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IRC Undernet Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (Part 1 of 2)

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Mandar M. Mirashi

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Jun 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM6/1/98

Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2
Archive-name: irc/undernet-faq/part1
Version: $Id: undernet-faq, v3.2.0 1995/08/07 13:23 mandar Exp $

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Undernet IRC FAQ [Part I] (updated 9th August 1997) - Weekly Repost

Version 1 By Paul Grant (Grant)

Version 2-3 - written by Mandar Mirashi (Mmmm)
man...@wildstar.net
Revised by: Undernet Documentation Team (docu...@undernet.org)

The FAQ consists of answers to several frequently asked questions on the
IRC newsgroups. Please don't ask these questions again, they've been
answered plenty of times already - and please don't flame someone just
because they may not have read this particular posting. Thank you.

The FAQ consists of the following sections.

I) IRC for the newcomer
II) The Undernet (for the newcomer)
III) The Undernet (for the EFnetter)
IV) The Undernet (how can you participate?)
V) Acknowledgements/References
VI) Undernet IRC server list

This article covers section I, and includes answers to:

1-1) What is IRC?
1-2) Alright, now how do I get onto IRC?
1-3) Are there any IRC telnet sites?
1-4) Hmm..I'm confused. What does a client do? What's a server?
1-5) What do I do next, once I'm connected to IRC? Is there a way to get
online help? Why won't /help work for me?
1-6) Okay..can you describe what a channel is? How do I join/create one?
How do I join multiple channels?
1-7) How do I find out:
* Who's on a channel? (What do H and G mean?)
* Who's on IRC itself?
* Who's on IRC from the same site as myself?
* more info about a person?
1-8) What's a channel operator? How do I become one?
1-9) Help! Someone kicked/banned me from a channel. Whom do I complain to?
1-10) Okay..can you tell me a little more about general etiquette
(netiquette) over IRC? What do terms like "re", "brb", etc. mean?
1-11) What's a mode change? What are modes?
1-12) How do I perform an "Action"?
1-13) How do I "scrollback" in ircII? Are there any special key bindings
available?
1-14) How do I make the output of a command in ircII pause after each
screenful? How do I "cancel" further output from a command?
1-15) Ugh..all my messages seem to appear on a single status line. My term
settings seem to be messed up. Help!
1-16) What are the funny characters that I see at times in channel names or
nicknames over IRC?
1-17) Why do I get "No text to send" when I talk on a channel? How do I
get rid of this?? Please help!
1-18) Darn..my irc session froze up :( Is there some way that I can get rid
of my old nick/session?
1-19) How do other people change the text that appears in the parentheses
() after their names?
1-20) How do I read my "irc" mail?
1-21) How do I find out when someone was last seen on IRC? How do I leave a
message for someone not on irc?
1-22) How do I get "special effects" such as bold/reverse/underline when
using ircII?
1-23) Someone on IRC asked me to type in a certain command that I do not
understand. What do I do?
1-24) How do I save my ircII settings (such as nickname, default server,
etc) so that they are in effect the next time I sign onto IRC?
1-25) How do I drop to the Unix prompt temporarily?
1-26) When I try connecting to a server, I get "Connection refused" or
"Connection timed out" or "Unknown host". What do I do now?
1-27) What does the message "Ghosts are not allowed on IRC" or "You are
banned/not welcome on this server" or "No authorisation" mean?
1-28) What is a netsplit? What's "lag"? How do I avoid either?
1-29) Why do I get that annoying ~ which shows up in front of my address
on IRC? How do I get rid of it?
1-30) Hmm..what are all these "power scripts" that I keep hearing about?
Do I need them? Why do people call them risky?
1-31) Oh, I see. Now what's a bot? Why do people have a love/hate attitude
towards bots? Can I make a bot?
1-32) Help! This extremely obnoxious person keeps harassing me with
messages/flooding me. What should I do?
1-33) Hey..I heard that you can exchange files over IRC - how is that done?
What's DCC?
1-34) How can I "register" my nickname? What's Nickserv?
1-35) Where can I find pictures/gifs of people on IRC?
1-36) Where can I find an IRC manual? Where can I find more information
on IRC?

If you're looking for the answer to, say, question 1-5, and want to skip
everything else, you can search ahead for the regular expression "^1-5".
(/1-5 in case you use vi).

While I have tried my best to keep the FAQ updated, there may be
inadvertent mistakes or omissions. Is there a question that you find
frequently asked, but not mentioned? Please send all suggested additions/
corrections/deletions/comments/etc. to man...@wildstar.net and
docu...@undernet.org

This FAQ (both parts) can be obtained via anonymous ftp from ftp.undernet.org
or ftp.undernet.org under /irc/docs, or from rtfm.mit.edu under
/pub/usenet/alt.irc/ If ftp does not work from your site, then try
the mail server: send email to mail-...@rtfm.mit.edu with

send usenet/news.answers/irc/undernet-faq/part1
send usenet/news.answers/irc/undernet-faq/part2

URL's on the World Wide Web for this FAQ are:

http://www.user-com.undernet.org/documents/
http://www.undernet.org/~agifford/undernet/underfaq/
http://www2.undernet.org:8080/~cs93jtl/underfaq/

and, the latest version can always be found at:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/irc/undernet-faq/
part1/faq.html
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/irc/undernet-faq/
part2/faq.html

P.S. : This FAQ widely refers to the Unix ircII client (especially questions
1-13 to 1-25) and many commands might not work the same way if you
aren't using ircII. I highly recommend contacting your client author
in this case, and encourage him to make his client "ircII compatible".

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-1) What is IRC?

IRC stands for the Internet Relay Chat. It is a much better, multi
user implementation of the rudimentary 'talk' program. On IRC,
several persons can simultaneously participate in a discussion
over a particular 'channel', or even multiple channels. There is
no restriction to the number of people that can participate in a
given discussion, or the number of channels that can be formed
over IRC.

All conversations take place in *real time*. That's one of the fortes
of IRC, and IRC has been used extensively for live coverage of
world events, news, sports commentary, etc. It also serves as an
*extremely* inexpensive substitute for long distance calling. People
from all corners of the world can be found over IRC.

IRC was developed by Jarkko Oikarinen in Finland in the late
eighties, and was originally intended to work as a better
substitute for 'talk' on his bulletin board. Of course, since
then, it attracted overwhelming popularity, especially after
the Gulf war when IRC was used to carry live coverage of events,
and its growth has been exponential after that. Since then, reports
of the Russian coup, and the California earthquake have been
carried *live* over IRC, with people located in Russia and California
bringing in the eyewitness reports.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-2) Alright, now how do I get onto IRC?

The irc program that you need to get onto irc is called an 'irc
client'. First, check if your system already has an irc client
installed by entering "irc" at your system prompt. If you're
lucky, it could have been installed already on your system, and
you may skip the remainder of this answer. If you do not have
an irc client installed on your system, then you need to install
one.

Irc clients have been developed for a variety of platforms, and
the Unix ircII client is by far the most popular one. There are
also several emacs and x11 clients that run under Unix. Irc
clients have been developed for MS-DOS / MSWindows, Macintoshes,
(assuming that the PC/Macintosh that you use is connected to the
network, i.e. you can't use a MS-Windows client if you dial in via a
modem to a Unix system, although you may be on a PC - unless your PC
is on the network with its own ip address (e.g. runs slip/ppp, or
has TIA) VMS systems and VM/CMS systems as well. A major repository
for IRC clients of all kinds is the site ftp.undernet.org. Another site
that you may want to try is cs-ftp.bu.edu. You will need to FTP the
code for the clients (or binaries as may be the case) from these
anonymous ftp sites. A popular VMS client is the ircdough 'ircII-for-vms'
client which has a lot of good features. WSirc is a good MS-Windows
irc client.

ircII on Unix
--------------
If you're on a Unix system, and aren't familiar with the nuances
of ftp, uncompress, untar, the concept of Makefiles, etc. you may
wish to try the auto-magic install which will do it for you. The
foll. command at your Unix prompt will auto install an ircII client:

telnet ftp.undernet.org 1 | sh
or,
telnet installer.undernet.org 1 | sh

The unix ircII client takes up about 1.5Megs of disk space (including
the help files). If you do not have enough diskspace, or have problems
in compiling a client, you may try a precompiled client for your system,
which is usually just 400K or so. To find out what Unix system you're
on, use the command 'uname -a'. Once you do that, ftp the appropriate
precompiled client from

ftp.undernet.org /irc/clients/compiled.

If you cannot spare even 400K for an irc binary, you may want to
try the smallirc client which can be found at ftp.undernet.org
under /irc/clients. This takes about 100-150K.

ircII under VMS (ircdough)
---------------------------
Here are the sequence of steps I took to install the ircII for vms
client (you need about 1600-1800 blocks for installation. After
deletion of unnecessary files, the client takes up about 500 blocks):

$ create/dir [.ircii]
$ set def [.ircii]
$ ftp ftp.undernet.org
Connection opened (Assuming 8-bit connections)
<Welcome to the Dixie College Center of Excellence FTP server.
<sci.dixie.edu FTP server (Version wu-2.4(1) ....ready>
Username: anonymous
Password:
<Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.

SCI.DIXIE.EDU>cd irc/clients/vms/ircII-for-vms
<CWD command successful.

SCI.DIXIE.EDU>confirm off
[All transactions are implicitly confirmed]

SCI.DIXIE.EDU>mget *
[... multiple file gets deleted...]

SCI.DIXIE.EDU>quit
<Goodbye.
$
$@install

This will put you onto the main installation menu.
You may exit this menu by holding the "Ctrl" key down and pressing
"Z" (or by choosing selection "X").

Installation is very simple, just start with the first option 'P' and
set the installation directory. Next select option 'C' and begin
compiling the program. If that completes successfully you can then
try and run the irc program with the next option to see if it compiled
correctly. If it has, then you need to type in 'I' to install the
client into the proper sub directories. You can then proceed to the
next step and type in D to delete all the non-essential files to
conserve your disk quota (type in 'Y' - {capital Y}, when it asks if
you've done the installation step).
After this, you can exit and edit your login.com to have
$irc :== $disk:[username.ircii]irc.exe
For example:

$IRC :== $COUGAR:[SMIM.IRCII]IRC.EXE

In case you're unable to compile a client, or wish to have a directly
precompiled "VMS ircII" (ircdough) client, follow these steps:

i) ftp to ftp.undernet.org and look under /irc/clients/vms/binaries
for the right binary for your type of VMS system. Make sure you
ftp it in *binary* mode (type 'bin' within ftp). Also ftp the
irchelp.hlb
ii) Next, look under /irc/clients/vms/common_files and ftp all the
files in *ascii* mode (type 'ascii' at the ftp prompt).

IRC under Windows 3.1 / Windows 95
----------------------------------

Windows 95 users, go to step six.

First, you must be running MS-Windows. IRC and WINSOCK.DLL are
MS-Windows based software.

Second, you must use an implementation of tcp/ip for MS-Windows which
is called WINSOCK.DLL (it is actually the name of the file, but we refer
to the protocol by the same name).

