Watch What You Click!

It’s time for a reminder to be careful when you click on links that people share. Recently Naive_One came to #help because he had clicked on a link A_Bad_Guy shared (names changed to protect the innocent). A_Bad_Guy used his server logs to get Naive_One’s IP address and attack his network. Unfortunately for Naive_One, there was nothing GeekShed staff could do. It was Naive_One’s poor judgement in clicking the link that caused the problem.

The morale of this story is clear: If you don’t know the person well or don’t recognize the link, don’t click on it. The link you click can give someone else information about your machine or it may cause your machine to download spyware, malware, or a virus that corrupts your system.

Usually it’s safe to click on these links on GeekShed:

  • Links to the GeekShed website.
  • Links shared by network staff.
  • Links to well-known sites, like Wikipedia or Jupiter Broadcasting.

Unless you know the person who shares the link, it’s best NOT to click on shortened links, because you cannot tell where they will take you. A bit.ly link might take you to Wikipedia or it could take you to a malware site. There’s no way to guess just by looking at the URL.

Finally, let me share a reminder from the GeekShed Terms of Service:

GeekShed is not responsible for the content you may transmit or receive. Due to the real time nature of IRC, we cannot monitor or police the exchange of data. To protect yourself, we highly recommend that you run a current antivirus program and never click on links from people you do not know.

So click safely, and make sure you keep your machine and network protected!

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

 

What’s a Netsplit?

If you’ve been on an IRC network any length of time, you’ve seen something like this scrolling up your screen:

Quits: ted (ScaleEngine.GeekShed.net Neptune.GeekShed.net )
Quits: Max (ScaleEngine.GeekShed.net Neptune.GeekShed.net )
Quits: otter (ScaleEngine.GeekShed.net Neptune.GeekShed.net )
Quits: Meg (ScaleEngine.GeekShed.net Neptune.GeekShed.net )
Quits: Twitter (ScaleEngine.GeekShed.net Neptune.GeekShed.net )
Quits: PB (ScaleEngine.GeekShed.net Neptune.GeekShed.net )
Quits: Roman (ScaleEngine.GeekShed.net Neptune.GeekShed.net )

I’ve edited that list to remove personal information, and I’ve only listed about a few of the Quit messages that appeared. Typically after all the Quit messages appear, someone asks, “What’s going on?!”

What you’re seeing there is a netsplit. It’s essentially a sudden disconnection for the entire network. Just as the name suggests, the NETwork SPLIT as one of the IRC servers lost contact with the rest of the network. In the case of the Quit messages above, the server Neptune.GeekShed.net lost its connection to the server ScaleEngine.GeekShed.net (and the rest of the network). There’s a very complete explanation of what happens during a netsplit on Wikipedia.

What Should You Do When a Netsplit Happens?

When there’s a netsplit, network staff will work to reconnect the servers. Staff will see the server split. You don’t need to alert anyone.

Depending upon the server you were connected to when the netsplit happened, you may either find yourself on the split off server (where you’ll notice that the channels are much emptier than they were) or on the rest of the network. The best thing to do is just be patient and give staff time to fix the situation.

If the netsplit seems to last more than a few minutes, you may want to try connecting to a different server. Be warned, however, that when the split server reconnects, the network will see that your nick is on the network twice (once on the previously split server and once on the unsplit server). In this case, you may be disconnected again with the message “Nick Collision” or your nick may be set to Unidentified. Just log back in again, use the Ghost command, or change your nick and identify if this happens.

NOTE: It’s not helpful to ask staff to explain the situation while they’re also trying to fix it. If staff are explaining things to you, they can’t work on fixing the server.

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

 

Updates to Website Command Pages

You may not notice it right away, but we’ve been busy making the website a little easier for you to use. We’ve added details on the Fantasy commands, and we’ve added the capability to link directly to a specific command on the website. Keep reading for the details.

Fantasy Commands

First, if you use Fantasy commands in your channel, we have good news for you. We’ve added a complete listing of the Fantasy commands to our online documentation. Now you can browse through the commands and easily find additional information on everything from !AKICK to !TKB.

Remember that you have to turn on the Fantasy option to use Fantasy commands. Find all the details on the new page.

Link Directly to Specific Commands

Second, we’ve added internal links to the commands on all of the documentation pages so you can give someone the address of a specific command.

