[Programmer]

I agree that the IP address of the player should be visible to all developers. IP addresses can be accessed by /open and /openrights. IPs are in no way private. In fact, here's mine: 71.200.219.141. IPs are used as identifiers to a computer, and nothing more. Sure, they can be traced to a certain area, with a small amount of precision, but it's nothing to worry about. My IP traces to a spot that's not even close to me.

Personally, I would use IP checks to determine if a user is multilogging on my server, or simply evading jail time or ban time. Of course, you could always check using /open, but I believe that script access would be very useful.

I agree with the others that if you are too paranoid about adding the IP address in its raw state, then simply encrypt it. MD5 is irreversible, so why not MD5-hash it? Simple solution.