Third, you must either be connected to a TCP/IP LAN or a modem. When
you use a modem, you must subscribe to a SLIP/PPP account with your
Internet Service Provider. You must ask them: your username, your
pchostname, your permanent ip address , their DNS ip address. These will
be required for WINSOCK.DLL configuration setup.

Fourth, there is a configuration setup you need to do with WINSOCK.DLL,
the specifics are covered by each vendor's documentation. Commercial
WINSOCK software costs US$ 199.- to US$ 299.-. Shareware WINSOCK
software costs US$ 20.- to US$ 40.- (Peter Tattam's WINSOCK.DLL is US
$ 20.- has an internal SLIP driver and works very well). FTP sites
for the complete WINSOCK distribution are:
winftp.cica.indiana.edu File: twsk10a.zip
ftp.cica.indiana.edu File: /pub/pc/win3/winsock/winsock.zip
You can also fetch various winsock stacks from ftp.undernet.org under
/pub/irc/clients/windows/winsock

Fifth, assuming all of the configuration works. Dial up your internet
service provider to your SLIP or PPP account (a script file can automate
this process) if you're on a modem.

Sixth, you can download windows irc clients from ftp.undernet.org under
/pub/irc/clients/windows

* ircII for Windows

ircII is pretty much the de facto irc client across many platforms
(Unix, VMS, Windows). Most users prefer the power and flexibility
of ircII and not so much the GUI. The port ircii-2.6.zip of ircii
to Windows, is still a bit buggy at the time of writing but is
highly recommended since a lot of people are familiar with it. This
FAQ refers widely to ircII, although efforts are made to cover other
clients where possible.

* WSIRC for Windows:

WS-IRC was the first Windows IRC client written by Caesar Samsi
(csa...@clark.net). It remains one of the good Windows clients.
Here's some additional info, after you download WSIRC.

Start up WSIRC. Open up the Options | Server dialog box and enter all
information in the boxes provided. For server names, browse the list
of servers in the appendix of this FAQ. Do not use the actual ip
address (e.g 123.222.222.222), use the human text name (us.undernet.org).
Use port 6667. Use the username and pcname provided by your SLIP
provider. Use nicknames that are NO LONGER than 9 characters. Use no
spaces in between for anything (except for the email info, but that's
optional).

Click on the connect button (or use File | Connect). If it
doesn't connect, try another server. If 11004 error occurs, either your
DNS ip address is wrong or you entered an invalid server name, enter a
valid server name. If 10060 or 10061 occurs, either the server is down,
busy or otherwise not responding, try another server. If the server
says "Nickname in use", change your nickname on the fly with /NICK
mynick. The server should then display its MOTD (message of the day)
file.

* mIRC for Windows:

mIRC is one of the best Windows IRC clients available. Read more about
mIRC in the Frequently Asked Questions list at ::

http://www.mirc.co.uk/
http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/1822/
http://www-2.nijenrode.nl/software/mirc/

Or join #mIRC on IRC to get all remaining questions answered. Or even
get the newest version there if your DCC works properly..

* Visual IRC (virc) for Windows

This is another recently released client which is still in beta testing.
It implements most features as well as interacts with web browsers. You
can find the latest version at:

http://www.megalith.co.uk/virc

* Pirch for windows:

This new client has quickly become very popular and gives mIRC a
run for its money.

http://www.bcpl.lib.md.us/~frappa/pirch.html

IRC on all other platforms (Macintosh, VM/CMS, amiga, OS/2, etc)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Check the subdirectories under:
ftp://ftp.undernet.org/irc/clients

WWW to IRC
----------

The Undernet Web to IRC Gateway can be found at:
http://fr.undernet.org/irc.html
This is a good starting point for newcomers until they are able
to install their own client, which of course will offer many more
features.

IRC behind a firewall
---------------------

The Unix ircII has been made SOCKS compliant and the modified client
can be found at
ftp://ftp.undernet.org/irc/clients/ircII.firewall
You will need to download this, gunzip and untar it, and compile it
yourself for whatever Unix platform you are on. This package assumes
that you already have libsocks.a on your system. If not, download
the socks package from
ftp://ftp.nec.com/pub/socks/socks4/socks.cstc.4.2.2.tar.gz
and follow the instructions in the README.* files and Makefile.
Compile the clients with "make clients". This will also build the
libsocks.a library under the lib directory. When compiling the ircII
socks version, add the full path to the socks library to the LIBS
line (e.g. if the original LIBS line in the ircII Makefile is
LIBS=-lcurses, and your libsocks is under /usr/lib, then the
correct Makefile line would be LIBS=-lcurses /usr/lib/libsocks.a).

The latest version of mIRC for Windows also includes proxy/socks
support.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-3) Are there any IRC telnet sites?

This question pops up with frightening regularity on the irc
newsgroups. IRC telnet sites are absolutely not recommended except
as a *last ditch* effort when compiling a client doesn't work for
you, or if you are simply unable to use a client for lack of an
account/diskspace/etc. Before answering this question, you should
consider the following *disadvantages* of using a telnet client site
for IRC:
* It is much much slower than using your own client. In cases, you
may be connecting all across a continent to use IRC.
* It is usually limited by a maximum number of users allowed on it.
* It is not possible to send or receive files over irc when using
a telnet client.
* It is not possible to customise and tailor the client to suit your
needs.
* And finally, a telnet client site may simply stop providing service
due to the huge abuse that often results from the client. This is
more often the case than the exception. So, you are left stranded
and have to hunt for new telnet sites.
In short, GET YOUR OWN CLIENT. Under Unix, a client can be installed in
as little as 150-200K of free diskspace. At best, telnet client sites
should be used as a temporary solution until you are able to get your
own client. Every time you use one, you should remember that
* You are using tremendous resources on someone *else's* system
which are being provided out of sheer goodwill.
* Each time you use one, you deny many others who haven't tried
irc at *all*. Think of it as limited supply of lifejackets for
people who cannot swim. Some thoughtless people have the capability
to swim but don't wish to learn how to do so, and insist on using
this limited supply, meant for others. Please be considerate and
setup your client as soon as possible. Telnet clients should
be used only as a *temporary* measure.

It is with this goal in mind that the foll. list is provided:

telnet.wildstar.net 6677 or 144.38.16.2 6677
ns.ensicaen.ismra.fr 6677 or 192.93.101.16 6677
obelix.wu-wien.ac.at 6677 or 137.208.8.6 6677
(obelix also runs on ports 7766, 6969 and 6996)

*Tip* -> An easy way to remember telnet sites is:
telnet1.us.undernet.org
telnet2.us.undernet.org and so on..
The same convention applies for European sites
(telnet1.eu.undernet.org, etc)

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-4) Hmm..I'm confused. What does a client do? What's a server?

An irc client reads in the commands that you give it, and parses
them. It filters them and performs the appropriate actions, and if
necessary, passes them on to a 'server'. An IRC server can serve
many other clients. The server holds information about the channels
and people on IRC, amongst other pieces of information. It is also
responsible for routing your messages to other people on IRC. The
IRC network itself consists of multiple servers which connect to
one another in a 'tree'-like fashion (as an undirected acyclic
graph to be precise).

It is usually best if you select a server close to the site that
you irc from. Here's a partial list of servers to try:

us.undernet.org - Central USA
phoenix.az.us.undernet.org - West coast USA
washington.dc.us.undernet.org- East coast USA
eu.undernet.org - Europe
ca.undernet.org - Canada
au.undernet.org - Australia

Usually, a countrycode.undernet.org should get you to one of the
servers in your region. If not, you can try one of the servers listed
above. To find out which server is closest to you once you're on
IRC, use the /links command to get a list of servers. To switch to
the closest server, try /server servername. Usually you can view the
official Undernet Server listing at the User-Com website,
http://www.user-com.undernet.org/documents/

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-5) What do I do next, once I'm connected to IRC? Is there a way to get
online help? Why won't /help work for me?

Thumb rule: All ircII commands must be preceded by a /

Thus, typing /help gives you a list of available ircII commands.

[If you're using ircII, and /help won't work for you, it's quite
possible that your local help files have not been set up right.
Try /set help_path <path-to-helpfiles>
and if that won't fix it, try
/set help_service ircIIhelp
You will need to ftp ircII2.2.9help.tar.Z from ftp.undernet.org
/irc/clients, and uncompress and untar the help files, and point
the help path appropriately if you want /help to work efficiently]

If you're a newcomer to IRC, you may try /help newuser and
/help intro for more information on irc commands. To get you
started:

/LIST Lists all current irc channels, number of
users, and topic. This may flood you off if
you use it on a large network, therefore you
may want to limit your search to /QUOTE list >10
/NAMES Shows the nicknames of all users on each
channel (except secret channels)
/JOIN <channel> Join the named channel. All non-commands
you type will now go to everyone on that
channel
/MSG <nick> <msg> Sends a private message to the specified
person. Only the specified nickname will
see this message.
/NICK <newnick> Change your nickname
/QUIT Exits irc.
/HELP <topic> Gets help on all IRCII commands.
/WHO <channel> Shows who is on a given channel,
including nickname, user name and host,
and realname.
/WHOIS <nick> Shows the "true" indentity of someone
Use this often to make sure you know who
you are talking to, because nicknames are
NOT owned so any number of people could
use a nickname.
/PART <channel> Lets you leave the specified channel.

However, once you have joined a channel, you need not precede your
lines with a /. Whatever you type, simply goes to the entire
channel. Precede your lines with a / when you wish to execute an
ircII command and when you do not wish the text to be sent to the
entire channel.

When you're connected, your Unix login name is usually taken as the
default 'nickname' for yourself. You may wish to change this with
a /nick newnick command.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-6) Okay..can you describe what a channel is? How do I join/create one?
How do I join multiple channels?

A channel is a place on IRC that people can meet and participate
in a discussion. Channels on IRC are dynamic in the sense that
anyone can create a new channel, and a channel disappears when
the last person on it leaves. To get a list of channels you may
try the command /list mentioned earlier. You may also *limit*
the listing by the use of optional arguments as follows:
/quote list >3 - shows channels with at least 3 people on them
/list #a* - shows channels whose names begin with the
letter a.
A channel name begins with a # or a & (# channels are global, &
channels are restricted to the local server). To join a particular
channel use:
/join #channelname
If a channel with the particular name doesn't exist, then a *new*
channel is created with that name. The person to first join a channel
also becomes the channel operator (see 1-8) by default.
If you wish to join multiple channels, make sure you type in :
/set novice off

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-7) How do I find out:

* Who's on a channel? (What do H and G mean?)
As mentioned earlier, the command /who #channelname
will list all users on the channel. This will show an output
of the form:
#wasteland Macro H*@ sand...@gaya.nki.no (the one and only...Macro.)
The channel is #wasteland. Macro is the nickname of a person
on it. The H stands for 'here'. (persons who mark themselves
away will show up as G for 'gone') The @ stands for channelop,
the * stands for IRCop. sand...@gaya.nki.no is his email
address, and what appears in the parentheses is his customisable
IRCNAME. You may also use /names #channelname for a more compact
listing.

