GeekShed IRC Network
Can I make my own BotServ bot?
Nov 7th
Yes, you can! There are 2 classifications of botserv bots, Public and Private. These are detailed below.
Public Bots
Anyone may request a public bot absolutely free. These bots are available for all users to assign to their channels. However, they must be completely generic and not channel specific – for example a Spooks themed bot called HarryPearce is acceptable, whereas a bot named ChillsBot for #chills would not be acceptable.
You may request a bot be added in #help on GeekShed. When you ask, you must state a nickname, ident, hostname and Gecos – e.g. “HarryPearce harry@runs.MI5 Harry Pearce from Spooks”. Bots must be creative and worth adding. If a staff member deems your suggestion is a good one, your bot will be added and an unused bot will be deleted.
This whole process should help us provide a better range of bots to our users.
Private Bots
Anyone who has made a donation of $50 or more may request a private bot. Private bots can have any credentials that you like and will not be available to all users. When you request a private bot, you must state a nickname, ident, hostname, Gecos and channels to which the bot should be assigned. After initial creation, you may request a single change to your BotServ bot every 30 days. A single change is counted as a change to any of the bot’s credentials or the set of channels in which it resides.
If you would like a public or private bot, come and see us in #help on irc.geekshed.net.
Can I link a server to GeekShed?
Nov 7th
GeekShed is not linking any servers at this time. If our server status changes, we will update this post to let you know that we are linking servers again.
In the event our needs change, servers linked to GeekShed must fulfill the following requirements:
Hardware
- 1GHz+ CPU
- 512MB+ RAM
- 3GB available hard disk space
- 100Mbit FD NIC
- Currently 60+ days uptime
Network
- 10mbit downstream
- 10mbit upstream
- 1 spare IP that can be dedicated to GeekShed
- Firewall allowing unrestricted connections to and from TCP ports 843, 1494, 1755, 4400, 4401, 6660-6669, 6697, 7029 and 7070
- The server must allow both inbound and outbound connections
- You will also be asked to host a 100MB file (create it with dd if=/dev/zero of=/path/to/100mb-zero.bin bs=1MB count=100) for download with http, sftp or scp to test throughput
- Server owners must be aware that their server will suffer from frequent denial of service attacks (DDOS) and servers hosted with ISPs sensitive to DDOS will not be accepted
Software
-
The following libraries must be installed:
- openssl
- zlib
- For Linux, all -dev packages for installed libraries must be installed.
- A full toolchain, including gcc, binutils, coreutils, etc. If you cannot compile software, we can’t use the machine right now.
- Full SSH access (including sftp and scp)
- If the server has a restricted firewall, we must have the ability to add ports to it promptly, not wait around for 30 days for an email tag to get them allowed.
- Server owners should be prompt in updating for security updates and updating the system itself.
- FreeBSD 7+ and Linux 2.6+ kernels have priority – Windows servers will NEVER be accepted.
- Must be able to run a small C file via a super-server daemon on port 843 – This typically requires root access or co-operation from the server administrator
- Have hard and soft FD limits greater than or equal to 2048 (ulimit -Hn ; ulimit -Sn)
Network Staff
Server owners will rarely be given an O:Line on their server. Server owners must earn their position on the network staff team, like everyone else. Server donations, however, will be considered as a positive when considering new staff. Please do not ask to link a server simply because you want to be network staff!
—updated by Tengrrl/Bunny on 2014/07/01; originally posted by Phil on 2009/11/07.
Can I have a vhost on GeekShed?
Nov 7th
Providing you and your selected vhost meet certain requirements, you can! These requirements and regulations are…
- Your nickname must have been registered for at least 90 days
- Your vhost must either be a domain that you personally own or must end in “.vhost”
- We cannot grant vhosts to users who do not own the requested domain. You must be able to prove that you own the domain by allowing us to send an e-mail with a passcode to the e-mail address shown in the domain WHOIS record. If e-mail is not shown in the WHOIS, we may ask you to create a custom DNS record. If you own the domain, you may grant other users permission to use that domain as their vhost, providing they meet the 90 day requirement
- We do not do vidents – only vhosts – i.e. you can have domain.com not user@domain.com
- If you abuse your vhost (e.g. use it to evade a channel ban) it will be removed, you will be banned from the network and, on your return, you shall not be permitted to have a vhost again
- You may only change your vhost once every 6 months
If you donate to GeekShed you can request a donor vhost (or other custom vhost) be set on your nickname – regardless of how long it has been registered. Donor vhosts are still subject to abuse regulations but will be changed if you donate more money and reach a new donor level. The donor levels are listed below with the donation amounts required. The format of the vhosts will be xxxx.supporter.geekshed.net where xxxx is the donor level.
