Security question

[ben_g]

I am coding a PHP/MySQL message board and would like some advice on security.

I am tracking IP addresses for each post and displaying them on my index page.

I am displaying them as a deterrent to abusive posts.

Does a displaying IP address for my sites users pose much of a security risk for them?

Do you think I should display them or not?

[danielson2k]

Why not let the user have the option of having their IP displayed?

[ben_g]

I've been having problems with abusive posts

I thought that displaying the IP address of each post would act as a deterrent and also make it harder to hide behind aliases.

[danielson2k]

why not do as most message boards do and record everyones IP and not allow the abusers to post?

[matt_4013]

Posting an IP address isn't a great idea. They aren't particularly hard to find anyway, but it just makes it easier for some script kiddie to pick up someone's IP address that they don't like and use it maliciously. I would create a field in your database which will hold their IP address, and if they post an abusive message then warn them, if they keep it up, just deny them access on both username and IP address.