* Who's on IRC itself?
The command /names will list ALL users on IRC. Use this
with the -min argument as discussed with the /list command,
to limit the listing. (A /names output can be very large)

* Who's on IRC from the same site as myself?
The command /who *yoursitename* or
/who -host *yoursitename* should list people from the same site
as yourself. (the asterisks (*) are needed)

* more info about a person?
The commands /who nickname-of-person or
/whois nickname-of-person will give you further information
about a particular 'nickname'. A slightly more advanced command
is /ctcp nick finger, which returns finger information on the
given nickname. Once you know the user@host, you may even do
/exec finger user@host which does the standard Unix finger.

* Someone's nickname given their real name?
Most people on IRC do not include real information when
connecting to a server. You're more likely to find someone
if you know their email address. Use the /who -host *site*
command mentioned earlier, if you know the email address as
user@site. You may also try /who -name *user. If by some
element of chance, the person uses his/her real name in the
IRCNAME variable (see question 1-19), you may be able to
find him/her with /who *firstname* or /who *lastname*.

NOTE: The /who and /whois command switches described here will not
work on invisible users (see 1-11 and 1-32) not on the same channel
as yourself. They will work with a specified nickname ONLY for
such users.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-8) What's a channel operator? How do I become one?

When you do a /names #channelname, the persons with a @ prefix before
their nickname are channel operators for a channel. A channel
operator can decide who can be allowed to stay on a channel, and
the various settings for the channel (such as whether the channel
can be made secret, or invite only, etc). A channel operator can
pass on the operator status to another person. By default when
someone creates a new channel (by simply /join #channelname) he gets
to be the channel operator. A new channel is created by specifying
one that doesn't exist in a /list. So, to become a channel operator
yourself, you can either (i) create a new channel or, (ii) ask
an existing channel operator to op you.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-9) Help! Someone kicked/banned me from a channel. Whom do I complain to?

The answer to this question is the current channel operators, and
them alone. Given the dynamic nature of channels, channel operators
do not need to have a *reason* to kick you off. They decide what
goes on over the channel. Complaining either to IRC operators or
to the system administrators about being kicked/banned from a channel
is considered extremely childish, and results in no action. Irc
operators do not meddle with channel politics - that's the job of
channel operators. Another IRC netiquette is to keep IRC issues
within IRC, because system admins have little time to deal with IRC
issues and many would rather shut it down rather than deal with
problems arising from it. If you should get banned or kicked from a
channel, you are always free to start your own channel and decide what
is appropriate over it. Think of channels as houses. The owner of
the house can decide to share ownership with someone else or decide
to disallow any individual he chooses into his house. In your own
house, *you* call the shots. :-) Feel free to create your own channel,
and set up your own rules for it.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-10) Okay..can you tell me a little more about general etiquette
(netiquette) over IRC? What do terms like "re", "brb", etc. mean?

* Language: The most widely used language over IRC is English.
However, it is by no means the only one. When you join a channel,
try to use the language that most people on the channel understand/
use. Most channels frown upon obscenities or profanity. Better to
play safe and find out what's the accepted norm over the channel.

* Greetings: Using IRCII's /ON facility to automatically say hello
or goodbye to people is extremely poor etiquette. Nobody wants to
receive autogreets. They are not only obviously automatic, but even
if you think you are being polite you are actually sounding insincere
and also interfering with the personal environment of the recipient
when using autogreets. If somebody wants to be autogreeted on joining
a channel, they will autogreet themselves.

* Lingo: On IRC, communication speed often matters when talking to
others, and as a result, many "shorthands" have been developed by
IRCers to convey the most amount of information in the smallest amount
of keystrokes. Here are some common shorthands:

"re" - repeat hi, used when you have left a channel and rejoin it
"brb" - be right back!
"bbl" - be back later
"bbiaf" - be back in a few minutes
"ttyl" - talk to you later
"rtfm" - read the f* manual
"rtrfc"- read the f* RFC
"oic" - Oh, I see!
"afaik"- As far as I know
"imho" - In my humble opinion
"rotfl"- rolling on the floor with laughter
"focl" - falling off the chair laughing
"nfi" - no f* idea
"ayfq" - ask your f* question
"wtf" - who/what the f*?
"afk" - Away from keyboard
"u" - you "y" - why
"2" - to "b" - be
"r" - are "c" - see

Another common 'emoticon' in use over IRC is the "smiley", which
is :-) (look at it sideways), but is often abbreviated to :)
There exist many variations to smileys and "frownies" :-(

* Discussion: When you come to a new channel it's advised that you
listen for a while to get an impression of what's discussed. Please
feel free to join in, but do not try to force your topic into the
discussion if that doesn't come naturally.

* The NOT's: The following is a list of "do not do's" on most
channels and over IRC as a whole:
o Do not flood the channel with text. This can be extremely
frustrating for people over slow modem connections, and is likely
to get you instantly kicked.
o Do not use beeps in your messages.
o Do not use colors or highlights in your messages.
o Do not use profanity in your public messages.
o Do not harass another user with unwanted messages/comments etc.
o Do not indulge in *destructive* behaviour which reduces the
functionality of IRC. (such as running clonebots/floodbots/nick
colliders - this can lead to your system admin being notified).

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-11) What's a mode change? What are modes?

Every user and channel on IRC has a set of "modes" associated with
him/it. Here's what the help page on the mode command says:

The mode command is quite complicated and it allows channel
operators to change channel mode, or any user to change
their personal mode. For a channel mode, <modechars> is one of
the following:
i - channel is invite only. A channel operator must/invite
users that wish to join.
k <key> - Adds join key <key> to the channel. Keys can added or
removed (MODE <channel> -k <key>), but not changed.
/join <channel> <key> to join a +k channel
l <number> - channel is limited, where <number> is the
maximum number of users allowed
m - channel is moderated (only channel operators and users
with a voice [+v] can talk. Users with a + sign next
to their nickname in a channel are voiced).
n - No MSGs to the channel are allowed
from someone outside the channel.
o <nick> - Makes <nick> a channel operator
p - channel is private
s - channel is secret. Channel will not show up in channel
listing, and you cannot get information about the
channel except for general modes unless you are on it
t - topic limits, only the channel operators may change it
v <nick> - Gives someone a voice to talk on a moderated channel.

A + or - sign determines whether the specified mode should be
added or deleted.
If you supply * as channel name, modes will apply to your current
channel.

The second form of the MODE command allows you to ban
somebody from a channel. This is done by specifying
a sting of the form nick!user@host. For example:
MODE #MyChannel +b *!*@gus.*
bans everybody from the channel who is on IRC from any
machine whose name is gus.
MODE #MyChannel +b netw1z
bans anybody using the nickname netw1z.
MODE #MyChannel +b *!merklin@*
bans anybody whose user name is merklin.
MODE #MyChannel +b jerk!t...@boat.edu
bans the user t...@boat.edu from the channel whenever he
is using the nickname "jerk".

If you are channel operator, you can list the bans in effect on a
channel by:
MODE #MyChannel +b
To find out the existing modes on a channel try
MODE #MyChannel

The third form of the MODE command allows you to modify your
personal parameters. You can precede any combination of the
following with + or - (+to switch that mode on, - to switch it off).

o - IRC operator status. You may not turn this on
with mode. To assert operator status, you must use OPER
w - Receive WALLOPS (messages directed at all operators.
see WALLOPS.
s - Receive server notices. This includes KILL notices
and notices about what is happening with links
to the local server.
i - Render yourself invisible. This prevents you from
being seen in WHO and WHOIS information, unless
somebody specifies your exact nickname with WHOIS.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-12) How do I perform an "Action"?

Whilst on IRC, you may often see messages of the sort:

*** Action: Muffin hugs everyone!

or on other clients:

* Muffin hugs everyone

You can do the same via the /me command. /me action will send the
action to your current channel. For example, try /me dances. If you
wish to send a private action to someone, rather than to the channel,
use the /describe command. /describe nick action will send the
action to the specified nickname.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-13) How do I "scrollback" in ircII? Are there any special key bindings
available?

To "scrollback" under ircII, use /lastlog command. The /lastlog
command keeps track of messages that appear in your ircII screen.
However, it holds a limited number of messages in its buffer. To
change the size of the buffer use /set lastlog <n> where <n>
is some number. By default, the lastlog buffer is of size 44.
/help lastlog for more information on the lastlog command.

ircII can also scroll back and forth (through the lastlog) using
Esc-P (for Previous 1/2 screen) and Esc-N (for Next 1/2 screen).
Esc-E returns instantly to the last line (back to the current
scrollage).

Besides this, ircII provides for several in built default key
bindings (emacs style) which are very useful:

^P recalls previous command line
^N recalls next command line
^F moves forward one character
^B moves backward one character
^A moves the cursor to the beginning of the line
^E moves the cursor to the end of the line
^D deletes the character under the cursor
^K kills from the cursor to the end
^Y reinserts the last stretch of killed text
^U clears the whole line
^L redraws the screen

The caret (^) stands for the control key on your keyboard. Thus, ^P
is interpreted as pressing the control key and the 'P' key together.

On a related note, you may also try the help pages on the HISTORY
command and the ! metacharacter. (/help history and /help !)

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-14) How do I make the output of a command in ircII pause after each
screenful? How do I "cancel" further output from a command?

To make your output pause in screenfuls, use the following command:

/set hold_mode on

To cancel further output from a command (for instance if you
accidentally did a /names when you hadn't intended to) use

/flush

* Warning: /flush flushes all output sent to the client so far from
the server. This means that you may end up losing some public/private
messages too.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-15) Ugh..all my messages seem to appear on a single status line. My term
settings seem to be messed up. Help!

This information holds for unix users. For some reason, the environment
settings which reflect your term type haven't been set right. If
you're using a vt100 compatible terminal, you may try:

unsetenv TERMCAP
setenv TERM vt100

from your Unix prompt. The above commands will work if you are a csh
or tcsh user. (To find what shell you use, try "echo $SHELL") If you
do not use these, try:

TERMCAP=
TERM=vt100

You may even use the 'stty' command to tell the system how many rows
your display holds. For example,

stty rows 24

Another command which can be used to reset terminals is the 'tset'
command. Try:

tset -s -m ':vt100'

You are advised to read the man pages on the tset and stty commands
for more information. ("man stty" and "man tset" from your Unix
prompt) You should also check your modem emulation software and
associated documentation and find out which term it emulates, in
case you're on a modem.

Under VMS, do a SET TERMINAL /INQUIRE so it will set the terminal it
expects to match your terminal emulator. If this doesn't work, do a
help on the SET TERMINAL command to find out how to directly command
the VAX to go to VT100 mode.

Lately, many irksome users have been exploiting a well known bug
with the talk facility to mess up your screen settings. Remember
to type the foll. command if you're on Unix, before starting irc:
mesg n
If you're on VMS, try:
SET TERMINAL/NOBROADCAST

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-16) What are the funny characters that I see at times in channel names or
nicknames over IRC?