| Donor Level | Minimum Donation Required (USD) |
| Platinum | $1000 |
| Gold | $500 |
| Iridium | $250 |
| Osmium | $150 |
| Palladium | $100 |
| Rhenium | $75 |
| Germanium | $50 |
| Beryllium | $30 |
| Silver | $20 |
| Aluminium | $15 |
| Copper | $10 |
| Nickel | $5 |
If you meet these requirements and would like a vhost, come and see us in #vhosts on irc.geekshed.net.
Can I have a forum for my channel?
Nov 7th
Providing your channel has an average of 40 or more users, you can.
You must first talk to a staff member in #help and request the forum be added. Providing you meet the above requirement, a forum will be added for your channel. We will also add a user group of moderators for your forum. This can include up to 5 registered forum users. You may request a single change to this moderator group every 30 days. A single change is counted as adding a user, deleting a user or swapping one user for another.
If you have any questions, come see us in #help.
Guidelines for #help
Nov 2nd
Why visit #help?
#help welcomes discussion of GeekShed IRC related help—whether it’s related to the GeekShed network, your client, a script, or IRCD. Anything goes, as long as it’s related to GeekShed IRC.
Looking for something else?
- If you’re looking for a place for general discussion, please try #TheShed (/join #TheShed).
- If you’re looking for help with your computer, you might try a channel like #247fixes, #atribune, #geekstogo or #bleepingcomputer.
- If you’re looking for another channel, try typing /list to see all the channels on the GeekShed network. Note, though, that the /list command does not work on all clients.
- If you’ve been banned in a channel on GeekShed, please talk to someone from the channel where you were banned. You can also check the GeekShed forums, since some channels have special ways for you to appeal. The network staff in #help cannot remove bans for other channels.
Is there any special way to ask a question?
Not really. Just ask whatever it is you want to know or say what you need help with. There are lots of people in the channel, and any one of them can help you. Don’t worry about finding the “right” person. Everyone is in the channel to help, so there’s never just one “right” person!
It’s true that some questions will require a GeekShed network operator (like IRC password resets), but go ahead and ask your question. Once you ask, we’ll know to go find who you need.
What if it’s an emergency?!
If you have an emergency, like a botnet flood in your channel, and no one responds to your request for help, you can type !911 in any channel on GeekShed. This will be caught by the spam filter and will instantly alert network staff. Just like prank calling the fire brigade, misuse of this command will carry severe repercussions.
Are there any special rules for #help?
Generally speaking, please be polite and patient. There is usually someone around in #help to answer your questions, but you may need to wait a few minutes.
We also ask that you follow these basic guidelines:
- Use nice, family-friendly language. Save the censored words for another channel.
- Just ask your question once, and be patient. It may take a few minutes for someone to be able to help. If a lot of time passes (say 30 minutes), it’s okay to ask again. Usually though, you don’t need to repeat your question.
- Follow the rules of polite online discussion. That means, for example, that we ask that use all caps sparingly and that you don’t flood the channel.
My question is complex. Can I paste something in #help?
If you’re getting an error message, sure, it’s fine to paste the message into the channel with your question.
If you need to share something longer though, like part of a log from your channel, please use pastebin, and just give us the URL to the information. That way you won’t be kicked accidentally for flooding, and the information will be easier for everyone to read.
Should I just jump in and help if I know an answer?
Everyone is welcome to help with questions in #help. Be sensible though. If someone else is already answering a user’s questions, try not to interrupt. It can be very confusing when more than one person is telling someone with a question what to do. If you are not 100% sure that the answer you are giving is correct, it’s probably best to stay quiet.
