
:''This article discusses the Internet Chat Protocol IRC. For other meanings of ''IRC'', see IRC (disambiguation).'' Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a form of instant communication over the Internet. It is mainly designed for group (many-to-many) communication in discussion forums called ''channels'', but also allows one-to-one communication. IRC was created by Jarkko Oikarinen (nickname "WiZ") in late August 1988 to replace a program called MUT (MultiUser Talk) on a Bulletin board system called OuluBox in Finland. Oikarinen found inspiration in Bitnet Relay Chat which operated on the Bitnet. IRC gained prominence when it was used behind the Iron Curtain to report on the fall of the Soviet Union during a media blackout. It was later used in a similar fashion by Kuwaitis during the Gulf War. ==Technical information== IRC is an open network protocol that uses Transmission Control Protocol and optionally Secure Sockets Layer. An IRC server can connect to other IRC servers to expand the IRC network. Users access IRC networks by connecting a client to a server. There are many client and server implementations. Most IRC servers do not require users to log in, but a user will have to set a nickname before being connected. IRC is a plaintext protocol, which means that it is fully possible (though quite inconvenient) to use IRC via a basic byte-stream client such as netcat or telnet. However, the protocol only uses a slightly modified version of ASCII, and does not originally provide any support for non-ASCII characters in text, with the result that many different, incompatible character encodings (such as ISO 8859-1 and UTF-8) are used. Because most IRC implementations use an acyclic graph as their connection model, there is no redundancy, and outage of a server or a link can cause a netsplit. ===Evolution=== All client-to-server IRC protocols in use today are descended from the protocol implemented in the irc2.8 version of the IRC2server, and documented in RFC 1459. Since RFC 1459 was published, the new features in the irc2.10 implementation led to the publication of several revised protocol documents; RFC 2810, RFC 2811, RFC 2812 and RFC 2813, however these protocol changes have not been widely adopted among other implementations. IRC 2.10 is most widely used on the IRCnet network. The IRC protocol was extended by Microsoft in 1998 via its IRCX protocol that solves many of the traditional problems that legacy IRC networks faced, along with some features that most users felt were 'ahead of its time'. Although many specifications on the IRC protocol have been published, there is no official specification, as the protocol remains dynamic. Virtually no clients and very few servers rely strictly on the above RFCs as a reference. While the client-to-server protocols are at least functionally similar, server-to-server protocols differ widely (TS5, P10, and ND/CD are several widely-used and incompatible server protocols), making it very difficult to "link" two separate implementations of the IRC server. Some "bridge" servers do exist, to allow linking of, for example, 2.10 servers to TS5 servers, but these are often accompanied with restrictions of which parts of each protocol may be used, and are not widely deployed. In its first incarnations, IRC did not have many features which are taken for granted today, such as named channels and channel operators. Channels were numbered -- channel 4 and channel 57, for example -- and the channel topic described the kind of conversation that took place in the channel. One holdover of this is that joining channel 0 causes a client to leave all the channels it is presently on: "CHANNEL 0" being the original command to leave the current channel. The first major change to IRC, in version 2.5, was to add named channels -- "+channels". "+channels" were later replaced with "#channels" in version 2.7, numeric channels were removed entirely and channel bans (mode +b) were implemented. irc2.8 added "&channels" (those that exist only on the current server, rather than the entire network) and "!channels" (those that are theoretically safe from suffering from the many ways that a user could exploit a channel by "riding a netsplit"), and is the baseline release from which nearly all current implementations are derived. Significant releases based on 2.8 include: *2.8.21+CS, developed by Comstud *2.8+th, Taner's patchset, which later became *2.8/hybrid, originally developed by Jon Lusky (Rodder) and Diane Bruce (Dianora), later joined by a large development team. *2.9, 2.10, 2.11, ... continue the development of the original codebase, mainly for use on the IRCnet network. This development line produced the 4 IRC RFCs released after RFC 1459, which document this server protocol exclusively. 