Many people on IRC may use certain ASCII characters instead of their
Scandivanian counterparts to convey the same. For instance:

[, { 'a' with two dots over it
], } 'a' with a small circle above it
\, | 'o' with two dots over it, or a dash ("/") through it
("[", "]", and "\" = upper case)

In addition, IRC supports the ISO Latin-1 8-bit character set.
Thus, Japanese IRC'ers use special ANSI escape control sequences
to transmit their Kanji alphabet.

However, destructive individuals often use clone processes to connect
to IRC servers and spew garbage. If you see a lump of funny looking
nicknames, please report them to an IRC operator.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-17) Why do I get "No text to send" when I talk on a channel? How do I
get rid of this?? Please help!

This message is often seen when you use an old client which is no
longer compatible with the current series of IRC servers. To get
rid of it, get the latest version of your client! Look up 1-2)
for more information on obtaining a new client. A temporary solution
is /query #channelname.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-18) Darn..my irc session froze up :( Is there some way that I can get rid
of my old nick/session?

Occasionally, you may suddenly get disconnected from the IRC network
and find yourself still "logged in" on IRC. In this case, you need
to find the orphaned process and kill it, so that you can regain your
nickname. Go back to the Unix shell and try "ps -ux" or "ps -f".
This should show a listing similar to:

/u/sodeep%> ps -f
UID PID PPID C STIME TTY TIME COMMAND
sodeep 12501 12344 14 09:46:27 p22 0:00 ps -f
sodeep 12498 12344 0 09:46:18 p22 0:00 irc
sodeep 12344 12342 1 09:42:55 p22 0:02 -tcsh

Identify the irc process and the process identifier (PID). Then,
all you need to type is "kill -9 <PID>". Thus in this case, I
would have typed in "kill -9 12498". To get more information
on the Unix ps and kill commands, refer the man pages ("man ps"
or "man kill").

If nothing works, try "kill -9 -1" which will kill ALL processes
owned by you.

If you are on VMS, use the command:

show user/full <username>

This will display a list of processes and a list of process ids. Next
choose the ghosted process, and type in:

stop/id= <pid of process>

If you're using a later version (>2.4) of ircii-for-vms, a /ctcp
ghosted-nick PID returns the process id directly, and you can use
that directly with stop/pid.

If your machine crashed, and your nick is still in use on the
IRC network, you'll have to wait 4 to 5 minutes for your server to
recognize the fact. Getting an Operator to kill the ghost is almost
never necessary, just sign on as another nickname and wait for
the "Ping timeout" or "Error 0" message, then you can change your nick
back.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-19) How do other people change the text that appears in the parentheses
() after their names?

If you use the Unix csh or tcsh shells (to find out what shell you're
on, try "echo $SHELL" from your Unix prompt), try the following:

setenv IRCNAME "what you want here"

If you don't use csh/tcsh, try:

export IRCNAME="what you want here"

If you want the setting to be the same each time you login, you need
to put that line in your .login (for csh/tcsh users) or your .profile
(for other shell users). If you don't use csh/tcsh, you will also
need to add the line "export IRCNAME". Edit the .login or .profile
file using your favourite editor (vi/emacs/joe/pico/etc)

If you use a VMS ircII client, edit your login.com and put the line:

define ircname "what you want here"

NOTE: If you are a WWW user, it is becoming common practice to use
a homepage URL in the IRCNAME variable.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-20) How do I read my "irc" mail?

This is yet another common question from newcomers using ircII. There
is no mail over irc. The mail notification that you see is the number
of mail messages in your Unix mailbox. To read this, exit irc, and
type "mail", or "pine", or "elm", or your favourite mail reader.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-21) How do I find out when someone was last seen on IRC? How do I leave a
message for someone not on irc?

The command /whowas can be used if the person in question has signed
off recently (this depends - usually not more than 5-10 minutes).
/whowas Mmmm for example, will tell you if a person with
nickname Mmmm was on irc recently. If you wish to be notified when
a certain person signs onto IRC, you can use the /notify command.
/notify Mmmm will notify you when Mmmm signs on.

To leave a message for someone who's not on IRC currently, you can
use the /note command. However, /note is highly server dependent
(works on some servers, doesn't on others) and if it works on a
server, it may be taken off without warning if it's found to affect
the server's performance. The syntax for sending a note is
/note send nickname!user@host message
You are recommended to use email since it's much more reliable. To
achieve the same under ircII using email, you can do:
/exec echo "message" | mail user@host

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-22) How do I get "special effects" such as bold/reverse/underline when
using ircII?

The special effects that can be produced depend on the capabilities
of the terminal. If your terminal supports the control sequences,
you will be able to see messages highlighted/underlined/bold. The
foll. control characters achieve the effects:

^B - Bold
^_ - Underline
^V - InVerse

(on old ircII clients, ^b - inverse, ^v - underline, ^_ - bold)

The caret (^) stands for the control key on your keyboard. Thus, ^B
is interpreted as pressing the control key and the 'B' key together.

It is quite possible that some of these control keys may have been
bound already. For instance, ^B is usually bound to
BACKWARD_CHARACTER. To get around the default behaviour of ^B, try
/bind ^B self_insert
The ^B in the line above needs to be typed in as a caret(^) followed
by B (not as control-b, since this hasn't been unbound as yet, and
hitting control-b will simply move your cursor back).

* Warning: Lines with special effects in them are considered annoying
by most people, so be frugal in their usage.

* You can also use this with the mIRC client for Windows users. For
this hit CONTROL-<character> to start the effect on the text, and
hit it again to end the effect.

b -bold
u -underline
r -reverse

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-23) Someone on IRC asked me to type in a certain command that I do not
understand. What do I do?

One word. DON'T. If you do not know what the command does, you should
not try it. It is often the case that unscrupulous persons fool
newcomers to IRC into typing cryptic commands. Some of these commands
can affect the security of your account, and even your system as a
whole. Never try the /exec command if you do not know what it does.
Contact your server administrator if you were asked to execute a
cryptic command (/admin will reveal the server admin), and get more
information on what the command does.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-24) How do I save my ircII settings (such as nickname, default server,
etc) so that they are in effect the next time I sign onto IRC?

A file named .ircrc (use "ls -a" from your Unix prompt to check if
you have one) in your home directory can be used to store settings
that you would like to have each time you sign on. The lines in the
.ircrc file are interpreted as if you were actually typing them in
when you're on IRC. The / character before commands is optional
however. Thus if you wish to join a certain channel each time that
you sign on, you could put in the line:
join #channelname
in your .ircrc file.

Unix users also can play with the following shell variables:

HOME where your home directory is
IRCNAME (text that appears between parentheses in a WHOIS)
IRCNICK your default IRC nickname
IRCPATH a directory path to LOAD scripts
IRCRC a file to use instead of your $HOME/.ircrc
IRCSERVER a default server list for ircII
TERM your terminal type

See the answer to question 1-19) for help on setting a specific
variable.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-25) How do I drop to the Unix prompt temporarily?

It is possible to suspend the ircII process temporarily by first
typing the following command
/bind ^Z STOP_IRC
(the ^Z needs to be typed in as a caret ^ followed by Z)
Then, just hit control-Z to momentarily suspend ircII and to drop
to your shell prompt. Beware that the irc server checks to see if
a particular client is alive by pinging it every once and then. If
you suspend ircII in this fashion, you may "ping timeout", and hence
be cut off from the server. You should be able to return to the
ircII process by typing "fg". Note that this feature may not work on
all shells.

If you wish to prevent being ping timed out, you must install
ircserv (compile ircserv.c which came with the client, and move it
to the same directory as the irc client), and start up ircII with
the command "irc -S".

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-26) When I try connecting to a server, I get "Connection refused" or
"Connection timed out" or "Unknown host". What do I do now?

This usually happens due to one of the following reasons:
* The server name you specified is wrong
* Your nameserver is having problems and can't understand the name
you gave it and can't translate it into a numeric address.
* The server or the machine or the route to the server is down.

When you see this occuring, you should check up whether a server of
the specified name actually exists. If it does, you should then try
the numeric address of the server (e.g 129.15.22.33) rather than its
symbolic one (e.g. Norman.OK.US.undernet.org). A good thumb rule is to
note down the numeric addresses of your three favourite servers.
Sometimes, you may for some reason not be able to connect on the
standard irc port 6667. In that case, you may try alternate ports
7000 and 7777 via
/server numeric-address-of-server port#
Keep trying different servers (and/or ports) using their numeric
addresses, until you're able to connect. If you're still unable to
connect, then your local network is probably having problems and you
should contact your system admin.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-27) What does the message "Ghosts are not allowed on IRC" or "You are
banned/not welcome on this server" or "No authorisation" mean?

You may get either of the first 2 messages when your site or you have
been denied access to a particular server. The technical term for it
is being "K-lined". If you find that you have been K-lined from a
particular server, you can switch to another one. K-lines for entire
hosts are sometimes put up by IRC admins for one of the foll. reasons:
* Your site is not close to the server and you'd be better off using
a different closer server.
* Someone from your site has been running destructive clone processes
over IRC, which used forged ids. The only way to counteract them was
to k-line the entire domain. If you want the K-line for the host to
be lifted, you will need to talk to your system admin and get
identd installed at your site (RFC1413, ftp.std.com /src/network/
pidentd-2.2.tar.gz).
If you wish to ask why you were K lined from a server, you can write
to the server admin for that server. His or her email address can
be obtained via the command /admin servername.

The "No authorisation" message occurs due to a similar reason. The
server does not give your site access. A server administrator can
choose which sites can connect to his server via "I-lines" (called
invitation lines). Many servers I-line only local sites. You should
try to use a server close to you. A list of servers can be obtained
in the appendix of this FAQ (part 2).

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-28) What is a netsplit? What's "lag"? How do I avoid either?

As mentioned earlier, IRC servers are arranged in the shape of an
acyclic graph. Let's say a sample snapshot of connections looks like

A -------------- B
| |
C D

where A, B, C and D are servers. Let's say that you are on server C,
and server A splits from server B.

This "split" often occurs due to faults in the underlying *physical*
network. It can also occur due to other reasons, such as if the machine
on which server runs, crashes, or if it is too overloaded to handle
connections (happens on bigger nets), or if an IRC operator willfully
disrupts the connection between two servers (happens when operators
reroute servers to achieve a better routing).

Then in this case, you will see users on B and D, "sign off". Voila!
That was a "netsplit". When A and B rejoin, you will see users from B
and D "rejoin" the channel you were on. To cut down on the mass
signoff and rejoin messages that you see during netsplits, you might
try the "netsplit" script that comes with the ircII client. Use the
command /load netsplit to load it.

The term "lag" refers to the delay in messages reaching their
destination. You might often see a bunch of messages from a certain
user all together. In this case it's quite possible that the user
is "lagged". If you see a flood of messages from *everyone*, then
no messages for a while, then a flood again, etc., it is quite
possible that *you* are lagged. To find out how well you are doing
with respect to others, use the /ping command. /ping #channelname
forces a response from others on the channel, and you can compare
response times.

Lag can occur if you are not connected to a server close to you, or
if you are on a telnet client, or due to faults in the *physical*
network, or if the machine on which the server runs is slow.

