Then you're going to end up with the exact same chain of proxies and helpers.

And yes, SSH has the ability to stop most dupes. You require that players submit their certificates via outside means and authenticate the user. If only allowed client certs could get in, then only those that have authenticated with the sysop could play. The problem then just boils down to the level of authentication the sysop would require.

My running the TWGS with an SSH gateway wasn't even about the encryption. It was about the compression. SSH can use zip compression to speed up data transfer significantly.

I did this back in 2003 when half of the players still used dial-up and complaints started about the disadvantages of dial-up vs broadband. It kind of leveled the playing field. Plus, many people still used ZOC for their main scripting.

I don't know how much it matters these days.

Here is my original post on the topic:
http://www.thestardock.com/?p=238