Can't mod /supermod see the IP? I was a mod time ago in one forum and I could see Ip from users.
Admins can, however moderators can't. I'm not sure what forum you were moderator on, but it just seems an unnecessary privacy concern to allow all moderators to see IP addresses. If an IP address has to be taken in to account for any reason at all on a user then the moderators can just leave it for an admin to act upon it.