Here’s an example. Previously, if someone asked for the command to add ops to permanently to their channel, you could send them to the ChanServ page and tell them to scroll down to the AOP command. Now you can send them directly to the AOP command.

These naming conventions were used to set up the internal links:

  • The link is the command name as listed in the bullet item (so, for instance, AOP).
  • The link for Fantasy commands does NOT include the exclamation point (so, for instance, TKB).
  • The link will show as one word with no spaces (so, for instance, SETGREET).
  • The link is always in all caps (so, for instance, BADWORDS)

To give someone the link to a specific command, use this general format:

http://www.geekshed.net/commands/[Kind of Command]/#[Command Name]

Just replace the info in the square brackets with the pertinent details and remove the square brackets too to get address for the command. Here are some examples to give you the idea of how the system works:

If you know the general command, this system should make it relatively easy to figure out the links you need if you’re trying to help someone find details.

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

How to Block Private Messages (PMs)

Private messages (PMs), as the name implies, pass only between two users on the network. any registered users on GeekShed can use the commands /msg, /query, and /notice to send PMs to each other.

There are times when you’re just not up for conversation or a troll is bothering you with lots of private comments. One simple solution is to block your private messages (PMs). The command to block all PMs is easy:

/umode2 +D

If you use mnemonics to remember commands, the “D” stands for Deaf. Enter that command exactly, and you should no longer receive PMs from other users on the network. Note that IRCops (network staff) can still PM you.

When someone tries to PM you, they will see a message like this from the server:

Message to '<your nick here>' not delivered: User does not accept private messages 

TIP: This command is not persistent (or permanent). You have to enter the command every time you connect to GeekShed. If you’re using a client that can perform commands when you connect to a network, you can use that capability to make sure PMs are always blocked.

How to Unblock Private Messages

To reverse the command all you have to do is change the plus to a minus, like this:

/umode2 -D

Private Messages with Unregistered Users

Private messages from unregistered users are automatically blocked on GeekShed. This default setting helps protect everyone against spammers. If you don’t want these message blocked, just follow the instructions to receive Private Messages with Unregistered Users.

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

How to Choose Staff for Your Channel

Once you register your channel, you can add staff to help you keep order or enforce any rules you have for your channel. The commands for making someone a permanent admin, operator or half-operator are relatively simple. You can even add someone as a founder (though we don’t recommend it).

The harder part is choosing people who will make good staff. Promoting someone in your channel gives them control over what happens there. To make sure your channel stays YOURS and that it’s run the way you want it to be, you need to be cautious about choosing your staff.

Before you make someone an op or hop, ask yourself these questions:

  • Do I know the person well?
  • Do I trust the person?
  • Does the person have good judgment?
  • Is the person polite, helpful, and knowledgeable?
  • Is the person cool under stress?
  • Will the person follow my instructions?
  • Does the person follow the channel and network rules?
  • Has the person been in my channel for a while?
  • Is the person active regularly?

If you can honestly answer “Yes” to all those questions, then the person could make a good member of your channel staff. If you answer “No” to even one, you should probably choose someone else.

The worst people to choose are the people who ask to be staff members. Anyone who demands, begs, or continually asks to be network staff does not have the patience for the job. Worse yet, some trolls will ask for ops in a channel only to cause trouble. Save yourself a lot of trouble, and just don’t make these folks a member of your channel staff. You’ll have a lot less drama to deal with!

 

[If you ended up on this page because you were looking for information on becoming a member of GeekShed network staff, visit Can I be an Oper on GeekShed?]

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

 

Welcome to Felicia Day and Geek and Sundry!

Felicia Day of Geek and SundryHave we got a great April Fool’s Day present for you! GeekShed got a lot geekier today.

Join us in welcoming Felicia Day of Geek and Sundry to the network, along with the cast and crew of the great Geek and Sundry shows.

The Geek and Sundry Subscribathon is underway today, and the official chat is taking place in channels across GeekShed. You can see what’s going on by checking out their related Google+ Hangout.

How can you welcome the Geek and Sundry crew? Visit their site, subscribe to them on YouTube, and check out their channels!

Did you know that when you look up “GeekAndSundry” in Wikipedia, it asks if you meant “gunfoundry”? Someone needs to make them an official Wikipedia page.

 

—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny

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