There's not much you can do to avoid netsplits. They're a part of
the way ircd was designed, and also a part of the way the Internet
runs. To avoid lag, always use the server closest to you. The /links
command lists all IRC servers. Use /server servername to switch
servers.

Both lag and netsplits are much much lesser on the Undernet, but more
on this later. There is also a lag FAQ at:

http://www.user-com.undernet.org/documents/

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-29) Why do I get that annoying ~ which shows up in front of my address
on IRC? How do I get rid of it?

On IRC, it is often difficult for the server to verify the userid
of a particular client. Malicious users often use this to their
advantage by using forged userids and harassing other users, or
starting destructive clone processes which flood the network with
garbage. To better authenticate userids, later versions of irc
servers check to see if an IDENT server runs at your site. If it
does, the correct userid is queried from the IDENT server and used,
and the userid given by the user ignored. A server administrator may
choose to make the server tag users whose machines do not run IDENT
with a ~ before their name, signifying that they may not be under a
verified userid. This way, they can also deny access to troublesome
sites that do not run IDENT.

If you see the ~ before your email address in a /whois, and wish to
get rid of it, you will need to talk to your system administrator,
and ask him to install ident. The relevant RFC (request for comments)
which gives more information on ident is RFC1413. The IDENT package
for Unix systems can be found at:
ftp.std.com /src/network/pidentd-2.2.tar.gz

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-30) Hmm..what are all these "power scripts" that I keep hearing about?
Do I need them? Why do people call them risky?

The ircII client supports a scripting language which allows you
to program useful macros, functions, etc. /help ircII programming
will help you get started.

Most of the scripts that you see advertised are unnecessary. No
one needs a script that does mass mode changes for instance. (If
you're wondering why, each mode change is transmitted to each and
every server on the net. A mass of mode changes thus eats up a lot
of unnecessary bandwidth. Think about this the next time you do
a mode change.) The scripts which come with the client are more
than sufficient to help you get by. Notable scripts that come to
mind are the 'tabkey' script, which allows you to flip between
people whom you sent messages to before by a press of the tab key,
and the 'netsplit' script which cuts down on the mass signoffs and
rejoins that you see during netsplits.

When someone offers you a script, do not /load it without going
over it with a fine toothcomb. Even a simple /load scriptname can
cause you grief, if you do not know what the script does. Read each
and every line in the script, and get a general idea of what the
script does before loading it. Several scripts are known to have
'backdoors' put there intentionally or unintentionally by the
authors or distributors. Loading a script which you haven't gone
over is a BAD idea. To repeat, *never* load a script without reading
it first. If you do not understand it, DO NOT load it. Yes, it might
have "worked" for others - let them dig their own graves.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-31) Oh, I see. Now what's a bot? Why do people have a love/hate attitude
towards bots? Can I make a bot?

The term "bot" is short for "robot". You can often come across these
on IRC. A bot is a detached irc process which simulates another irc
client. Some bots serve as repositories for files, or useful data,
or conduct games. Dumb bots only do mode changes. Harmful bots
fork clone copies of themselves or flood the irc network with
garbage (clonebots/floodbots). These are almost universally hated.

Most bots on IRC are a nuisance, even though their owners find their
invention "cool". To quote guidelines for bots from the IRC primer:

* automatons should be clearly identified as such, having "bot",
"serv" or "srv" in their nickname.

* they should use NOTICES to communicate with the rest
of the world, and not reply to NOTICES they get.

* they should be able to always be killed (craziness is a
frequent disease among robots).

* they should be able to be killed remotely by their owner via IRC.

* they should not give access to their owner's real files, (bandits
have already been able to crack people's accounts through
their robots).

* they should not send messages to channels (unless the channel
is dedicated to that robot).

* they should not flood channels with MODE changes.

Please do not make yet another bot which disregards any of these. IRC
has more than its share of disruptive bots. *Never* ever take bot code
from someone and run it without understanding what it does. This is
a common mistake amongst newbies. Security issues come into play
again, not to mention that users doing this are often clueless about
controlling them, and the bots become a big nuisance. If you *must*
run a bot, learn ircII programming, or even better, C/perl & network
programming, and make sure that your bot serves a useful purpose
rather than "ops you on your channel and keeps it open when you are
not there".

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-32) Help! This extremely obnoxious person keeps harassing me with
messages/flooding me. What should I do?

One of the first commands that a newcomer to IRC must learn is the
magic /ignore command. With this command you can ignore people
flooding you or your channel, or harassing you, or whatever. The
syntax of the ignore command is:

/ignore user@host ALL

To find the user@host for a person, do a /whois nickname, or a
/who nickname. If you just wish to ignore messages from the person
you may do a /ignore nick MSG. /help ignore will give you more
information on this command. You can use wildcards (* and ?)in the
user@host. Thus to ignore everyone from a *.com site,
/ignore *@*.com all

On the Undernet, you can also use the "/quote silence" command to
counter people flooding you. This cuts flooding at the *local*
server unlike /ignore where your client continues to receive
messages even though you may not see them, and causes your client
to ping timeout in many cases. The syntax is:

/quote silence +user@host
or /quote silence nick

Ocassionally, malicious users may hack their userid or use
different accounts to get around your /ignore. Do not despair. You
can still evade people like these by going invisible and changing
nicks as follows:
/mode yournick +i or alternatively, /umode +i
followed by,
/nick newnick
Once you're invisible the harasser cannot see your new nickname
unless s/he's on the same channel as yourself. Simple make your
channel secret and invite only (/mode #channelname +sni) for you
and your friends, for a foolproof cure.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-33) Hey..I heard that you can exchange files over IRC - how is that done?
What's DCC?

If you have a client that supports DCC (direct client-to-client),
you can take advantage of it to exchange files, and even hold secure
conversations with your friends. To send a file via DCC to another
person, use:
/dcc send nickname filename
The other person who's offered the file via DCC, will need to type in
/dcc get nickname filename
You will see establishment of a DCC connection. Now wait patiently,
until the transfer is completed.

You can also use DCC to have a more secure conversation with another
person. DCC opens a direct connection which means that apart from
the initial requests to establish the DCC connection, further
exchange takes place directly between 2 clients without involvement
of intervening IRC servers. To use DCC CHAT, try
/dcc chat nickname
Then, to send a message via dcc to the person, use
/msg =nickname message (note the '=' sign which is required,
otherwise the message will not go over the dcc connection). You may
also try /dmsg nick message. /help dcc should give you more information
on DCC.

To close a previously sent DCC connection, use the command
/dcc close <type> <nick>
For example, if you had sent a file called sample.txt to Mmmm, and
wish to terminate the send, use
/dcc close send Mmmm
To list current DCC connections in use, try the command
/dcc list

You can also find a FAQ about CTCP and DCC information at User-Com's
documents section at http://www.user-com.undernet.org/documents/

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-34) How can I "register" my nickname? What's Nickserv?

Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee that you can use the
same nickname when you're on IRC. Although it is considered extremely
impolite to use someone else's nickname, it does happen occasionally
on IRC. This can cause confusion, and hence you're advised to make
sure that your friends recognise you by your user@host.

However, all is not lost. There does exist a service call Nickserv
which will register nicknames and warn other users who attempt to
use the same nickname that the nickname's registered by you. On
the Undernet, Nickserv's still in an experimental stage. Use
/msg nick...@undernet.org help
for more information. Remember that it is not a guarantee that your
nickname will not be used. Steps are underway to strengthen the
undernet Nickserv, if possible. To repeat, Nickserv cannot be
guaranteed to be even present all the time. In fact, it is absent
most of the time, since it is only in an experimental stage. Do
not depend on its existence.

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-35) Where can I find pictures/gifs of people on IRC?

You can find pictures of people who use IRC at the following FTP
sites:

ftp.undernet.org:/irc/pictures
ftp.funet.fi:/pub/pics/people/misc/irc (NORDUnet only)
ftp.informatik.tu-muenchen.de /pub/comp/networking/irc/RP

If you have a web browser, you may try the following URLs:

http://www.enst.fr/~tardieu/irc/
http://www.powertech.no/IRCGallery/

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-36) Where can I find an IRC manual? Where can I find more information
on IRC?

You can find an ircII manual at ftp.undernet.org under /irc/clients.
This manual is basically all the help files concatenated into one
big file. If you'd prefer each in separate files, ftp ircII2.2.9help.
tar.Z, and uncompress and untar it (uncompress ircII2.2.9help.tar.Z
| tar -xf -).

For more information on IRC, you can download the IRC primer and
tutorials from cs-ftp.bu.edu under /irc/support. For a technical
overview, you can try reading RFC1459. You can also join the
Undernet mailing lists - user-com (general irc help) and wastelanders
(discussion of server routing/protocol/etc). To find out how to
subscribe, send mail to majo...@undernet.org (or list...@undernet.org
or list...@undernet.org) with "help" in the body.

If you use Mosaic, good URLs to try are:

http://www2.undernet.org:8080/~cs93jtl/IRC.html

http://urth.acsu.buffalo.edu/irc/WWW/ircdocs.html

Good IRC books to try are:

* "The IRC Survival Guide" - Stuart Harris. $17.95 U.S. Addison-Wesley
ISBN 0-201-41000-1

* "Using Internet Relay Chat" - Marianne Pyra. $19.99 U.S. Que
Corporation (Macmillan Publications). ISBN 0-7897-0020-4

* "Internet Chat Quick Tour" - Donald Rose. Ventana Press.
P.O. Box 2468 Chapel Hill, NC 27515. 919-942-0220
ISBN: 1-56604-223-2. $14.00

* Interactive Internet: The Insider's Guide to MUDs, MOOs and IRC
- William J. Shefski Publisher: Prima ISBN: 1-55958-748-2
Price: US $19.95; Can, $29.95; UK 18.49 net

* Person to Person on the Internet - Diane Reiner and Keith Blanton
Publisher: AP Professional (an imprint of Academic Press, Inc.,
a division of Harcourt Brace & Company) Paperback, 490 pages
$19.95 ISBN: 0-12-104245-6 Sales: (800) 321-5068, (800) 3131-APP,
or email to A...@ACAD.COM. Web: http://www.apnet.com/approfessional

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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--
Mandar Mirashi
Maintainer: ftp.undernet.org, Undernet IRC FAQ.
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/alt.irc.undernet
For IRC help/Undernet information, check out http://www.undernet.org

Mandar M. Mirashi

unread,

Jun 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM6/1/98

Posted-By: auto-faq 3.1.1.2
Archive-name: irc/undernet-faq/part2

Version: $Id: undernet-faq, v3.2.0 1995/08/07 13:23 mandar Exp $

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Undernet IRC FAQ [Part II] (updated 1st Sept. 1996) - Weekly Repost

Version 1 By Paul Grant (Grant)

Version 2-3 - written by Mandar Mirashi (Mmmm)
man...@wildstar.net

The FAQ consists of answers to several frequently asked questions on the

IRC newsgroups. Please don't ask these questions again, they've been
answered plenty of times already - and please don't flame someone just
because they may not have read this particular posting. Thank you.

