I actually just dove right in; I read the Encyclopedia a lot, and I peered on the forums for the first time a week ago and signed up. I liked what I saw.
Also, Faust brings up a really valid point; I know we aren't supposed to create any more crazy conspiracy theories, but it's perfectly possibly he
is a member here. Perhaps his username here is just completely different?
As for banned IPs, I was admin at a forum, and I know banned members could not view the forum, even as a guest; unfortunately, peskier users would use IP scramblers and manage to get around the IP ban to view the forum as a guest, or even register another account.