IRC Undernet Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Mandar M. Mirashi
Version: $Id: undernet-faq, v2.5.1 1994/05/03 13:23 mmmirash Exp $
Frequency: Weekly
Undernet IRC FAQ (updated 3rd May 1994) - Weekly Repost
Version 1 By Paul Grant (Grant)
Version 2.5 - updated by Mandar Mirashi (Mmmm)
mmmi...@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu
Questions to be dealt with:
1-1 What is the undernet?
1-2 Why does it exist?
1-3 How do I get to IRC itself?
1-4 How do I get to the Undernet from EFnet?
1-5 Why is it so quiet? (!)
1-6 The future?
1-7 What other goodies/problems may I encounter?
Here we go...
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Question 1-1: What is the undernet?
Undernet IRC is an alternative to the current EFnet IRC system, but
is just in its early days. Created just before Christmas 92, it is, with
respect to commands and conventions exactly the same as EFnet. It differs
however in its size. The undernet is much smaller than the EFnet, in fact
only 5% of its bigger brothers size, due of course to its youth. This however
is a Good Thing (tm), on the undernet all the Opers know each other, people
are more friendly and there are (as yet) no unsavoury characters.
The undernet, follows the IRC protocol, i.e. it is _another_ irc.
To grasp what the undernet is you need only look at the IRC itself, all the
features of the IRC protocol are represented in the undernet. Therefore the
undernet can simply be described as a forum for international communication,
and chat, via the computer networks. Nothing more, but nothing less!
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Question 1-2: Why does it exist? (Or, 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.
Haven't you ever been treated like dirt by people who claim they
know everything and who will abuse you because you know less (read "clueless").
It was another reason behind the formation of the undernet, 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.
Moreover, the Undernet has evolved with time and intelligent routing
makes it swifter. Transatlantic ping times of one or two seconds are the
norm rather than the exception. This implies lesser lag, and lesser netsplits
as well. Furthermore, most undernet servers now follow the timestamp protocol,
which disallows "netsplit ops" (if you know what I mean) or "channel desynchs".
All this is to help *you* the user have a better time on the undernet.
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Question 1-3: How do I compile an IRC client, or use a telnet site for IRC?
(how do I get to IRC?)
You can access IRC from the foll. telnet sites:
telnet sci.dixie.edu 6677 (telnet 144.38.16.2 6677)
telnet exuokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu 6677 (telnet 129.15.20.11 6677)
telnet exuokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu 7766 (telnet 129.15.20.11 7766)
telnet caen.fr.eu.undernet.org 6677 (telnet 192.93.101.16 6677)
telnet obelix.wu-wien.ac.at 6996 (telnet 137.208.8.6 6996)
telnet obelix.wu-wien.ac.at 6969 (telnet 137.208.8.6 6969)
However, please realise that you will be telnetting all the way to foreign
sites, and that this method will be extremely slow. Besides, the service has
a limit of only 8 users. You are HIGHLY encouraged to compile your own
client. To make things easy for you, an auto magic compilation utility for
people on Unix, has been developed for ircII clients. If you have a Unix
acct., and about 1.5 Meg free disk space, use the foll. command to get
the client installed. It works on *most* Unix systems :
telnet sci.dixie.edu 1 | sh
(if the above doesn't work, try telnet rush.cc.edu 1 | sh)
If you are on VAX, or a PC, or Macintosh, or VM, clients are available
for ftp from cs.bu.edu under irc/clients. You will need to ftp them and read
the installation files for help on installing these.
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Question 1-4: How do I get to the Undernet from EFnet?
This is in fact easier than most people expect. Due to the undernet
being of the same protocol to IRC it means you use exactly the same client,
and just need to change the network of servers which you are connected to.
This being facilitated by a simple /server your_nearest_server command.
eg. /server norman.ok.us.undernet.org (that being my nearest server)
If a port number is specified, then the syntax is simply:
/server servername port#
In case you are not on a Unix system, the "servername" may not work for you,
and you may need an IP address (a string of numbers) in its place.
Listed at the end are all the current servers, along with their ip address,
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 - for 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.
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Question 1-5: Why is it so quiet? (!)
Its not through choice! The userbase of the undernet is growing
slowly and steadily, if a little too slowly, this is compensated by the
fact that people usually come back after visiting once!
There are a number of reasons for the undernets lack on user-
base, the biggest being its relative obscurity. Very few people actually
know what the undernet is, never mind how to get to it, hence the exist-
ence of the document you are reading.
The other reason, which really is the fault of the former is the
lack of a userbase. If there were a large number of users on the under-
net then it is likely that people would stay. However there is not, but
there is on the EFnet IRC so people go there. There is also the fact that most
people have friends on the EFnet IRC, and to join the undernet renders them
unreachable via messages. This has been fixed via Tonto's bot 'ul', which
allows you pass messages back and forth between both nets, amongst other
things. Also, there's Wildthang's bot || which does similar functions
and in addition, links channels when needed.
But for the most part, the Undernet is yet caught in a Catch-22
situation. Users don't visit often because there are few users, and there
are few users because users don't visit often. This deadlock will be broken
once we start off with a certain critical regular userbase, which in turn
would lead to a domino effect as more and more people make new friends here
and start visiting us more often.
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Question 1-6: The Future?
The undernet is slowly making progress, and needs just one thing,
users! And that means YOU! Spare the time to change from Efnet to the Undernet,
we are a nice friendly bunch and will make you feel welcome in no time!
Come and see us on #wasteland, I hope it won`t be a wasted journey...
