"Ghost Mode"

[iago]

iago: it was on the actual D1 client. It also happened to the same person on SC, D2, and W2. It was most definitely the ISP.

ISPs have absolutely nothing to do with this, unless they're *preventing* you from sending the teardown (like, maybe they dropped the packet); but that wouldn't really make sense.

The concept of this being caused by the ISP doesn't actually make sense.

[Barabajagal]

Why not? It's a TCP connection, the ISP might save a bit of bandwidth by not disconnecting so you won't have to reconnect. Makes sense for web browsing... If it has no port detection, it might do it to bnet, too?

[bulletproof tiger]

Why not? It's a TCP connection, the ISP might save a bit of bandwidth by not disconnecting so you won't have to reconnect. Makes sense for web browsing... If it has no port detection, it might do it to bnet, too?

Why would the ISP implement a protocol at that level and use it for individual users? That's a lot of work for an ISP.

[MyndFyre]

Why not? It's a TCP connection, the ISP might save a bit of bandwidth by not disconnecting so you won't have to reconnect. Makes sense for web browsing... If it has no port detection, it might do it to bnet, too?

Why would the ISP implement a protocol at that level and use it for individual users? That's a lot of work for an ISP.

Not to mention it would save like, 30 bytes of bandwidth....

[Barabajagal]

Per page...? Why else would it be doing it, though?

[bulletproof tiger]

Wait, I'm not sure what MyndFyre was trying to say. I'm saying I don't think the ISP would bother to do what Andy is saying it should be doing.

And, to Andy, oh I don't know... serving up bandwidth to it's other thousands of users?

[iago]

The ISP CAN'T do what Andy's saying, the Internet doesn't work like that.

The behaviour you're seeing is likely because of a broken client, or because the server doesn't bother to clean up sessions properly.

[Barabajagal]

It's DRTL. The official client. On the official server.

[aton]

i do code a lot of lowlevel network stuff and i agree 100% with iago. ISPs have nothing to do with it.

[iago]

It's DRTL. The official client. On the official server.

Then the server isn't managing state properly.

[Barabajagal]

For one user constantly? I find it much more likely a hop along the route (for example, the ISP) is just not disconnecting from the server.

[Mystical]

I think its battle.net because this has happened somtimes when an unexpected drop from my end or my cable was unplugged, when i try to get back on battle.net yet to recongnize that i have dropped. :[

[iago]

For one user constantly? I find it much more likely a hop along the route (for example, the ISP) is just not disconnecting from the server.

The problem is that that doesn't make sense. That's not how the Internet works.

A hop happens at layer 2 (link layer), while the connection happens at layer 4 (transport). There is no concept of a connection at layer 2 -- packets are sent from one mac address to another with no regard to what's in the packet. A connection starts with a SYN is sent, which is a TCP concept (layer 4) -- the routers along the way don't know that the connection exists, and they can be swapped out *during* the connection without breaking it. The connection ends with FIN is sent, which is also a TCP concept. The routers in the middle again don't care.

[Barabajagal]

Under usual circumstances they don't care? Or never care at all? I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to have a router that sniffs packets and does a bit of modification.

[iago]

It's *possible* to sniff and modify packets, for things like traffic shaping or whatever, but it isn't something that'll affect the connections.