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.

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.