[Kiki]

But how often are we checking for charts which have been submitted by the same user? 😕 Does the ip addresses get checked often for matching pairs? Are charts checked via machine or something to see if they have 25+ albums similar and labeled as suspect because of that?

I know the whole idea of the site is to get more and more charts but would any sort of purge be considered in future? To purify the 'water' so to speak and get a more 'unanimous' answer?

Secondly, are all users charts to be kept indefinitely or could they be removed in future if the user doesn't update them for several years?

[albummaster]

yes, IP addresses get checked along with other personal data to see if user identity is very likely the same. A report is produced showing suspect lists with duplicate IP addresses, but it needs to be manually cross-checked against other data such as email address, user name etc. It's not done purely on IP address because some places use proxy servers which mean users could share IP addresses. There isn't a fool-proof way of detecting this, sometimes it can be obvious and other times it is not. If it's very obvious, the chart will be deleted and user account may be banned.

The recognised charts become out of date after ten years, and after that no longer contribute rank points, I expect user charts will follow the same rule once BEA reaches that age. (e.g. see Melody Maker's list here: http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=4)