In particular, if a member of the GeekShed staff is already helping someone, please stay quiet and let the staff member take care of the question. As the topic in #help says, “If something doesn’t concern you, keep quiet or be banned without warning—yes, really.”
Can my GeekShed channel have more than one founder?
Nov 2nd
Yes, it can! You can have as many people with founder access as you like.
Each channel will still have 1 founder – i.e. the person listed in /cs info #channel and GeekShed staff will only deal with this person for channel administration issues.
However, if you set a user to access level 9999, they too will have founder permissions on the channel. To do this, you must temorarily turn off XOP, if you have it on. To do this, type:
/cs SET #channel XOP OFF
Now you can set the user to access level 9999 with the following command:
/cs ACCESS #channel ADD nickname 9999
Once this is done, the user MUST cycle the channel for the changes to become active.
Once the user has cycled the channel they will be given +q each time they join.
It is important that you do not turn xop back on as, once a user has logged out of their nickname, their founder status will be lost and not restored.
WARNING: Only give this access level to people that you trust wholeheartedly. If a user takes control of a channel and becomes the listed founder of the channel, GeekShed staff are not responsible for this and will see the listed founder as the authorized owner of the channel.
In order to prevent secondary founders from changing the listed founder of the channel, ensure SECUREFOUNDER is switched on. To do this, type:
/cs SET #channel SECUREFOUNDER ON
Since XOP is now off, you must use the access system to manage your channels access list. See access system tutorial for information on how to do this.
Extended Bans Tutorial
Nov 1st
Silencing Users with Extended Bans
You can use extended bans to set up an alternative kind of ban that will give you more options, like silencing users. You can also read about how to set a simple channel ban and how to set more specific channel bans.
When you silence a user, you allow the person to stay in the channel, but block the person’s ability to participate in the discussion or change nicks. It’s an online equivalent of a short timeout, where the person has to sit quietly for several minutes before rejoining discussion.
To silence a user manually, you’d type:
/mode #YourChannel +bb ~q:nick!ident@user.host ~n:nick!ident@user.host
That command sets two bans, which is why the host information is listed twice. The first one (~q:nick!ident@user.host) prevents the user from participating in the discussion (unless the user is +v or higher). The ~q stands for quiet. The second one (~n: nick!ident user.host) prevents the user from changing nicks. The ~n stands for nick.
In #YourChannel, bans are normally set by the user’s host, so an example ban would look like this:
/mode #YourChannel +bb ~n:*!*@protectedhost-1234578.hsd1.va.comcast.net
~q:*!*@protectedhost-1234578.hsd1.va.comcast.net
That example bans anyone (with any nick or ident) with the hostmask protectedhost-12345678.hsd1.va.comcast.net.
Removing a Silence Extended Ban
If you silence a user manually, you have to remove the ban manually as well. Since you set the ban with +b, you will remove it by using the same command, but with -b. So to remove the ban, you would type:
/mode #YourChannel -bb ~q:nick!ident@user.host ~n:nick!ident@user.host
Everything is the same. You’re just removing the ban. Here’s the way to remove the example ban from above:
/mode #YourChannel -bb ~n:*!*@protectedhost-1234578.hsd1.va.comcast.net
~q:*!*@protectedhost-1234578.hsd1.va.comcast.net
Setting a Channel Extended Ban
There are two other kinds of extended bans:
- ~c sets an extended ban based on a channel users are in
- ~r sets an extended ban based on a user’s real name
You are unlikely to need either of these bans, but for the sake of thoroughness here is how they work.
To set an extended channel ban, you’d type:
/mode #YourChannel +b ~c:#channel
That ban would prevent anyone in #channel from joining #YourChannel.
Let’s pretend there’s a channel called #YourChannelHaters. We might decide that we do not want anyone from #YourChannelHaters to join #YourChannel. We could use this extended ban to prevent them from joining #YourChannel:
/mode #YourChannel +b ~c:#YourChannelHaters
You remove this kind of ban by switching to -b, so I could remove the ban on folks from #YourChannelHaters like this:
/mode #YourChannel -b ~c:#YourChannelHaters
Setting a Real Name Extended Ban
To set an extended ban based on a user’s real name, you’d type:
/mode #YourChannel +b ~r:*real_name*
The * character works as a wildcard, just as it does in other bans. Use the underscore character ( _ ) to represent spaces in the user’s real name. The underscore is also interpreted as an actual underscore character. In other words, the ban above would block someone using either “real name” (with a space) or “real_name” (with an underscore).
