Yeah, group control of shoutbox is already possible. (I use it today so that only Admins and mods have access.)
The IP idea works since it is updated as often as needed, say once per hour. My gameserver would take a snapshot of all IP addresses, then FTP them to the webserver for use.
IP address don't change as often as you think and they certainly don't change during a single web/gaming session. A user would need to restart their computer or their router for an IP update.
I mean if you think about it, it makes as much as an IP ban (which UBB already has.)
What I'm proposing is to use the same notion for access control to features.
