Is it not creepy that Filmboard's admin...

bans you if he suspects you're using Tor browser? And he does this at random times, not when the user violates a rule. He's essentially advertising that he's going around checking user IPs for illicit and personal reasons.

Under a normal setting, user IPs are only checked if the user is reported and has been deemed to violate a rule. This is applied to major sites like Facebook, too. They may choose to IP ban you.

Even if we suspect admins check IPs whenever they want at random times, it's not something they'd want other users to know they're doing. And it's certainly not something they'd want to take disciplinary action on, which proves to that user that you're looking at their IPs under your admin console. It's an invasion of privacy, and downright creepy. Users want to feel safe and confident they're IP isn't being desultorily looked at it by members of the staff - and yeah, even if they are, they shouldn't want to make it known.

I had a website a while back, and there was one particular user I noticed had made an account which I had banned before. I only glanced at the IP indirectly when looking at my member list. However, I couldn't ban this person again based on the mere fact that I saw his IP and suspected who it was. I had to wait it out and wait for him to violate a rule again, then I zapped him. It'd be highly inappropriate if I banned the user randomly, who was making such an effort to disguise his typing style, thus signaling him I was looking at his IP. But Nimda oddly checks IPs religiously. He has to know who ever sock is. If he can't figure it out, he bans them. He doesn't shy away from letting this be known.

Taking disciplinary action on IPs when the user has not broken a rule is the equivalent to a cop pulling a driver over because he suspects he doesn't have a valid driver's license. If a cop suspects this, then he has to wait until the driver commits a violation, such as speeding, before he has a legitimate reason to stop and detain him. Then he has the authority to check his license.

I just find it very creepy and inappropriate.