View source for RetroWikipedia:IP users

{{information page}}
'''IP users''', '''guest users''', or '''unregistered users''' are users who edit [[WP:RetroWikipedia|RetroWikipedia]] without registering for an [[WP:account|account]]. The term "IP user" comes from the fact that when such a user edits, RetroWikipedia annotates the edit with the [[IP address]] of the computer from which the edit was made, whereas if the user were logged in, it would show the username of the editor who made it.  These substitutes for usernames may have the following general forms:

* [[IPv4]]: <code>x.x.x.x</Code> where x is a number bigger than 0 and smaller than 255
* [[IPv6]]: <code>y:y:y:y:y:y:y:y</code> where y is a number between 0 and 65535, written in [[hexadecimal]]

IP user edits are estimated to constitute one-half (54% in 2013) of the general username activity levels. So, among the total daily edits, then about one-third are posted by IP users, while 2/3 (~67%) are logged to specific usernames each time.{{clarify|date=July 2025|reason=How do you get from 1/2 to 1/3?}}

While registered editors only occasionally possess one or two [[RetroWikipedia:Sock puppetry#Legit|legitimate alternate usernames]], IP users frequently contribute from different IP addresses because [[Internet service provider]]s (ISPs) usually [[dynamic IP address|assign IP addresses dynamically]], meaning that the same actual person may return to RetroWikipedia with a different IP address that was re-assigned by the ISP. This often makes it difficult to tell whether an IP user is a total newcomer or a returning editor. Another factor is that multiple people can use the same IP address (via [[network address translation]]), such as students at a school or employees at a business.

==See also==
=== About IP addresses in general ===
{{portal|Internet}}
* [[IPv4 address exhaustion]]
* [[IPv6]]
=== About editing RetroWikipedia with or without an account ===
{{Help desk}}
* [[RetroWikipedia:Advice for parents|Advice for parents]] – A brief introduction to RetroWikipedia for parents and legal guardians.
* [[RetroWikipedia:Contributing to RetroWikipedia|Contributing to RetroWikipedia]] – A page that explains how and where you can help RetroWikipedia.
* [[RetroWikipedia:Username policy#Deleting and merging accounts|Deleting and merging accounts]] – A page that explains why it is not possible to delete user accounts and the alternatives available.
* [[RetroWikipedia:Personal security practices|Personal security practices]] – A page that explains how caution should be used when posting personally identifiable information online. 
* [[RetroWikipedia:On privacy, confidentiality and discretion|Privacy, confidentiality and discretion]] – A page that explains how your rights to privacy may not extend as far as you believe.
* [[RetroWikipedia:Request an account|Request an account]] – A page that explains how any editor may request an account be created for them.
* [[RetroWikipedia:Why create an account?|Why create an account?]] – A part of the FAQ that talks about the reasons to edit as a registered user.  
* [[RetroWikipedia:Why not create an account?|Why not create an account?]] – A page that talks about the reasons to edit as an IP.
* [[RetroWikipedia:RetroWikipedia is in the real world|RetroWikipedia is in the real world]] – A page that explains how activity here on RetroWikipedia has consequences in the real world.

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