs force a renewal every X number of hours, or when the router is restarted.

Some people have a static IP address.

A smart spammer will change their ip address every so often. They will also change the MAC address of their router to throw a little more confusion into the mix.

6 months+ after the ban, there is a good chance the spammer has already changed theoir IP. But then again, maybe not.

 

Personally I wouldn't delete them. Because then they can come back and re-register with their e-mail address.

I just don't like getting rid of or deleting anything, so I never do.

 

I don't think I have ever added an IP address to the User Banning Options. I use an .htaccess file that has a long list of denied domains or IPs - either a single IP address, or a range if it's based on a spammer from a country like Russia or China. I realize the possibility exists that a flooring professional from one of those ranges will not be able to access my site, but it's a gamble I am willing to take in favor of reducing spam.

R'gards,

Jim