The FAQ consists of the following sections.

I) IRC for the newcomer
II) The Undernet (for the newcomer)

III) The Undernet (for people on other nets)

IV) The Undernet (how can you participate?)
V) Acknowledgements/References
VI) Undernet IRC server list

This article covers sections II - VI, and includes answers to:

Section II: The Undernet (for the irc newcomer)
- - -----------------------------------------------
2-1) Well, I understand what a server is. Now what's a net?
2-2) So far, so good. Now, why's this net called the "Undernet"?
2-3) How do I find the closest Undernet server to me?
2-4) Whom do I approach if I have questions?
2-5) What are some good channels to try?
2-6) Say...can I join some mailing list which helps with IRC questions,
or discusses IRC in general?
2-7) Are there any Undernet ftp/www/gopher sites?

Section III : The Undernet (for people on other nets)
- - -----------------------------------------------------
3-1) What is the Undernet? Where does the term EFnet come from?
3-2) Why does the Undernet exist? Do we need another IRC?
3-3) How is the Undernet IRC protocol different from/better than the
EFnet (and other nets)?
3-4) So, can you summarise the advantages of the Undernet?
3-5) Cool! Do I need to make any changes to my .ircrc file?
3-6) How do I get to the Undernet from the EFnet (and other nets)?
3-7) Hmm..someone was foolish enough to hand out ops to an untrustworthy
person on our channel, who proceeded to do a mass deop, and left.
Can something be done?
3-8) Can I move my channel to the Undernet? What are the advantages of
doing so? How do I register a channel?
3-9) Can I communicate with someone on the EFnet once I'm on the Undernet?
(or vice-versa)
3-10) Who are the Undernet programmers?
3-11) What does the future hold for the Undernet?

Section IV: The Undernet (How can I participate?)
- - -------------------------------------------------
4-1) So, how do I get to be an "IRC op"? Why can't I be one?
4-2) How do I apply for a link for my server to the Undernet? What are the
requirements?
4-3) How do I volunteer to do some work for the Undernet? No, I'm not
looking for an O line. I just like being nice and helpful to people.
How do I participate?
4-4) I have some ideas for the future design of ircd. I may also be
interested in doing some programming for the Undernet. Whom do I
approach?

If you're looking for the answer to, say, question 2-5, and want to skip
everything else, you can search ahead for the regular expression "^2-5".
(/2-5 in case you use vi).

This FAQ (both parts) can be obtained via anonymous ftp from ftp.undernet.org

or ftp.undernet.org under /irc/docs, or from rtfm.mit.edu under
/pub/usenet/alt.irc/ If ftp does not work from your site, then try
the mail server: send email to mail-...@rtfm.mit.edu with

send usenet/news.answers/irc/undernet-faq/part1
send usenet/news.answers/irc/undernet-faq/part2

URL's on the World Wide Web for this FAQ are:

http://www.undernet.org/~agifford/undernet/underfaq/
http://www2.undernet.org:8080/~cs93jtl/underfaq/

P.S. : This FAQ widely refers to the Unix ircII client and many commands

might not work the same way if you aren't using ircII.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section II: The Undernet (for the irc newcomer)
================================================

2-1) Well, I understand what a server is. Now what's a net?

IRC servers are connected together in a 'tree' like fashion
(an undirected acyclic graph to be precise). A collection of
IRC servers is called an IRC net. The command /links will
display all servers on a net. The command /lusers will display
the number of users, servers, and channels on a given net.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-2) So far, so good. Now, why's this net called the "Undernet"?

The term "Undernet" was suggested in jest by some of the original
operators (dl, Wildthang and Whizzard) who started it. As time
went by, the name stuck. :-) Upon hearing the name people often
think that it's a net where something illegal goes on - which isn't
quite the case. On the other hand, the name also imparts a mysterious
angle to the IRC net. On the whole, it's a very friendly net with
an easy going atmosphere. Most people are nice and helpful to
newcomers.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-3) How do I find the closest Undernet server to me?

Luckily for you, all Undernet servers follow names of the format:

city.state.country.undernet.org or,
city.country.continent.undernet.org

Thus, you can easily locate the closest server to you. In most
cases, this also turns out to be closest netwise as well. The
command /links lists all servers. Choose one which is closest
to you, and simply type /server servername. Also, the following
aliases are set up, country/continent wise:
us.undernet.org - USA
eu.undernet.org - Europe
au.undernet.org - Australia
ca.undernet.org - Canada
You can try a /server countrycode.undernet.org and see if that works
for you.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-4) Whom do I approach if I have questions?

You are always welcome on #wasteland - the help channel. Please
remember that depending upon the time, #wasteland volunteers may be
slow in responding since most peek into the window once in a while.
However, someone or the other is sure to help you out! You may also
try out #newbies, #help, #irchelp, #oldbies, #newbieplus.

Another avenue is the he...@undernet.org (general irc help) and
wastel...@undernet.org (irc oper mailing list)mailing lists - try
mailing your question to these. You may even mail your server admin
for more information (/admin will return information on the admin
for that server and his/her email address).

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-5) What are some good channels to try?

New channels are starting up on the Undernet almost everyday. Given
the dynamic nature of channels, the channel names can vary, but a few
are fairly stable.

Technical: #unix, #hack, #appleiigs, #linux, #linpeople, #amiga,
#root, #Windows95, #WindowsNT, #macintosh, #cu-seeme,
#c, #visualbasic, #11NSChat
General chat: #chatzone, #chat, #friendly, #hotsex, #popcorn,
#teenchat, #ark, #talk2me, #gayteen, #readyroom,
#forest, #thecafe, #vampcafe, #asd, #big-folks,
#chitchat, #callahans, #cafebleu
Age groups: #25plus, #30plus, #41plus, #65plus
Help: #wasteland, #help, #irchelp, #vmshelp, #newbies,
#newbies2, #newbplus
Games: #riskybus, #jargon, #acro, #chaos, #doomsday, #trivbot
#conquest, #chessland, #poker, #Initgame, #boggle
Sports: #cricket, #football, #baseball
States/Countries: #canada, #dutch, #india, #slovenija, #ireland,
#england, #korea, #russian, #asian, #germany,
#taiwan, #quebec, #italia, #mexico, #nz, #latinos
#texas
Religion: #Christians, #bible, #Ccm, #Christian, #wicca, #prayer,
#fellowship, #mormon
TV shows: #loisnclark, #X-files, #animaniacs
Languages: #espanol, #francais
Sex: #netsex, #sex, #wetsex, #bdsm, #spanking, #erotica
Philosophy: #AynRand
Fantasy/Role-playing: #waste

Feel free to try any of these. New channels are created each day.
you can check out these with a /names or a /list command. The
Undernet service X also supports keyword searches for registered
channels.
/msg X search keyword

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-6) Say...can I join some mailing list which helps with IRC questions,
or discusses IRC in general?

The list user...@undernet.org has been set up for people requesting
general help regarding irc questions. The list
wastel...@undernet.org has been set up as a medium for IRC opers
to communicate, and discuss ideas, amongst other things. To join
either of these, send mail to majo...@undernet.org with the word
"help" in the body which will send you back further information.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-7) Are there any Undernet ftp/www/gopher sites?

Undernet FTP sites -> ftp.undernet.org
ftp2.undernet.org, ftp3.undernet.org
ftp.eu.undernet.org (Europe)

Undernet WWW URLs ->

http://www.undernet.org/
http://esquilino.enserb.u-bordeaux.fr:8001/TOP/irc/index.html
http://www2.undernet.org:8080/~cs93jtl/Undernet.html
http://www2.undernet.org:8080/~cs93jtl/IRC.html
http://www3.undernet.org/~jxm181/unet.html
http://info.undernet.org

www.undernet.org is an alias for sci.dixie.edu
www2.undernet.org is an alias for http2.brunel.ac.uk
www3.undernet.org is an alias for cac.psu.edu

Undernet gopher site -> gopher.undernet.org (aka sci.dixie.edu)

To get to the Undernet gopher site, follow these directions:
Main menu
-> Other Gopher and Information Servers/
-> North America/
-> USA/
-> Utah/
-> Dixie College Science Gopher (St. George, Utah)/
-> IRC (Internet Relay Chat)/

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section III : The Undernet (for people on other nets)
=====================================================

3-1) What is the Undernet? Where does the term EFnet come from?

The Undernet is a separate collection of IRC servers on a different
network. The servers follow a much better server-server protocol,
while maintaining the same server-client protocol. It's much smaller
than its counterpart the EFnet, and was designed to supplement the
EFnet. The term EFnet stands for eris-free net. (eris.berkeley.edu
was a server on the net which is now no longer there) The small size
of the Undernet also works to advantage and is often considered by
many as a good thing. On the Undernet all the operators know one
another, people are more friendly and there are (as yet) no unsavoury
characters.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-2) Why does the Undernet exist? Do we need another IRC?

Why not? At the moment the EFnet IRC is overloaded with users. There
are frequent netsplits involving not just the odd servers, but in
increasing cases a significant number of servers. Too much pressure
is put onto the EFnet IRC due to the (unforeseen) explosion of users
it has gained. Many people don't ask _if_ the EFnet irc will survive,
but when will it go...

For this reason the Undernet stands out as a Good Thing (tm). It can
help take the load off of the EFnet IRC and prolong its day of
judgement, hopefully for long enough that a solution to its problems
can be found. The Undernet consists of some very highly motivated and
dedicated people enthusiastic to make a success of their venture.

There is another reason why the Undernet is here. EFnet IRC is becoming
more and more politicized, day by day. With various EFnet IRC admins
forming groups against one another, the amount of co-operation between
them has become almost nil. The time which they could spend in serving
you, the user, is instead spent in endless bickering.

Undernet is a net where the operators are friendly easy going folks, and
are always happy to help the users as far as possible. Abusing users is
*highly* frowned upon, and opers follow a certain "Undernetiquette".
Feel free to ask any questions that you may have, and though you may
not always be guaranteed of an answer, we will surely do our best to
help you in any way whenever possible, and in making your stay more
comfortable.

Yet another goal of the Undernet is to provide a better environment
for users to communicate in, with protection against malicious users
who try to work *against* IRC and its principles. The Undernet has an
improved server-server protocol which disallows netsplit op riders,
with no channel desynchs, or intentional nick collides possible.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-3) How is the Undernet IRC protocol different from/better than the
EFnet (and other nets)?

As time has gone by, Undernet IRC programmers have come forward with
innovative solutions to stem some of the problems plaguing the
current EFnet. A lot of creative solutions have been coded by our
major ircd programmer - Run (ca...@runaway.xs4all.nl), and implemented
on the Undernet servers. These include:

* TSpre8 - This patch makes it impossible for anyone to abuse
netsplits and ride ops and do mass deops on your channel or lock it
up. Mode changes are followed with a channel creation TS (timestamp)
which is used to then reverse invalid mode changes. TS pre8 also
includes code which makes it difficult for even irc admins to hack
their server to do fake mode changes without HACK notices being
sent to all opers. TSpre8 also enables oper wallops.

