Choosing a Nickname

One of the first things that you do when you join us on GeekShed is choose and register a nickname. The basic guidelines are pretty simple. Just choose something that is unique, that is easy to type and remember, and that doesn’t give away private information.

Beyond that, there are some restrictions on nicknames. Your nickname

  • Cannot start with a number
  • Can only use letters, numbers, and these characters: [ ] { } \ | ^ ` – _
  • Cannot include a space
  • Can only be 30 characters long

First Come, First Served

Nicknames on GeekShed have to be unique. In other words, there can only be one login for any particular nickname. The first person to register a nickname gets it, and following people who want that nickname will have to choose something else. For example, the nickname Rob is registered on GeekShed. No one else can use the nickname Rob.

Restricted Words

GeekShed has a list of words that cannot be used as a nickname, either because they are impolite or they could cause confusion. For instance, you cannot use many rude and explicit words as well as most racial or religious slurs. The list of forbidden nicks is not public (After all, who wants to put a list of rude, impolite words on their website?). Other words are forbidden because they can cause confusion, including server names and words associated with IRC and the services on GeekShed.

If you try to use a forbidden nick, you will see an error message in your status window that says:

Erroneous Nickname: This type of nick is not welcome on GeekShed. Please choose a different nickname.

Please choose another nickname if you encounter this situation. Nicknames will not be removed from the forbidden list. Your choice of nickname is not protected by free speech.

Protecting Network Staff Nicks

In order to guard against imposters, your nick cannot contain the name of any member of network staff. In most cases, this rule will not cause any problems, but there are some tricky cases. For instance, because a member of network staff is named Atri, you are not able to register nicknames like Patrick, Patricia, or Atrium.

Staff Decisions Are Final

While the server may allow you to use a nickname, network staff has the last word. If a member of staff asks you to change your nick, please do so immediately.

Channels May Have Additional Restrictions

Channels on GeekShed are free to create their own rules. Even though you may be using a nickname that is allowed on the network, the moderators in a channel may ask you to change your nickname or leave the channel. Channel staff are within their rights to do so. Please follow their instructions.

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

Using Channel Modes to Hide Your Channel

You can use channel modes to make dozens of customizations to your channel. Last week, I talked about using channel modes to set a channel key, which works like a password for your channel. Today I’m going to talk about another way to keep your channel a private place: the channel modes +s and +p.

Secret vs. Private

There are two modes you can use to hide your channel: +s, for a secret channel; and +p, for a private channel.

Originally (that is, in earlier days of IRC), there was a difference between these two modes. On GeekShed, the two commands do the same thing. If you set your channel to +p or to +s, your channel will not show up:

  • in the channel listing that someone gets after using the /LIST command
  • on the website’s list of channels
  • in a /WHOIS list for a user who is in the channel (unless the person using the command is also in the secret channel)

Since the two commands do the same thing, you can only set one or the other.

Setting the Secret or Private Mode

To set the secret mode, use this command:

/mode #channel +s

In that command, replace "channel" with your #channel. For instance, for my super-secret channel, I used this command:

/mode #baconmylove +s  

To set the private mode, use this command:

/mode #channel +p

For instance, I used this command:

/mode #baconmylove +p  

Restrictions on the +s and +p Modes

If you set your channel to +s and then decide to set +p, the server will respond by removing the +s setting. You’d see something like this:

* tengrrl sets mode: +s
* tengrrl sets mode: +p-s

In the second line, the server set +p (adding the private setting), and -s (removing the secret setting). This is normal. Since the commands do the same thing, you only need one or the other (never both). As long as you have the channel set to +s or to +p, it will be hidden.

Removing the Secret or Private Mode

If you no longer want your channel to be hidden, you can remove the secret or private mode easily:

To remove the secret mode, use this command:

/mode #channel -s

To remove the private mode, use this command:

/mode #channel -p

Once you remove the setting, your channel will be visible to everyone on the network.

Two Tips on Using the Secret or Private Mode

  1. Remember that even though your channel is hidden, the people you ask to join you in the channel can tell others about it. Only invite people to join your channel if you trust them to maintain your privacy. If you cannot trust someone not to tell others about the space, don’t ask them to join your channel.