Here’s an example:
/mode #YourChannel +b ~r:*Jane_Doe*
That ban would prevent anyone who was using the real name “Jane Doe” or “Jane_Doe” from joining #YourChannel. Because of the * wildcard, someone with a real name like “Jane Doe rules” or “Jane_Doe_rules” would also be banned.
You remove this kind of ban by switching to -b, so I could remove the ban on “Jane Doe ” like this:
/mode #YourChannel -b ~r:*Jane_Doe*
—posted by bunny/tengrrl
GeekShed At Gnomedex 2009
Oct 29th
Back Row: BigRedPimp (Mike Parks), Goretsky (Aryeh Goretsky)
Middle Row: Craighton (Craighton Miller), TSStechAngel (Mellodi Parks), Kat (Kat Armstrong)
Front Row: blaster (Dave Prentice), Phil (Phil Lavin), mouse (Mike Spencer), Ryan (Ryan Murphy), Pierce (Marcus Joyce)
What are the limits on GeekShed?
Oct 28th
GeekShed has a number of limits imposed. Some of these are to ensure our servers are not overloaded, and others are to ensure that we comply with the IRC protocol and make the network accessible to all IRC clients. These limits are as follows:
| Limit Type | Maximum Limit |
| Number of channels you can be in | 100 |
| Number of bans (+b) on a channel | 60 |
| Number of excepts (+e) on a channel | 60 |
| Number of invite excepts (+I) on a channel | 60 |
| Length of a channel name | 32 characters |
| Length of a topic | 307 characters |
| Length of a kick message | 307 characters |
| Length of an away message | 307 characters |
| Number of simultaneous mode changes | 12 |
| Number of simultaneous users/channels (targets) per PRIVMSG | 20 |
| Number of nicks in watch list | 128 |
| Number of nicks in silence list | 15 |
| Days before an unused nickname drops | 60 |
| Days before an unused channel drops | 60 |
| Number of nicks in a single nickname group | 60 |
| Number of entries in a nickname’s access list | 32 |
| Number of channels registered to a single nickname | 20 |
| Number of entries in a single channel’s access list | 1024 |
| Number of entries on a single channel’s akick list | 64 |
| Number of memos a user may store | 20 |
| Number of entries on a single channel’s badwords list | 32 |
| Number of connections from a single IP address | 8 |
If you need clarification on any of these limits, please come and see us in #help on irc.geekshed.net.
How to register a channel on GeekShed
Oct 28th
Registering your channel on GeekShed gives you many advantages, and is completely free. These include:
- Increased control over your channel
- Ability to add people to the auto op list
- Ability to add auto kicks
- Ability to use a services bot to auto moderate your channel
- And many many more…
To register your channel, you must first register your nickname. To do this, when you are using the nickname that you wish to register, type the following command into your IRC client:
/ns register password e-mail
You must replace password and e-mail with a real password and e-mail address, respectively. An example of the use of this command is:
/ns register supersecretpassword fred@hotmail.com
It is important that you use your real e-mail address as this will be used in future if you ever forget your password. We will not send any unsolicited e-mail to this address.
Once you have registered your nickname, you can register your channel. All channels names begin with the # symbol, for example #help, #chris and #247fixes. Once you have picked a channel name, you can join it using the command:
/join #channel
For example:
/join #chat
Once you have joined the channel, if it is not already registered, you should see your name in the nickname list with the @ symbol next to it. This means you are an operator in the channel. You may now register it with the following command:
/cs register #channel password description
You must replace #channel, password and description with the channel name, the channel password and a description of the channel. An example of the use of this command is:
/cs register #chat verysecretpassword Freds chat channel
Once you have done that, you should see your name in the nick list prefixed with the ~ symbol. This means you are the owner of the channel.
If you have any problems registering your channel, come and talk to us in #help on irc.geekshed.net