* bquiet - This patch prevents someone banned on the channel to send
to it or change nicks. Extremely useful since /kick is almost never
needed, and counters annoying nick changing automatons with a
single ban until they flood themselves out.

* silence - This patch cuts off flooding at the *local* server. Thus,
unlike /ignore where your client continues to receive floods (even
though you don't see them) and gets ping timed out, silence enables
you to completely get rid of intentional flooders. To use silence,
the syntax is: /silence +user@host or /silence nick.

* ANC - The anti-nick collide patch foils intentional nick colliders
who try changing servers during netsplits on the EFnet and obtain
the same nick in order to collide you when the net rejoins. With
the anc patch, this is no longer possible, and the person who
signs on *later* is rejected from the server.

In addition to the above obligatory patches for all Undernet servers
(all developed by Run), many Undernet servers also run the foll.
optional patches:

* ban - Developed FIRST on the Undernet by SIO, it was soon adopted
by some servers on the EFnet. This patch allows you to see who
set bans and when on a channel.

* To - topic info - Also developed first on the Undernet by SIO, this
patch allows you to see who set the topic on a channel and the time
that it was set.

* S - Signon time - Another Undernet first, coded by SIO, this patch
allows you to see when another person on the same server as
yourself, signed on.

The foll. patches which are also optionally installed, are more of
interest to IRC admins:

* KL - Kill line comments - Developed by Mmmm. Allow you to specify
a comment on the K line instead of the plain stupid error message
of "ghosts are not allowed". You may even choose to have a file
output to a K lines client.

* TT - Trace times - Developed by Tonto. Appends a number indicating
in milliseconds, the amount of time lapse since the server last heard
from the server/ client. Depending upon your Y lines setup, you can
use this as a judge to determine ping timeouts.

* Cl - Client connect - Developed by Twilight1. Notifies you of local
client connects/disconnects. Useful for spotting clone bots.

* sw - /stats w - Developed on the EFnet by mlv. Lets you gather
statistics on average client connects per hour, day, etc. and keeps
track on maxconnections on the server so far.

* MC - mixed case - Developed by Jon2/mlv. Helpful patch to disallow
users with mixed case userids (usually fake) from connecting.

* OF - oper fail - Developed by Jon2/bry. Notifies local opers when
a local user tried to /oper and failed.

For more information on these patches and how they work, you can
ftp to ftp2.undernet.org and fetch /irc/servers/README.patches

NOTE: The Undernet has been a pioneer in many of these improvements.
We now have released the latest version of server code u2.9 which
continues to offer more improvemenets (reduction of interserver
bursts, anti-ip spoof patch, anti-clone patch, etc) for our users.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-4) So, can you summarise the advantages of the Undernet?

The Undernet offers users the following advantages:

* Lesser lag due to more intelligent routing based solely on ping
times and traceroutes.
* Fewer netsplits (these too are attended to by an automatic
routing service which reconnects on splits).
* No netsplit op riders to harass channels.
* No channel desynchs and servers telling you that you aren't opped.
* No nick colliders.
* All the useful patches discussed in the earlier answer are
implemented on most servers.
* User friendly operators willing to help you.
* Innovative new services such as MURC (check out channel #waste)
* Channel registration for popular channels
(http://cervice.undernet.org)

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-5) Cool! Do I need to make any changes to my .ircrc file (ircII users)?

Yes, you will need to add the following lines to your .ircrc if you
use ircII, and would like to take full advantage of all the patches.

# Ban patch
on ^367 * if ([$4] != []) {echo *** $1 \($3 - $stime($4)) $2} {echo *** $1-}

# Topic info patch
on ^333 * echo *** Topic for $1 set by $2 on $stime($3)

# Signon time patch
on ^317 * if (index(012345679 $3) != -1) {echo *** $1 has been idle for $2 seconds. Signon at $stime($3)} {echo *** $1 has been idle for $2 seconds.}

# TSpre8 - channel creation time
On ^329 "*" echo *** $1 : created $stime($2)

# handy aliases for the silence command and a required on raw_irc
alias silence quote silence
alias sile quote silence
on ^raw_irc "% SILENCE %" echo *** $*

# If you use Daveman's toolbox or any auto rejoin line, remove the old
# on raw_irc for KICK, and use the foll. one instead: (Run)
# [Remove the # symbol at the beginning to uncomment the lines of course]
#
#on ^raw_irc "% KICK % % *" {
# if ([$3]==[$N])
# {
# //quote join $2
# echo $mid(11 5 $stime($time())) * You have been kicked off channel $2 by $left($index(! $0) $0) $$mid(1 256 $4-)$
# }
# {
# echo $mid(11 5 $stime($time())) * $3 has been kicked off channel $2 by $left($index(! $0) $0) $$mid(1 256 $4-)$
# }
# }

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-6) How do I get to the Undernet from the EFnet (or other nets)?

It is very easy to switch to the Undernet if you're currently on the
EFnet. Simply use the command,
/server servername
or if a port is specified (all European Undernet servers run on
port 7000)
/server servername port#

Most Undernet servers now listen on ports 6660-6669.

Sometimes, the "symbolic" name for the server may not work, and you
may need the "numeric" address (a string of numbers) instead. Listed
in the Appendix is a list of Undernet servers along with their
numeric addresses and ports wherever relevant.

All Undernet servers are registered in the undernet.org domain. Also,
they follow the format: city.state.country.undernet.org or,
city.country.continent.undernet.org E.g US servers are
*.US.undernet.org
and european servers are
*.eu.undernet.org
This will make it easy for you to remember how to get to the Undernet.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-7) Hmm..someone was foolish enough to hand out ops to an untrustworthy
person on our channel, who proceeded to do a mass deop, and left.
Can something be done?

The Undernet has a special service known as Uworld which takes care
of reopping channels, and is accessible by operators. However, strict
guidelines are in effect for its use. An oper will refuse to use
Uworld if there already exist chanops on the channel. Uworld can be
used if a channel has lost channel ops for some reason *and* channel
users are unhappy about it *and* they are decided upon who's to be
opped. To make sure that users realise the responsibility of the
decision of sharing ops with someone else, a time delay may occur
before the channel is reopped. Above all, it is *your* responsibility
that you do not lose ops on your channel - an oper is not *obliged*
to reop channels who lose ops due to carelessness on behalf of the
current chanops.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-8) Can I move my channel to the Undernet? What are the advantages of
doing so? How do I register a channel?

You're welcome to start up your favourite channel on the Undernet as
well. Consider the many advantages. Much better facilities for
chatting, without the annoyingly frequent netsplits; much lesser lag
(check with /ping #channelname for yourself :); protection against
netsplit op riders who try to disrupt channels; no channel desynchs;
amongst the other advantages listed earlier. We may even be able to
set up a gateway service between the same channels on both nets, if
all channel members are willing. (email wastel...@undernet.org,
if you wish to do this; or email dvmi...@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu or
ca...@runaway.xs4all.nl). Undernet operators are always willing to
help you in this endeavour, so don't hesitate to ask us.

*NEW* The Undernet now has a channel service called X, which can
protect channels. You need to have at least 10-15 supporters for
for your channel. You can email cser...@mail.undernet.org for
more information or check out http://cservice.undernet.org.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-9) Can I communicate with someone on the EFnet once I'm on the Undernet?
(or vice-versa)

Occasionally, a few gateway services can be found on the Undernet
which allow you to communicate to someone not on the same net, or
which link channels. These include 'ul' - programmed by Tonto
(ven...@bga.com), || - programmed by Wildthang (dvmitche@mailhost.
ecn.uoknor.edu), Orac - programmed by Ensor (dho...@rahul.net),
and miscellaneous others (including some by Run). Look around if
any of these is present, and if so, try /msg servicename help.

You can also be simultaneously on *both* nets if you use ircII. Try
the command:
/window new server servername
where servername is the name of a server on the other net. This will
split your screen into two windows, with each window on different
servers. If you specify a server on a different net, then you will be
on different nets. You can use Ctrl-x p (hit ctrl-x, release, then
hit p) to flip between windows. (if that doesn't work, you may try
/window goto 1 and /window goto 2) Type /help window to get more
extensive help.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-10) Who are the Undernet programmers?

The Undernet programming team has many members - all of them very
enthusiastic and deeply dedicated to the cause. Here's a brief
description of what each person does/codes/maintains:

* Run (ca...@runaway.xs4all.nl) - Our magic ircd programmer. He
coded the foll. important patches:
o TSpre8 o ANC o bquiet o silence
In addition, Run also maintains Undernet's automatic Router. He
also coded Underworld.nl, a backup for Uworld.

* WildThang (da...@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu) - Our magic "user services"
programmer. Wildthang is the coder for Uworld, Murc, quick
ircIIhelp, and telnet client services. The Undernet hosts the
world's first MURC (Join #waste on the Undernet to find out what
a murc is :). Wildthang's also the coder for the gateway service ||.

* SIO (pfo...@vuw.ac.nz) - Coder for the Undernet Nickserv. Also
coded the ban, topic and signon info patches which are found with
the .mu versions of the server.

* hop (jne...@iastate.edu) - Our magic ircII client enhancer. Hop
has done an extensive facelift to current ircII versions. His latest
version was ircII2.3.17+10.4. The UPDATES file which reflect new
additions to the client is 500 lines in size! You can ftp this from
ftp2.undernet.org under /irc/clients

* Mmmm (mmmi...@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu) - He's responsible for
maintaining the auto-magic ircII install on sci.dixie.edu. He also
codes and maintains the smallirc client, and does minor ircd
patches and releases.

* Karll (agif...@sci.dixie.edu) - Multipurpose programmer. He has
coded useful routines for both ircd as well as hop's client.

* Tonto (ven...@bga.com) - He was the author of the gateway service
'ul'. He's also done some ircd programming for the Undernet.

* Cym/Kev/Ensor/flux/dl/President/S_Avatar/TheJester/epa/Snarf - these
are our other programmers who have chipped in useful things from
time to time.

* Seks - He's the author of the famous channel service X/W. 'nuff said.

* All other members of the coder-com mailing list.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-11) What does the future hold for the Undernet?

All of us envisage a bright future for the Undernet. Userbase has
been slowly rising. So has the stability of servers in general.
More and more improvements have been done to the protocol in
general, and have proven successful.

Given the surprising success of the Undernet, many attempts have
been made to imitate it in the form of other nets. Other nets such
as the Lamenet, 3l33tnet, IAOnet, dalnet, idealnet, etc sprung up in
recent years. None of these however have exhibited the originality of
ideas or creativity shown by innovative Undernet programmers.
A famous saying goes: "Imitation is the best form of flattery".

We hope that you will take time to visit us on the Undernet, and
share in its bright future. The final goal of Undernet ircd
programmers is to eliminate or minimize all problems that plague
the current EFnet. The journey has just begun....

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section IV: The Undernet (How can you participate?)
=================================================

4-1) So, how do I get to be an "IRC op"? Why can't I be one?