2.8.21+CS and 2.8/hybrid continue to be used on EFnet, with ircd-ratbox (an offshoot of 2.8/hybrid) as of 2004 being the most popular. Undernet's IRC server, ircu, is one of the few servers not descended from irc2.8 that are based on the original ircd; it was forked from the irc2.7 codebase. Many modern IRC servers have been coded from scratch, such as csircd (also from Comstud), ConferenceRoom, Microsoft Exchange Chat Service, and IRCPlus/IRCXPro. ===Channels and Modes=== The basic means of communication in an established IRC session is a ''channel'' which users can ''join'' and then send messages to, which are then relayed to all other users in the same channel. Channels which are available across an entire IRC network are prepended with a '#', while those local to a server use '&'. Other (non-standard) channel types include '+' channels—'modeless' channels without operators, and '!' channels, a form of #Timestamp_vs._Nick.2FChannel_Delay_Protocol channel on normally non-timestamped networks. Both users and channels may have ''modes'', which are some kind of attributes or switches. Modes are abbreviated by single letters so you can string them together concisely. An example for an user mode is 'i', which stands for invisible. (You cannot tell whether or not an invisible user is on a channel unless you join that channel or use the whois command on its nick.) A simple channel-mode example is 'm' (moderated), specifying that only 'voiced' users and channel operators are allowed to speak on the channel. There are five types of channelmodes, four of which will accept an argument, type A accepting an argument to add/remove values from a list (such as 'b'), type B accepting an argument that is used when turning the mode 'on' and 'off' (such as 'k'), type C accepting an argument only when the mode is turned 'on' (such as 'l'), type D which accepts no arguments and is simply a boolean flag (such as 'm', 'n', and 't'), and type E (ususally called 'class' or 'prefix' modes) that give/take a privilege from a user on a channel (such as 'o'). Type E modes (channel classes) specify which users on a channel have privileges, and what level of those privileges they have. Originally only 'channel operator' (mode 'o') and 'voice' (mode 'v') existed. Channel operator (usually abbreviated chanop or simply 'op') privileges allow a user to kick users, set modes, and change the topic if the channel is '+t'. Voice privileges allow a user to speak on a channel if it is moderated (mode 'm'). Additions to these classes are 'channel owner' (mode 'q') created by Microsoft in its IRCX implementation (and later used by UnrealIrcd); 'half-operator' (mode 'h') which is similar to a chanop, except they cannot set certain modes and can only kick normal users; 'protected' (mode 'a'); 'administrator' (mode 'a' or 'u'); and many more. Each channel class has an associated prefix that is shown beside a user's nickname whenever associated with that channel. The most common prefixes are '@' for channel operator, '+' for voice, '%' for half-op, '.' or '~' for channel owner, '&' for protected user, '!' or '*' for administrator. Most IRC networks feature a lot of extra modes not specified in any RFC document. This is a very simple feat for clients to adapt to since a list of all the valid user and channelmodes are sent to clients in the RPL_MYINFO reply upon logon. In addition, the list of channelmodes (and what type of arguments they accept), and the prefixes for class modes are specified in the protocol control reply (RPL_PROTOCTL or 005) sent from most IRC servers when a client connects. This message is used to tell clients what features the server supports, and what its limits are (for example, the maximum number of users you can have on your notify list, or the maximum length of your nickname). There are also users whose privileges extend to whole servers or networks of servers; these are called IRC Operators. On some IRC implementations, IRC operators are also given channel operator status in every channel, although many people believe that administration of channels and administration of the network should be kept separate, and that IRC operator status does not confer the right to interfere with a particular channel's operation. Because IRC connections are unencrypted and typically span long time periods, they are an attractive target for malicious hackers. Because of this, careful security policy is necessary to ensure that an IRC network is not susceptible to an attack such as an IRC takeover war. IRC networks also k-line or k-line users or networks that tend to have a harming effect. IRC served as an early laboratory for many kinds of Internet attacks, such as using fake ICMP unreachable messages to break Transmission Control Protocol-based IRC connections ("nuking") to annoy users or facilitate takeovers. ===Abuse prevention: timestamping vs. nick/channel delay protocol=== One of the most contentious technical issues surrounding IRC implementations, which survives to this day, is the merit of "Nick/Channel Delay" vs. "TimeStamp" protocols. Both methods exist to solve the problem of denial-of-service attacks, but take