We are always trying out new changes to code, etc. to make the net a better
place for *you*. Looking forward to see you on the Undernet sometime soon!!
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Question 1-7: What other goodies/problems may I encounter?
If you are using ircII on Unix, it is possible to even be on both
nets (EFNET and UNDERNET) simultaneously. Try the command :
/window new server servername
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 &
/window goto 2) Type /help window to get more extensive help.
Another possible difficulty you may encounter (you may have encountered
this already on EFnet), is the incompatibility of an old IRC client with the
new version 2.8 servers. When talking to a channel, you may observe the "No
text to send" error. A temporary fix is /query #channelname. But you are best
advised to upgrade to the latest client version. You can ask us over #wasteland
for help in upgrading your client.
The help mailing list is irc...@undernet.org To join it,
send a message to list...@undernet.org with "sub ircnet" in the body
of the message.
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Appendix: Server List
Updated: 3rd May 1994
----------------------
Explanation of entries
----------------------
line 1: server name and port number
line 2: machine name and IP numeric
line 3: location
--------------------
Undernet server list
--------------------
CANADA/USA (some of these also run on ports 7000/7777)
server: Montreal.QU.CA.undernet.org 6667
machine: aiken.info.polymtl.ca 132.207.12.13
location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
server: Pasadena.CA.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: cancun.caltech.edu 131.215.48.152
location: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
server: Norman.OK.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: vinson.ecn.uoknor.edu 129.15.22.33
location: University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, USA
server: Pittsburgh.PA.US.undernet.org 6667 (temporarily unavailable)
machine: macaw.labs.cis.pitt.edu 130.49.254.251
location: University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
server: Boston.MA.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: iota.coe.neu.edu 129.10.22.11
location: Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
server: Albany.NY.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: hermes.acm.rpi.edu 128.213.5.14
location: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
server: Fargo.ND.US.undernet.org 6667 (temporarily unavailable)
machine: blackbody.nodak.edu 134.129.125.232
location: North Dakota State University, North Dakota, USA
server: Manhattan.KS.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: piaget.phys.ksu.edu 129.130.5.14
location: Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA
server: Milwaukee.WI.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: rush.cc.edu 140.104.4.169
location: Carroll College, Wokesha, WI, US
server: Ames.IA.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: pv1648.vincent.iastate.edu 129.186.22.72
location: Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
server: StGeorge.UT.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: sci.dixie.edu 144.38.16.2
location: Dixie College, St. George, Utah, USA
server: Tampa.FL.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: nosferatu.cas.usf.edu 131.247.31.19
location: University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
server: Vicksburg.MS.US.undernet.org 6667 (temporarily unavailable)
machine: ford.wes.army.mil 134.164.40.24
location: Vicksburg, MS, USA.
server: Davis.CA.US.undernet.org 6667
machine: zen.ucdavis.edu 128.120.2.8
location: Davis, CA, USA
MEXICO
server: Puebla.MX.undernet.org 6666
machine: cca.pue.udlap.mx 140.148.4.100
location: Universidad de las Americas, Puebla, Mexico
EUROPE (most of these also run on port 7000)
server: Lausanne.CH.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: anatsg1.unil.ch 130.223.201.6
location: University of Lausanne, Institute of Anatomy, Lausanne, Switzerland
server: Crete.GR.EU.undernet.org 6666
machine: cyprus.csd.uch.gr 147.52.16.1
location: University of Crete, Computer Science Department, Greece
server: Paris.FR.EU.undernet.org 6666 (temporarily unavailable)
machine: hplyot.obspm.circe.fr 130.84.202.10
location: Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France
server: Caen.FR.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: ismra.ismra.fr 192.93.101.16
location: Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Ingenieurs de Caen, France
server: Paderborn.DE.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: pbhrzx.uni-paderborn.de 131.234.128.204
location: University of Paderborn, Pderborn, Germany.
server: Delft.NL.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: sg.tn.tudelft.nl 130.161.188.188
location: Netherlands
server: Vienna.AT.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: olymp.wu-wien.ac.at 127.208.3.30
Location: Vienna, Austria
server: Ljubljana.Si.Eu.undernet.org 6668
machine: cmir.arnes.si 193.2.1.67
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
server: Oslo.No.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: eros.nki.no 128.39.107.112
Location: NKI Ingenioerhoegskolen, Oslo, Norway
server: Gothenburg.Se.EU.undernet.org 6667
machine: alcazar.cd.chalmers.se 129.16.79.30
Location: Chalmers Tekniska Lekskola, Gothenburg, Sweden
server: Krakow.PL.EU.undernet.org
machine: galaxy.uci.agh.edu.pl 149.156.96.9
Location: Krakow, Poland.
server: Uxbridge.UK.EU.undernet.org
machine: tcws-15.brunel.ac.uk 134.83.32.97
Location: Brunel University, Uxbridge, London, UK
ASIA
server: Chung-Li.tw.undernet.org 6667 (may be moving soon)
machine: neptune.yzit.edu.tw 140.138.36.7
Location: Yuan-Ze Institute of Technology, Chung-Li, Taiwan.
AUSTRALIA
server: Wollongong.NSW.AU.undernet.org 6667
machine: gorgon.cs.uow.edu.au 130.130.64.75
location: U of Wollongong, Dept of Computer Science, Wollongong, Australia
--
EOList. Thanks for using da undernet!
--
"Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die
for, and no religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace.
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope some
day you'll join us, and the world will be as one." - John Lennon.