The Undernet admins do not give ops to people who *ask* for them.
If you participate in the net by helping people, and in general
following proper Undernetiquette, you might merit attention and
your name may be suggested on the wastelanders mailing list. IRC
ops are scrutinized carefully before being added. Basically, no
ops are handed out to people who (i) are hardly around or (ii)
ignore pleas for help or (iii) want ops just for kill power or
(iv) want ops because it gives them a sense of "power" over other
users, and to look "cool". Remember, asking for ops only makes your
case *worse*. If you're worthy, and other feel that you're competent
enough, you'll be approached to volunteer for oper. IRC ops are
expected to have been on IRC for a long time, and must possess an
adequate amount of knowledge to help Undernet users. They are also
responsible for keeping servers connected and abiding by the general
guidelines of the Undernet.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4-2) How do I apply for a link for my server to the Undernet? What are the
requirements?

At the time of writing this document, the Undernet will not consider
any more links unless you're situated in an exceptionally good
location (read "one hop off the T3 backbone in the US, or other
equivalent backbone networks in Europe/elsewhere"). Use traceroute
and ping to determine your location. If you feel you are eligible
for a link, read the files in the /irc/newlinks directory at ftp.
undernet.org. Post your proposal to the wastelanders mailing list
- wastel...@mail.undernet.org. Remember, all Undernet servers *must*
run with the approval of the system admin at that site. If you do not
receive a response within a week, you can safely assume that the
Undernet cannot provide you links (though usually, a response, either
positive or negative will be sent). For a more elaborate discussion,
you may join #wasteland and talk to other IRC admins to discuss your
proposal.

*NEW* -> With the formation of committees on the Undernet, the
Routing/Servers Committee handles all routing/link decisions. Make
sure you send a copy of the newlink document to routi...@undernet.org
as well.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4-3) How do I volunteer to do some work for the Undernet? No, I'm not
looking for an O line. I just like being nice and helpful to people.
How do I participate?

The Undernet is *always* looking for people like you. We are always
short of volunteers to help other people. Have you benefitted from
your experience with the Undernet? Have you enjoyed your time on
IRC here? We encourage you to give back to the net what you got from
it. You are encouraged to help. Even if you lurk around on #wasteland
and familiarize yourself with frequently asked questions on the
channel, and their answers, it would take a BIG load off many of the
operators who were quite selflessly devoted to helping you, when you
started off. You can join the wastelanders mailing list (mail
list...@mail.undernet.org or majo...@mail.undernet.org with the
word "help" in the body for information on how to subscribe). Please
do what you can. Every little bit counts!

*NEW* -> The Undernet has set up a Users' Committee to receive
input from users like yourself. To subscribe to the mailing list,
send mail to majo...@mail.undernet.org with "subscribe user-com"
in the body. The URL on the World Wide Web for the User Committee
home page is http://aslan.pr.mala.bc.ca/~warren/usercom.html

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4-4) I have some ideas for the future design of ircd. I may also be
interested in doing some programming for the Undernet. Whom do I
approach?

The Undernet is always on the search of new solutions to existing
problems. If you think you can help us in this endeavour, welcome
aboard! Subscribe to the wastelanders mailing list (send mail to
majo...@mail.undernet.org with "subscribe wastelanders" in the body)
and tell us about your ideas. After a period of discussion, and
depending upon everyone's views, we may give you the "go ahead"
to program it! Yes, watch *your* code being run on servers around
the world, with your name in our acknowledgements. The Undernet
programming team is a tightly knit set of enthusiastic individuals.
Feel free to participate.

*NEW* -> The Undernet has set up an ircd coders' committee. To
subscribe to the mailing list, send mail to majo...@mail.undernet.org
with "subscribe coder-com" in the body.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
=================

* First off, to Jarkko Oikarinen (WiZ) for this wonderful invention.
* To the telnet site maintainers at bradenville where I first accessed irc.
* To the ircII coders (Mike Sandrof, Troy Rollo, Matthew Green, Ian
Frechette, Jeremy Nelson).
* To Run for his magic improvements to Undernet ircd.
* To Wildthang (Danny) for his advice as a friend and as an awesome
Undernet irc services programmer.
* To Fizzy (Adrian Hall) for the impetus he lent to the Undernet.
* To TikTok (Donna) who's gonna bear the misery of proofing this.
* To all wastelanders/Undernetters for helpful tips and comments.
* Thanks to all others who have helped me in this faq - you are too
numerous to mention - you know who you are.
* Thanks also to my critics and enemies. Without your existence, I
wouldn't have had the inspiration to go on.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REFERENCES
==========

* The ircII help pages.
* RFC1459
* IRCprimer by Nicholas Pioch.
* alt.irc FAQ by Helen Trillian Rose Davis.

- - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

APPENDIX: The Undernet Server List
==================================

Updated: 1st June 1996

- - ----------------------
Explanation of entries
- - ----------------------
line 1: server name and port number
line 2: machine name and IP numeric
line 3: location

- - --------------------
Undernet server list
======================

NORTH AMERICA (Although the default port is 6667, for faster access,
============= try ports 6660-6669)

CANADA
- - ------
server: Montreal.QU.CA.undernet.org 6667
machine: aiken.info.polymtl.ca 132.207.4.32
location: Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Quebec, Canada
admin: unde...@step.polymtl.ca

server: Vancouver.BC.CA.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.direct.ca 199.60.229.15
location: Internet Direct, Vancouver, Canada
admin: van-...@alias.undernet.org

server: Toronto.ON.CA.undernet.org 6667
machine: oceanus.magic.ca 199.166.230.99
location: Magic Online Services, Toronto, Canada
admin: dee...@magic.mb.ca

USA
- - ---
server: Norman-r.OK.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: shiloh.nssl.ou.edu 129.15.67.10
location: University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, USA
admin: da...@wildstar.net

server: Washington.DC.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc01.irc.aol.com 152.163.173.25
location: America On-Line, Washington DC, USA
admin: i...@aol.com

server: Ann-Arbor.MI.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.cic.net 192.131.22.80
location: CICnet, Ann-Arbor, Michigan, USA
admin: i...@cic.net

server: Chicago.IL.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: tau.wwa.com 198.49.174.36
location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
admin: i...@wwa.com

server: Chicago-1.IL.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: raptor.ais.net 199.0.154.14
location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
admin: ado...@ais.net, t...@ais.net

server: Phoenix.AZ.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: home.amug.org 204.62.193.83
location: Arizona Macintosh Users' Group, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
admin: d...@amug.org, sch...@amug.org, kmp...@bausch.nl

server: Lowell.MA.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: chatter-s2.nis.newscorp.com 206.15.106.129
location: MCI/NewsCorp. Internet Ventures, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA.
admin: irc...@iguide.com

server: okc.ok.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: apache.wildstar.net 206.103.114.11
location: Wildstar Internet, Oklahoma city, Oklahoma, USA
admin: irca...@wildstar.net

server: Sandiego.CA.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.connectnet.com 207.110.0.52
location: Connectnet Internet services, Sandiego, California, USA
admin: ch...@connectnet.com

server: StLouis.MO.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: ultra.i1.net 205.216.202.17
location: Internet 1st Inc., St. Louis, Missouri, USA
admin: i...@i1.net

server: Dallas.TX.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: external.csac.net 204.75.137.18
location: Dallas Metroplex, Dallas, Texas, USA
admin: i...@csac.net

server: Springfield.MO.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: spica.getonthe.net 204.71.96.187
location: Ozark Net, Springfield, Missouri, USA
admin: i...@springfield.mo.us.undernet.org

server: Saltlake.UT.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.aros.net 205.164.111.16
location: ArosNet IRC server, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
admin: i...@aros.net

server: Los-Angeles.CA.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.decade.net 198.245.24.80
location: Decade Communications Inc., Los Angeles, California, USA
admin: i...@decade.net

server: Rockhill.SC.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.cetlink.net 206.31.104.10
location: Cetlink, Rockhill, South Carolina, USA.
admin: i...@cetlink.net

server: Baltimore.MD.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.abs.net 207.114.0.144
location: ABSnet, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
admin: i...@abs.net

server: Des-Moines.IA.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: ins6.netins.net 167.142.225.6
location: Iowa Network Services, Des Moines, Iowa, USA.
admin: i...@netins.net

server: LasVegas.NV.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.wizard.com 199.171.28.9
location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
admin: Ange...@wizard.com

server: NewBrunswick.NJ.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc2.worldnet.att.net 204.127.145.17
location: AT&T Worldnet, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
admin: a...@undernet.org

EUROPE
=======

server: Caen.FR.EU.undernet.org 7000
machine: ns.ensicaen.ismra.fr 192.93.101.16
location: Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Ingenieurs de Caen, France
admin: d...@ensicaen.ismra.fr

server: Amsterdam.NL.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: veer.cs.vu.nl 130.37.24.9
location: Vrije Universitet, Amsterdam, Netherlands
admin: irc...@cs.vu.nl

server: Diemen.NL.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: irc.pi.net 145.220.3.40
location: Planet Internet, Diemen, Netherlands
admin: i...@pi.net

server: Almere.NL.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: londen.tip.nl 195.18.64.100
location: Internet Plaza, Almere, Netherlands.
admin: ste...@aware.nl

server: London.UK.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: telebsd.aladdin.co.uk 193.119.122.98
Location: Aladdin Internet, London, UK
admin: stan...@galadriel.bt.co.uk

server: Lulea.SE.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: buddy.ludd.luth.se 130.240.16.36
Location: Lulea Academic Computer Society, Lulea, Sweden
admin: lu...@undernet.org

server: Oslo.NO.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: galgeberg.sn.no 194.143.8.106
Location: Schibsted Nett AS, Oslo, Norway
admin: e...@a.sn.no

server: Antwerpen.BE.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: antwerpen.planetinternet.be 194.119.232.3
Location: Planet Internet, Vlaanderen, Belgium
admin: ni...@holding.pi.net, i...@planetinternet.be

server: Regensburg.DE.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: rrws37.wiwi.uni-regensburg.de 132.199.121.37
Location: Regensburg, Germany.
admin: wus...@beer.org

server: Goettingen.DE.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: alaska.mdv.gwdg.de 134.76.112.2
Location: Goettingen, Germany.
admin: eich...@mdv.gwdg.de, du...@mdv.gwdg.de, kl...@koeln.netsurf.de

AUSTRALIA (accessible only within *.au)
=========
server: Wollongong.NSW.AU.undernet.org 6667
machine: paladin.its.uow.edu.au 130.130.68.10
location: U of Wollongong, Dept of Computer Science, Wollongong, Australia
admin: d...@uow.edu.au

NEW ZEALAND
===========
server: auckland.nz.undernet.org 6667
machine: iconz.co.nz 202.14.100.2
location: Internet Company of New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand.
admin: ro...@iconz.co.nz

TEST SERVERS / SERVICES
=======================
Delft2.NL.EU.undernet.org
washington-1.dc.us.undernet.org
Uworld.undernet.org
Underworld.nl
undernet.org (Nickserv)
Fantasy.Worlds.Murc.undernet.org (Murc)
Router.nl.eu.undernet.org (Router)
channels.undernet.org (X)

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