very different approaches. The problem with the original IRC protocol as implemented was that when two servers split and rejoined, the two sides of the network would simply merge their channels. If a user could join on a "split" server, where a channel which existed on the other side of the network was empty, and gain operator status, they would become a channel operator of the "combined" channel after the netsplit ended; if a user took a nickname which existed on the other side of the network, the server would kill both users when rejoining. This was often abused to "mass-kill" all users on a channel, thus creating an "opless" channels: where no operators were present to deal with abuse. Apart from causing problems within IRC, this encouraged people to conduct denial of service attacks against IRC servers in order to cause netsplits, which they would then abuse. ====Nick/channel delay==== The nick/channel delay (abbreviated ND/CD) solution to this problem was very simple. After a user signed off and the nickname became available, or a channel ceased to exist because all its users left (as often happens during a netsplit), the server would not allow any user to use that nickname or join that channel, respectively, until a certain period of time (the ''delay'') had passed. The idea behind this was that even if a netsplit occurred, it was useless to an abuser because they could not take the nickname or gain operator status on a channel, and thus no collision of a nickname or 'merging' of a channel could occur. To some extent, this inconvenienced legitimate users, who might be forced to briefly use a different name (appending an underscore was popular) after rejoining. ====Timestamping==== The alternative, the timestamp or ''TS'' protocol, took a different approach. Every nickname and channel on the network was assigned a timestamp -- the date and time when it was created. When a netsplit occurred, two users on each side were free to use the same nickname or channel, but when the two sides were joined, only one could survive. In the case of nicknames, the newer user, according to their TS, was killed; when a channel collided, the members (users on the channel) were merged, but the channel operators on the "losing" side of the split were de-opped. TS is a much more complicated protocol than ND/CD, both in design and implementation, and despite having gone through several revisions, some implementations still have problems with "desyncs" (where two servers on the same network disagree about the current state of the network), and allowing too much leniency in what was allowed by the 'losing' side. Under the original TS protocols, for example, there was no protection against users setting bans or other modes in the losing channel which would then be merged when the split rejoined, even though the users who had set those modes were no longer opped. Some modern TS-based IRC servers have also incorporated some form of ND and/or CD in addition to timestamping in an attempt to further curb abuse. There is not, and likely never will be, a consensus on timestamping vs. delay; however most networks today use the timestamping approach. It was part of the issues and disagreements which caused several servers to split away from EFnet and form the newer IRCnet (EFnet after the split moving to a TS protocol, and IRCnet using ND/CD), and supporters on both sides were known for heated arguments regarding the merits of their solution. ==Networks== Today there are several thousand running IRC networks in the world. They run various implementations of IRC servers, and are administered by various groups of IRC Operators, but the protocol exposed to IRC users is very similar, and all IRC networks can be accessed by the same client software. The largest IRC networks have traditionally been grouped in ''The Big Four'' — a designation for networks that top the statistics. Currently this includes four networks regularly frequented by around or over one hundred thousand clients, namely: *EFnet *IRCnet *QuakeNet *Undernet Other large networks include: *Aitvaras (network) *DALnet (once held QuakeNet's seat, before a series of DDoS attacks) *Enter The Game *Freenode *GameSurge (Currently under large amounts of DDoS attacks) *LinkNet *rizon For network statistics, rankings, and a list of smaller networks, see [http://irc.netsplit.de/networks/ netsplit.de] and [http://searchirc.com/networks Search IRC] ==Clients== *Multiple platforms: CBIRC, ChatZilla, Enhanced Programmable ircII Client, Gaim, jIRC, KVIrc, Opera (web browser), PJIRC, savIRC, X-Chat *Microsoft Windows: Bersirc, dIRC, HydraIRC, IceChat, Klient, Microsoft Comic Chat, Miranda IM, mIRC, Nettalk, pIRCh, TinyIRC, Trillian (instant messenger), ViRC, Vortec IRC, WS_IRC, XiRCON *Unix-like: BitchX, Centericq, Epic, IIRC, ircII, irssi, Kopete, naim, ScrollZ, TalkSoup, Xaric, Zircon (chat client) *Mac OS: Colloquy (IRC client), Conversation_IRC, Fire (instant messenger), IRCle, Minerva IRC, ShadowIRC, Snak, X-Chat Aqua, Xirc *OS/2: EZIRC, GTIRC, IRC/2, Openchat/2 *AmigaOS: AmIRC *BeOS: Baxter, BIRCH, Bowser, Felix, Vision *DOS: ircabi, jpirc *MenuetOS: AIRC *Emacs: ERC_(software) ZenIRC *Cell Phone: jmIrc, Virca, WLIRc mIRC is widely believed to be the most popular IRC client on Windows based systems. ircII is the canonical Unix IRC client, but its userbase has declined with the appearance of competing clients such as Enhanced Programmable ircII Client, BitchX, irssi, X-Chat etc. A framework designed to incorporate IRC into other various other applications, such as games, is LibIRC, although it is still heavily under development. Mac OS X can also run most Unix-like command line and X Window System IRC clients. ===Bots=== There are also many automated clients, called bots. The first bot was written by Greg Lindahl and provided moderation for the game of Wumpus, but most modern bots are usually used to exercise operator privileges (controlling channels and acting quickly in case of abuse), to annoy other users (perhaps by spamming them with lots of messages), to answer repetitive user questions and provide help when channels are not attended, or serve as permanent points of contact for information exchange (an answering machine, file transfer, etc.). The most popular IRC bots today are Eggdrop and EnergyMech. More recently, bots have been written using the mIRC client's built-in mIRC script. The modern IRC services are implemented via bots. They're often used in channel maintenance: banning users, keeping a list of operators, keeping the channel topic, etc. ===Bouncer=== A program that runs as a daemon (computer software) on a server and functions as a persistent proxy server is known as a bouncer (IRC). A bouncer's purpose is to maintain a connection to an IRC server, acting as a relay between it and the connecting client. Should the client lose network connectivity, the bouncer will archive all traffic for later delivery, allowing the user to resume his IRC session without externally perceptible disruption. A feature-rich bouncer is [http://znc.sourceforge.net ZNC]. ==Modern IRC== IRC has changed much over its life on the Internet. New server software has added a multitude of new features. *IRC services: Network-Operated bots to facilitate registration of nicknames and channels, sending messages for offline users and network operator functions. *Extra Modes: While the original IRC system used a set of standard user and channel modes, new servers add many new modes for such features as removing color codes from text, or obscuring a user's hostmask ("cloaking") to protect from denial of service attacks. *Proxy Detection: Most modern servers support detection of users attempting to connect through an insecure (misconfigured or exploited) proxy, which can then be denied a connection. An example is the [http://www.blitzed.org/proxy Blitzed Open Proxy Monitor] or BOPM, used by several networks. *Additional Commands: New commands can be such things as shorthand commands to issue commands to Services, to network operator only commands to manipulate a user's hostmask. *Encryption: For the client-to-server leg of the connection Transport Layer Security might be used (messages cease to be secure once they are relayed to other users on standard connections, but it makes Man in the middle attack on or wiretapping an individual's IRC sessions difficult). *Ident: Provides identification to the IRC server. *Connection Protocol: IRC can be connected to via IPv4, the current standard version of the Internet Protocol, or by IPv6, the next-generation version of the Protocol. ==Abuse== In addition to the denial of service attacks and netsplit abuses mentioned above, there are varied groups with malicious intent on the servers. One group consists mostly of Leet users knowledgeable about computers. They tell new users that ask questions about how to use IRC to type in specific harmful commands. Examples are: * format C: /Y (reformats hard drive in Microsoft Windows) * rm -rf / (wipes a Unix/Linux system) * Ctrl+Alt+Delete twice (forces a reboot in earlier versions of Windows) * Alt+F4 (closes current program in Windows) Other methods of abuse include typing in questions the answers to which cause the user to quit the server and trying to get another user to quit by flooding him with packets. Advertising of channels or websites (sometimes through the use of bots) in public and private channels is a problem, too. ==Filesharing== Using scripts like [http://www.sysreset.com Sysreset] and [http://www.polaris-central.com Polaris] users can create file servers that allow them to share files with others. In addition to the normal pros and cons of file-sharing (see Copyright infringement of software), there are also groups that set up anime fansubbing networks, allowing American audiences to see anime that would normally be unavailable in English and outside of Japan. ==See also== *Bash.org *Depot channel *Direct Client-to-Client *Idle RPG - A role playing game for IRC *Instant messaging *IRC Services ** By service: *** ChanServ *** NickServ *** MemoServ *** OperServ ** Services daemons: *** Anope *** Epona *IRCX *Multicast - IRC is one of the few technologies equipped with a real one-to-many strategy. *Online chat *Peer-to-peer *XDCC *Wikipedia:IRC channels *IRC floods *SILC (protocol) - a promising alternative to IRC *Shell Account *BBS *Chat *Chat room *Internet forum ==External links== *[http://daniel.haxx.se/irchistory.html History of IRC summarized by Daniel Stenberg] *[http://www.mirc.com/servers.html mIRC server list, most of the larger IRC networks] *[http://irc.netsplit.de/ Andreas Gelhausen's extensive IRC statistics] *[http://irc.alien.net.au/chanmodes.html List of channel modes that various IRC Daemons use] *[http://www.irchelp.org Large archive of IRC-related documents, somewhat EFNet biased] *[http://searchirc.com/whois/ cross network whois search] at [http://searchirc.com/ ''Search IRC'', an IRC search engine] *[http://www.ircimages.com/ Raw images spidered from IRC channels] *[http://www.irc-junkie.org/ ''IRC Junkie'' - IRC news] *[http://www.irchelp.org/ ''IRC Help'' - Learning the basics of IRC, including netiquette] *[http://irc.alien.net.au/ An extensive list of different ''numerics'' and modes used by various IRC networks] IRC ms:IRC vi:IRC
== |BUDD| == The current page says that IRC was created by |BUDD|, while other pages (including earlier versions of this one, I believe) tend to say that it was created by Jarkko Oikarinen. Whichever might be the case, would it be possible to explain who this |BUDD| is? User:129.240.106.220 01:05, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC) I see it was already reverted. Thanks! User:129.240.106.220 01:07, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Destruction == Hello I got to this page from the Wikipedia:Replies to common objections, which mentions (somewhere in the middle of the page) "destruction like that which has come to the IRC network, defenseless against true malice". I guess that this refers to some historical or ongoing problem -- does someone want to write about the social history of IRC, and in particular address the problem mentioned above? I really don't know anything about IRC so I can't help here. Happy editing, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 00:22, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC) :I'll add it to my to-do list on my user page. I don't know when I'll get to it, but if no one else gets to it, I guess I will, eventually. :-) :User:Cprompt 00:30, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC) : It probably refers to the known incidents in IRC history where denial of service attacks were able to terminate entire networks: I believe the largest such so far was the shutting down of DALnet after a series of DDoSes some time in 2003 (IIRC). --User:Shallot 01:28, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC) == B1FF == Some source and clarification for the B1FF claim might be required, as IIRC the Jargon File states that "he" was actually the work of several different people at different times. :''Humorously enough, the famous "idiot user" B1FF, who was allegedly a Bitnet user, was actually a well known IRC operator.'' This comment is a complete non-sequitor...I'm removing it until it's explained a bit better. -- user:RobLa == OPN/freenode == how do i get on irc.openprojects.net?? User:Lir 11:29 Nov 10, 2002 (UTC) is anyone even there? : openprojects IRC is dead. Try irc.freenode.net (geared towards programming projects), which seems to be similar to openprojects, although I never used openprojects. -- User:Olathe November 23, 2003 :: For the record, openprojects and freenode are actually the same thing -- they changed their name for various reasons. - User:Lady Lysine Ikinsile 10:07, Jun 8, 2004 (UTC) == Non-proprietary nature == I removed this: ''* IRC operators do not discourage connection by other, non-IRC clients, as the commercial instant messaging services often do.'' By definition, any client that connects to an IRC server is an IRC client, even if it is not the primary function of the program. I think what the author of that snippet intended to say was that IRC operators do not endorse any single client, whereas some commercial instant messaging services, (probably most notably AOL Instant Messenger) require you to use a client created by them. User:Cprompt 14:10 Feb 3, 2003 (UTC) == @find file sharing == I deleted this chunk of text because it goes into a level of detail on one tiny aspect of IRC which isn't even in the standard IRC set of commands. It might be useful to add back in, but some thought should be applied with how to reinsert it. It might make sense as a section titled "Exchanging files using IRC". -- User:RobLa 09:22 Feb 24, 2003 (UTC)
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#REDIRECT Talk:Internet_Relay_Chat
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Internet_Relay_Chat
Internet_Relay_Chat
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Internet Relay Chat
:''This article discusses the Internet Chat Protocol IRC. For other meanings of ''IRC'', see IRC (disambiguation).'' Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a form of instant communication over the Internet. It is mainly designed for group (many-to-many) communication in discussion forums called ''channels'', but also allows one-to-one communication. IRC was created by Jarkko Oikarinen (nickname "WiZ") in late August 1988 to replace a program called MUT (MultiUser Talk) on a Bulletin board system called OuluBox in Finland. Oikarinen found inspiration in Bitnet Relay Chat which operated on the Bitnet. IRC gained prominence when it was used behind the Iron Curtain to report on the fall of the Soviet Union during a media blackout. It was later used in a similar fashion by Kuwaitis during the Gulf War. ==Technical information== IRC is an open network protocol that uses Transmission Control Protocol and optionally Secure Sockets Layer. An IRC server can connect to other IRC servers to expand the IRC network. Users access IRC networks by connecting a client to a server. There are many client and server implementations. Most IRC servers do not require users to log in, but a user will have to set a nickname before being connected. IRC is a plaintext protocol, which means that it is fully possible (though quite inconvenient) to use IRC via a basic byte-stream client such as netcat or telnet. However, the protocol only uses a slightly modified version of ASCII, and does not originally provide any support for non-ASCII characters in text, with the result that many different, incompatible character encodings (such as ISO 8859-1 and UTF-8) are used. Because most IRC implementations use an acyclic graph as their connection model, there is no redundancy, and outage of a server or a link can cause a netsplit. ===Evolution=== All client-to-server IRC protocols in use today are descended from the protocol implemented in the irc2.8 version of the IRC2server, and documented in RFC 1459. Since RFC 1459 was published, the new features in the irc2.10 implementation led to the publication of several revised protocol documents; RFC 2810, RFC 2811, RFC 2812 and RFC 2813, however these protocol changes have not been widely adopted among other implementations. IRC 2.10 is most widely used on the IRCnet network. The IRC protocol was extended by Microsoft in 1998 via its IRCX protocol that solves many of the traditional problems that legacy IRC networks faced, along with some features that most users felt were 'ahead of its time'. Although many specifications on the IRC protocol have been published, there is no official specification, as the protocol remains dynamic. Virtually no clients and very few servers rely strictly on the above RFCs as a reference. While the client-to-server protocols are at least functionally similar, server-to-server protocols differ widely (TS5, P10, and ND/CD are several widely-used and incompatible server protocols), making it very difficult to "link" two separate implementations of the IRC server. Some "bridge" servers do exist, to allow linking of, for example, 2.10 servers to TS5 servers, but these are often accompanied with restrictions of which parts of each protocol may be used, and are not widely deployed. In its first incarnations, IRC did not have many features which are taken for granted today, such as named channels and channel operators. Channels were numbered -- channel 4 and channel 57, for example -- and the channel topic described the kind of conversation that took place in the channel. One holdover of this is that joining channel 0 causes a client to leave all the channels it is presently on: "CHANNEL 0" being the original command to leave the current channel. The first major change to IRC, in version 2.5, was to add named channels -- "+channels". "+channels" were later replaced with "#channels" in version 2.7, numeric channels were removed entirely and channel bans (mode +b) were implemented. irc2.8 added "&channels" (those that exist only on the current server, rather than the entire network) and "!channels" (those that are theoretically safe from suffering from the many ways that a user could exploit a channel by "riding a netsplit"), and is the baseline release from which nearly all current implementations are derived. Significant releases based on 2.8 include: *2.8.21+CS, developed by Comstud *2.8+th, Taner's patchset, which later became *2.8/hybrid, originally developed by Jon Lusky (Rodder) and Diane Bruce (Dianora), later joined by a large development team. *2.9, 2.10, 2.11, ... continue the development of the original codebase, mainly for use on the IRCnet network. This development line produced the 4 IRC RFCs released after RFC 1459, which document this server protocol exclusively. 2.8.21+CS and 2.8/hybrid continue to be used on EFnet, with ircd-ratbox (an offshoot of 2.8/hybrid) as of 2004 being the most popular. Undernet's IRC server, ircu, is one of the few servers not descended from irc2.8 that are based on the original ircd; it was forked from the irc2.7 codebase. Many modern IRC servers have been coded from scratch, such as csircd (also from Comstud), ConferenceRoom, Microsoft Exchange Chat Service, and IRCPlus/IRCXPro. ===Channels and Modes=== The basic means of communication in an established IRC session is a ''channel'' which users can ''join'' and then send messages to, which are then relayed to all other users in the same channel. Channels which are available across an entire IRC network are prepended with a '#', while those local to a server use '&'. Other (non-standard) channel types include '+' channels—'modeless' channels without operators, and '!' channels, a form of #Timestamp_vs._Nick.2FChannel_Delay_Protocol channel on normally non-timestamped networks. Both users and channels may have ''modes'', which are some kind of attributes or switches. Modes are abbreviated by single letters so you can string them together concisely. An example for an user mode is 'i', which stands for invisible. (You cannot tell whether or not an invisible user is on a channel unless you join that channel or use the whois command on its nick.) A simple channel-mode example is 'm' (moderated), specifying that only 'voiced' users and channel operators are allowed to speak on the channel. There are five types of channelmodes, four of which will accept an argument, type A accepting an argument to add/remove values from a list (such as 'b'), type B accepting an argument that is used when turning the mode 'on' and 'off' (such as 'k'), type C accepting an argument only when the mode is turned 'on' (such as 'l'), type D which accepts no arguments and is simply a boolean flag (such as 'm', 'n', and 't'), and type E (ususally called 'class' or 'prefix' modes) that give/take a privilege from a user on a channel (such as 'o'). Type E modes (channel classes) specify which users on a channel have privileges, and what level of those privileges they have. Originally only 'channel operator' (mode 'o') and 'voice' (mode 'v') existed. Channel operator (usually abbreviated chanop or simply 'op') privileges allow a user to kick users, set modes, and change the topic if the channel is '+t'. Voice privileges allow a user to speak on a channel if it is moderated (mode 'm'). Additions to these classes are 'channel owner' (mode 'q') created by Microsoft in its IRCX implementation (and later used by UnrealIrcd); 'half-operator' (mode 'h') which is similar to a chanop, except they cannot set certain modes and can only kick normal users; 'protected' (mode 'a'); 'administrator' (mode 'a' or 'u'); and many more. Each channel class has an associated prefix that is shown beside a user's nickname whenever associated with that channel. The most common prefixes are '@' for channel operator, '+' for voice, '%' for half-op, '.' or '~' for channel owner, '&' for protected user, '!' or '*' for administrator. Most IRC networks feature a lot of extra modes not specified in any RFC document. This is a very simple feat for clients to adapt to since a list of all the valid user and channelmodes are sent to clients in the RPL_MYINFO reply upon logon. In addition, the list of channelmodes (and what type of arguments they accept), and the prefixes for class modes are specified in the protocol control reply (RPL_PROTOCTL or 005) sent from most IRC servers when a client connects. This message is used to tell clients what features the server supports, and what its limits are (for example, the maximum number of users you can have on your notify list, or the maximum length of your nickname). There are also users whose privileges extend to whole servers or networks of servers; these are called IRC Operators. On some IRC implementations, IRC operators are also given channel operator status in every channel, although many people believe that administration of channels and administration of the network should be kept separate, and that IRC operator status does not confer the right to interfere with a particular channel's operation. Because IRC connections are unencrypted and typically span long time periods, they are an attractive target for malicious hackers. Because of this, careful security policy is necessary to ensure that an IRC network is not susceptible to an attack such as an IRC takeover war. IRC networks also k-line or k-line users or networks that tend to have a harming effect. IRC served as an early laboratory for many kinds of Internet attacks, such as using fake ICMP unreachable messages to break Transmission Control Protocol-based IRC connections ("nuking") to annoy users or facilitate takeovers. ===Abuse prevention: timestamping vs. nick/channel delay protocol=== One of the most contentious technical issues surrounding IRC implementations, which survives to this day, is the