  2. Any moderator (half-ops, ops, and admins) on your channel can change the channel mode. Don’t add someone as a moderator in the channel if you cannot trust that person to leave the channel with the settings you want.

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

 

Using Channel Keys

If you ever had a secret password to get into your clubhouse, you understand the way that channel keys work. You can set a channel key for your channel, and only those people who have the key will be able to join the channel. If you want to have private conversations, using a channel key is a simple way to make it happen.

Setting a Channel Key

To set a channel key, use this command:

/mode #channel +k channelkey  

In that command, replace "channel" with your #channel and replace "channelkey" with your channel key (your password). For instance, for my super-secret channel, I used this command:

/mode #baconmylove +k nomnomnom  

When you set a channel key, everyone in the channel will see the new key. When I set my channel key, for instance, the server announced this in the channel:

 * tengrrl sets mode: +k nomnomnom

TIPS

  • Be sure that you choose a strong password that others will not easily guess. Follow these guidelines for strong passwords to make your choice.
  • Make sure you remove anyone you do not want to have the key before you set it. You can ask him to leave OR kick and ban if necessary. Remember that the server announces the key in channel when you set it, so everyone in your channel will see the new key.
  • Anyone who has half-op status or higher in your channel can change the channel key. If you cannot trust someone, don’t make that person a moderator. He could easily change the password and lock everyone out of the channel! See the Troubleshooting information for what you can do if you get locked out.
  • The channel key will only remain as long as someone is in the channel. If everyone leaves, the next person who joins will be able to do so without knowing the channel key. The easiest solution to this problem is either to add a bnc user to the channel or create a private bot to occupy the channel. Note that services bots will not hold a channel open.

Joining a Channel with a Key

You need to provide the password to join your channel now once you set your key. Here’s how to use the JOIN command with a channel key:

/join #channel password

For my super-secret channel, I used this command:

/join #baconmylove nomnomnom

You’ll need to give your password and this command to everyone who you want to grant access to your channel. Only give your channel password to the people you trust with access to your private space.

Changing your Channel Key

To change your channel key, just use the same command with a new password:

/mode #channel +k newchannelkey 

The command is exactly the same. You just indicate the new channel key when you use the command.

Troubleshooting

You see this error message in your status window: #channel :Cannot join channel (+k)
Either you didn’t include the password or you used the wrong password. Check with the channel owner for the correct password or to ask for access to the channel.

You get locked out of your own channel.
If you forget your password or someone else changes it, you can just change your channel key and join with the new key. If a moderator in your channel changed the password without your permission, you may want to talk to that person or remove his access. Remember you should only add people as half-ops, ops, or admins if you trust them completely.

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

What Is A Hostmask?

When you connect to GeekShed, the server reads information from your client and sets a hostmask that is used to identify you on the network. Perhaps obviously, your hostmask hides (or masks) some of the specifics about your connection (in other words, your host). Your hostmask will take this general format:

nick!user@host 

For example, here’s the hostmask for the LordBaconCheeseburger:

LordBaconCheeseburger!~TFlash@protectedhost-DC62ACB5.hsd1.va.comcast.net

For that example:

  • nick = LordBaconCheeseburger
    It’s whatever nickname the person is using.

  • user = ~TFlash
    It’s the name set in your client. If there’s a leading tilde (~), the client is not running identd.

  • host = protectedhost-DC62ACB5.hsd1.va.comcast.net
    It’s the masked hostname of your connection. Your unmasked hostname is never publicly available.

You may have noticed that some people have vhosts, a virtual hostname, which hide their real connection’s name. On the GeekShed network, you can be assigned a vhost if you donate to the site or if you have been registered for 90 days or longer. If LordBaconCheeseburger donated $5 to the network, for example, his hostmask could change to LordBaconCheeseburger!~TFlash@nickel.supporter.geekshed.net. If someone has a vhost, you can still see the person’s actual hostmask with the command, /userip <nick>.

 

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny