GeekShed IRC Network
Can I Make A Private/Secret/Restricted Channel?
Mar 29th
At least twice a month, someone will come into #help asking about private channels or how they can secure their channel to prevent anyone except those they want in it. Since there are probably those that would like to know, but don’t ask, here is the quick and dirty guide to private/secret channels.
Every channel is able to be either private (+p), or secret (+s). The two modes are similar, but it is possible for people to find out about a channel that is marked private (+p). Therefore, if you want a channel nobody will be able to find out about unless they’re told, it is recommended that you mark it as secret, +s. Unless you are in the channel or an IRCop, the server will pretend that the channel doesn’t exist.
There is also channel mode +i, which will let people in only when they have been invited. If the channel is registered with chanserv, those on the access list can
You can also set a “key” on the channel using channel mode +k, which takes the key to use as a parameter. If I wanted to set a key on my channel, I would do
If the channel is registered, those modes can be mlock’ed, so that they will be reapplied when the channel is recreated (i.e. is empty and someone joins). It is important to note that if the channel is empty, needing a key or an invite is not necessary to join the channel. That is where the next item comes into play.
It is also possible to set a channel to have restricted access. When this option is set, only the people you add to the access list will be able to join. When someone that is not on the list attempts to join, they are kickbanned by chanserv (or the botserv bot, if you have added one) with the reason “You are not permitted to be on this channel”.
Since when you set your channel to restricted access you normally don’t want people to know about it, it is recommended to also mlock it +s. To set both the restricted access and mlock, you need to enter the following two commands, replacing #channel with your actual channel:
Should you have any questions concerning setting your channel to restricted access, feel free to stop in #help and ask.
Every channel is able to be either private (+p), or secret (+s). The two modes are similar, but it is possible for people to find out about a channel that is marked private (+p). Therefore, if you want a channel nobody will be able to find out about unless they’re told, it is recommended that you mark it as secret, +s. Unless you are in the channel or an IRCop, the server will pretend that the channel doesn’t exist.
There is also channel mode +i, which will let people in only when they have been invited. If the channel is registered with chanserv, those on the access list can
/msg chanserv invite #channel, and chanserv (or the botserv bot, if the channel has one) will invite the person into the channel. Standing invites can also be set using channel mode +I, which takes a nick!ident@host mask as a parameter. If the person is not on the access list, and does not have +I set for themselves, they are able to “knock” on the channel by doing /knock #channel optional_message.You can also set a “key” on the channel using channel mode +k, which takes the key to use as a parameter. If I wanted to set a key on my channel, I would do
/mode #serenity +k Kaylee. In order to get in the channel, someone would need to specify the key when they try to join – /join #serenity Kaylee. Alternatively, they can also be invited into the channel and will not need the key.If the channel is registered, those modes can be mlock’ed, so that they will be reapplied when the channel is recreated (i.e. is empty and someone joins). It is important to note that if the channel is empty, needing a key or an invite is not necessary to join the channel. That is where the next item comes into play.
It is also possible to set a channel to have restricted access. When this option is set, only the people you add to the access list will be able to join. When someone that is not on the list attempts to join, they are kickbanned by chanserv (or the botserv bot, if you have added one) with the reason “You are not permitted to be on this channel”.
Since when you set your channel to restricted access you normally don’t want people to know about it, it is recommended to also mlock it +s. To set both the restricted access and mlock, you need to enter the following two commands, replacing #channel with your actual channel:
Note: If you already have some modes set with mlock, you will need to respecify them when you add +s. So if you have +n (no external messages) set with mlock, you would need to do/msg chanserv set #channel mlock +s
/msg chanserv set #channel restricted on
/msg chanserv set #channel mlock +sn.Should you have any questions concerning setting your channel to restricted access, feel free to stop in #help and ask.
Grouping a Nick: Why and How?
Mar 12th
So you’ve registered your nick, but have more than one computer/device that you join IRC from. You might be wondering “do I need to register a new nick and have people add that nick to access lists as well? Certainly there must be an easier way.”
Well luckily for you, there is. You are able to group nicks together so that permissions and other data are shared among accounts. Some of the items that are shared include (but are not limited to): channel ownership, permission levels (owner, halfop, etc.) on channels, group info that was provided when you registered, password, and virtual host. Pretty much anything your single nick has associated with it will be associated with the group of nicks that you have registered.
Here’s how to group a nick to one that you already have registered:
Now what if you want to delink a nick, i.e. remove it from the group, is there some way to do that? Yes there is, you just drop it by switching to the nick, and doing /msg nickserv drop. Doing that will make nickserv completely drop the nick – it will no longer exist, have any permissions, etc.
Is there someway to delink it without dropping, or without it losing the permissions and other information? Not currently, although I suppose it is possible that it could end up in a future version of anope, or someone could create a module that could drop a nick and register it using the credentials of the former group and preserving permissions, etc.
Should you have any questions about grouping nicks, feel free to leave a comment here, or to join #help and ask in there.
Well luckily for you, there is. You are able to group nicks together so that permissions and other data are shared among accounts. Some of the items that are shared include (but are not limited to): channel ownership, permission levels (owner, halfop, etc.) on channels, group info that was provided when you registered, password, and virtual host. Pretty much anything your single nick has associated with it will be associated with the group of nicks that you have registered.
Here’s how to group a nick to one that you already have registered:
- Switch to the nick that you want to group
- Enter the following command in the server/status window:
/msg nickserv group main_nick password, wheremain_nickis your primary nick, andpasswordis the password belonging to the primary nick.
Example: I want to group JayneCobb to my primary nick, MalcolmReynolds, and the password for it is S3reni+yV@ll3y (you do use something secure for your passwords, right?). I would type the following as JayneCobb: /msg nickserv group MalcolmReynolds S3reni+yV@ll3y - Look for nickserv to either tell you that you have joined the group of your primay nick or give you an error message, such as “you must wait at least 60 seconds before using the group command again”.
/nick theNewNick
/msg nickserv group main_nick passwordNow what if you want to delink a nick, i.e. remove it from the group, is there some way to do that? Yes there is, you just drop it by switching to the nick, and doing /msg nickserv drop. Doing that will make nickserv completely drop the nick – it will no longer exist, have any permissions, etc.
Is there someway to delink it without dropping, or without it losing the permissions and other information? Not currently, although I suppose it is possible that it could end up in a future version of anope, or someone could create a module that could drop a nick and register it using the credentials of the former group and preserving permissions, etc.
Should you have any questions about grouping nicks, feel free to leave a comment here, or to join #help and ask in there.
Can I Link Two Channels?
Mar 10th
One question that is routinely asked in #help is how a channel owner can forward users from one channel to another. They usually ask this because they have changed channel names, and there is no other method available to regular users (as opposed to those with access to the IRCd configuration files); however it is also useful if the group that the channel is used by is hosting an event, and to keep the main channel manageable, want to limit it to only X amount of people, and have users that join after that go to an overfill channel.
In any case, linking two channels together is very easy, as it only involves setting two channel modes – the first sets a limit of X people that can be in the channel, and the second sets the channel to send people to after X people have joined the main channel. Also, you are not limited in the number of channels that can be linked together, with the exception that a channel can only forward users to one channel. #Chan1 can forward to #chan2, which can forward to #chan3, etc.
If you are linking an old channel to a new one (i.e. you’ve moved channels), the number must be 1, and there must be someone in the channel for it to work (note: botserv bots do not count. It can be a bot that you run though). If you have linked a primary channel to an overfill one, the number can be anything equal to or greater than 1.
NOTE: Linked channels do not share the same permissions, you will need to add people to the aop/sop/hop/vop lists in each channel.
Should you have any questions about linking channels, feel free to leave a comment here, or to join #help and ask in there.
In any case, linking two channels together is very easy, as it only involves setting two channel modes – the first sets a limit of X people that can be in the channel, and the second sets the channel to send people to after X people have joined the main channel. Also, you are not limited in the number of channels that can be linked together, with the exception that a channel can only forward users to one channel. #Chan1 can forward to #chan2, which can forward to #chan3, etc.
lSo if I wanted to forward my channel #Inara to #Adria, I would do the following:= Channel may hold at most of users [o] (This mode is a lowercase L, not a capital i)
L= Channel link (If +l is full, the next user will auto-join ) [q]
/mode #Inara +lL 1 #Adria. If I wanted to always have the channel set like that, so that nobody could change it, I would use chanserv’s mlock option, and do: /msg chanserv set #Inara mlock +lL 1 #Adria.If you are linking an old channel to a new one (i.e. you’ve moved channels), the number must be 1, and there must be someone in the channel for it to work (note: botserv bots do not count. It can be a bot that you run though). If you have linked a primary channel to an overfill one, the number can be anything equal to or greater than 1.
NOTE: Linked channels do not share the same permissions, you will need to add people to the aop/sop/hop/vop lists in each channel.
Should you have any questions about linking channels, feel free to leave a comment here, or to join #help and ask in there.
How Do I Embed My Chatroom Onto My Website?
Feb 22nd
One of the more frequent questions we see is people wondering how do they embed their chatroom on their website, and more often than not, it’s run off of WordPress. Although I wrote this while going through the steps on a site using WordPress, the process should be similar on Drupal, Joomla, or any other CMS.
One thing to note before starting is that you need to be able to post HTML, and not have it filtered. If you are using wordpress.com, or WPMU and are not the site/super admin, your HTML is filtered and you will not be able to see the chat box when you post the post/page you’re trying to put it onto. If you cannot post HTML, it will not work because it will treat the code as text instead.
Having said that, here are 5 easy steps to embedding your chat onto a site.
One thing to note before starting is that you need to be able to post HTML, and not have it filtered. If you are using wordpress.com, or WPMU and are not the site/super admin, your HTML is filtered and you will not be able to see the chat box when you post the post/page you’re trying to put it onto. If you cannot post HTML, it will not work because it will treat the code as text instead.
Having said that, here are 5 easy steps to embedding your chat onto a site.
- Get the embed code from our website. At the very minimum, you should change the channel name. Unless you know better dimensions for your site’s layout, it might be best to leave the default size; you can always change that later (it is just two variables in the embed code).
- Add a new Page or Post like you normally would, and give it a title. While still in the visual editor (if you use it), feel free to add anything that you would like above and/or below the chat box and associated items.
- Next, if you aren’t already in HTML mode, click on the HTML button.
- Paste in the code you copied from step 1 in the appropriate place (depending on if you added text for above/below [step 2]). At this point, you will see the code, which may not make sense to you. Click the Save Draft button, then Preview.
- Depending on your theme, you might need to change the size of the chat. Once you are happy with how it looks, Publish the post.
Can People on GeekShed See My IP Address
Feb 17th
Every now and then, a question that arises in #help is if people can see the IP address of another individual. Since GeekShed encrypt users’ IP addresses and hostmasks the short answer is no, other people can not see your IP address.
The long answer is the following:
The only people that can see a user’s IP address is the user, and network staff. Anyone else will see an encrypted version of the IP address, or an encrypted version of the hostname if the IP address was able to be resolved.
Examples:
- Instead of seeing host127-68-124-93.range127-124.virginmedia.com, other users will see protectedhost-A8B9B24A.range127-124.virginmedia.com
- Instead of seeing 134.65.154.12, other users will see AD171E0.223C44F1.789AD83A.IP
Some users claim that they are able to see the IP address of other users. This is incorrect. What they are seeing is the IP address of the page they see when they try to visit a domain that does not resolve.
Examples:
- If they claim to know the IP address of a staff member, with the geekshed.net vhost, the IP they really see if that of the server the geekshed.net website resides on.
- If a user of OpenDNS claims to know the IP address of the virginmedia user (from the previous example), what they will really see is 208.69.36.132, which actually resolves to hit-nxdomain.opendns.com.
- Some clients may resolve the “primary” domain name itself, in which case the user would see 212.250.162.12 for virginmedia.com
Disclaimer: this all goes out the window if the user unsets usermode x, which is the mode that hides their IP address/hostmask. This mode is set by default on connect and is removed either by doing “/umode2 -x” or “/hs off”. If umode x ever gets unset it can be turned back on with “/umode2 +x”
What Ports Can I Use to Connect to GeekShed?
Jan 2nd
Besides the default port 6667, all GeekShed servers accept standard connections on the following ports:
6660, 6661, 6662, 6663, 6664, 6665, 6666, 6668, 6669, 7029, 7070, 1494, and 1755
All servers also accept SSL connections on port 6697.
Should you experience difficulties in connecting, you can try another port or another server. Should you still have difficulties, you can post in the forums where someone will be able to assist you.
All servers also accept SSL connections on port 6697.
Should you experience difficulties in connecting, you can try another port or another server. Should you still have difficulties, you can post in the forums where someone will be able to assist you.
Who owns GeekShed IRC?
Dec 26th
GeekShed IRC is owned by Geek Shed Ltd. GeekShed Ltd. is a UK registered company (company #07055433) boarded by Allan Jude and Phil Lavin as directors and Marcus Joyce as secretary. Allan, Phil and Marcus all have equal share holdings.
GeekShed Ltd. exists for administrative purposes and GeekShed IRC is run as much as a democracy as possible. Reasonable caution is taken with access to the network and not all staff hold the same access rights. Access is granted as appropriate for the task each staff member is required to perform.
GeekShed Ltd. is funded solely by donations and uses these for administrative costs and for projects that directly benefit our users.
GeekShed Ltd. exists for administrative purposes and GeekShed IRC is run as much as a democracy as possible. Reasonable caution is taken with access to the network and not all staff hold the same access rights. Access is granted as appropriate for the task each staff member is required to perform.
GeekShed Ltd. is funded solely by donations and uses these for administrative costs and for projects that directly benefit our users.
IRC Clients
Dec 21st
At least once a week, we get asked about IRC clients that people can use. Although GeekShed offers the TFlash flash-based chat client that can be used and embedded on one’s site, unless you’re a casual chatter on a few channels, it is often beneficial to use a dedicated IRC client. By using a client, you are able to have more features such as scripts, logging, and more advanced channel moderation tools.
Below is a list of some IRC clients. It is not an exhaustive list, so if you do not like any of the clients, search around the web for one that you do like.
Do you recommend any of these clients, or one that isn’t listed? Feel free to add a comment, and let us know.
Below is a list of some IRC clients. It is not an exhaustive list, so if you do not like any of the clients, search around the web for one that you do like.
| Client | Supported Platforms |
| mIRC | Windows |
| IceChat | Windows |
| X-Chat 2 | Windows |
| Colloquy | Macintosh |
| X-Chat Aqua | Macintosh |
| Linkinus | Macintosh |
| Konversation | *nix |
| ChatZilla (Firefox addon) | Windows, Macintosh, *nix |
| Opera | Windows, Macintosh, *nix |
| BitchX | Windows, Macintosh, *nix |
| Irssi | Windows, Macintosh, *nix |
Access System Tutorial
Dec 10th
On GeekShed, we have two access systems. Standard access system, and XOP. XOP is a simplification of the access system to make things a bit easier. However, with simplification comes a loss of features.
XOP is enabled by default for newly registered channels. It has 4 ChanServ commands – VOP, HOP, AOP and SOP for auto voice, auto halfop, auto op and auto admin, respectively. See ChanServ Commands for help with those commands.
The regular access system really isn’t very difficult to get your head around and provides you with much more control over your channel. To use it, you must first turn XOP off with the command:
/cs set #channel xop off
Following this, you must use the access level system to give people certain privileges in your channel. The access level system uses numbers to represent access. They range between -2 and 10000. The list below shows which levels, by default, map to which access within the IRC server:
-2 – Unable to join the channel
-1 – Not allowed to be oped in the channel
0 – Regular user
3 – Voiced user
4 – Halfop user
5 – Full op user
10 – Admin user
9999 – Channel owner
To change the access level of a user, use the following command:
/cs access #channel add
An example of the use of this command is:
/cs access #chills add Phil 5
This would make Phil level 5 (an op, by default) in #chills.
However, there is much more to the access system than this. You can customize many aspects of your channel.
These are:
AUTODEOP :: Channel operator status disallowed
AUTOHALFOP :: Automatic mode +h
AUTOOP :: Automatic channel operator status
AUTOPROTECT :: Automatic mode +a
AUTOVOICE :: Automatic mode +v
NOJOIN :: Not allowed to join channel
SIGNKICK :: No signed kick when SIGNKICK LEVEL is used
ACC-LIST :: Allowed to view the access list
ACC-CHANGE :: Allowed to modify the access list
AKICK :: Allowed to use AKICK command
SET :: Allowed to use SET command (not FOUNDER/PASSWORD)
BAN :: Allowed to use BAN command
BANME :: Allowed to ban him/herself
CLEAR :: Allowed to use CLEAR command
GETKEY :: Allowed to use GETKEY command
HALFOP :: Allowed to use HALFOP/DEHALFOP commands
HALFOPME :: Allowed to (de)halfop him/herself
INFO :: Allowed to use INFO command with ALL option
KICK :: Allowed to use KICK command
KICKME :: Allowed to kick him/herself
INVITE :: Allowed to use INVITE command
OPDEOP :: Allowed to use OP/DEOP commands
OPDEOPME :: Allowed to (de)op him/herself
PROTECT :: Allowed to use PROTECT/DEPROTECT commands
PROTECTME :: Allowed to (de)protect him/herself
TOPIC :: Allowed to use TOPIC command
UNBAN :: Allowed to use UNBAN command
VOICE :: Allowed to use VOICE/DEVOICE commands
VOICEME :: Allowed to (de)voice him/herself
MEMO :: Allowed to list/read channel memos
ASSIGN :: Allowed to assign/unassign a bot
BADWORDS :: Allowed to use BADWORDS command
FANTASIA :: Allowed to use fantaisist commands
GREET :: Greet message displayed
NOKICK :: Never kicked by the bot’s kickers
SAY :: Allowed to use SAY and ACT commands
These levels are all minimum levels, except AUTODEOP and NOJOIN, which are maximum levels. Thus, any user with an access level higher than the one defined for a particular access level name will have permission to do that.
To see how these are currently configured in your channel, use the command:
/cs levels #channel list
Any of these can be customized using the command:
/cs levels #channel set
So… If you would like users of level 7 and above to be able to read channel memos in #chills, you would do:
/cs levels #chills set memo 7
As you can see, the power provided by the non-XOP access system is incredibly diverse. Give it a try – you never know, you might like it.
Any questions, ask in #help.