merit of "Nick/Channel Delay" vs. "TimeStamp" protocols. Both methods exist to solve the problem of denial-of-service attacks, but take very different approaches. The problem with the original IRC protocol as implemented was that when two servers split and rejoined, the two sides of the network would simply merge their channels. If a user could join on a "split" server, where a channel which existed on the other side of the network was empty, and gain operator status, they would become a channel operator of the "combined" channel after the netsplit ended; if a user took a nickname which existed on the other side of the network, the server would kill both users when rejoining. This was often abused to "mass-kill" all users on a channel, thus creating an "opless" channels: where no operators were present to deal with abuse. Apart from causing problems within IRC, this encouraged people to conduct denial of service attacks against IRC servers in order to cause netsplits, which they would then abuse. ====Nick/channel delay==== The nick/channel delay (abbreviated ND/CD) solution to this problem was very simple. After a user signed off and the nickname became available, or a channel ceased to exist because all its users left (as often happens during a netsplit), the server would not allow any user to use that nickname or join that channel, respectively, until a certain period of time (the ''delay'') had passed. The idea behind this was that even if a netsplit occurred, it was useless to an abuser because they could not take the nickname or gain operator status on a channel, and thus no collision of a nickname or 'merging' of a channel could occur. To some extent, this inconvenienced legitimate users, who might be forced to briefly use a different name (appending an underscore was popular) after rejoining. ====Timestamping==== The alternative, the timestamp or ''TS'' protocol, took a different approach. Every nickname and channel on the network was assigned a timestamp -- the date and time when it was created. When a netsplit occurred, two users on each side were free to use the same nickname or channel, but when the two sides were joined, only one could survive. In the case of nicknames, the newer user, according to their TS, was killed; when a channel collided, the members (users on the channel) were merged, but the channel operators on the "losing" side of the split were de-opped. TS is a much more complicated protocol than ND/CD, both in design and implementation, and despite having gone through several revisions, some implementations still have problems with "desyncs" (where two servers on the same network disagree about the current state of the network), and allowing too much leniency in what was allowed by the 'losing' side. Under the original TS protocols, for example, there was no protection against users setting bans or other modes in the losing channel which would then be merged when the split rejoined, even though the users who had set those modes were no longer opped. Some modern TS-based IRC servers have also incorporated some form of ND and/or CD in addition to timestamping in an attempt to further curb abuse. There is not, and likely never will be, a consensus on timestamping vs. delay; however most networks today use the timestamping approach. It was part of the issues and disagreements which caused several servers to split away from EFnet and form the newer IRCnet (EFnet after the split moving to a TS protocol, and IRCnet using ND/CD), and supporters on both sides were known for heated arguments regarding the merits of their solution. ==Networks== Today there are several thousand running IRC networks in the world. They run various implementations of IRC servers, and are administered by various groups of IRC Operators, but the protocol exposed to IRC users is very similar, and all IRC networks can be accessed by the same client software. The largest IRC networks have traditionally been grouped in ''The Big Four'' — a designation for networks that top the statistics. Currently this includes four networks regularly frequented by around or over one hundred thousand clients, namely: *EFnet *IRCnet *QuakeNet *Undernet Other large networks include: *Aitvaras (network) *DALnet (once held QuakeNet's seat, before a series of DDoS attacks) *Enter The Game *Freenode *GameSurge (Currently under large amounts of DDoS attacks) *LinkNet *rizon For network statistics, rankings, and a list of smaller networks, see [http://irc.netsplit.de/networks/ netsplit.de] and [http://searchirc.com/networks Search IRC] ==Clients== *Multiple platforms: CBIRC, ChatZilla, Enhanced Programmable ircII Client, Gaim, jIRC, KVIrc, Opera (web browser), PJIRC, savIRC, X-Chat *Microsoft Windows: Bersirc, dIRC, HydraIRC, IceChat, Klient, Microsoft Comic Chat, Miranda IM, mIRC, Nettalk, pIRCh, TinyIRC, Trillian (instant messenger), ViRC, Vortec IRC, WS_IRC, XiRCON *Unix-like: BitchX, Centericq, Epic, IIRC, ircII, irssi, Kopete, naim, ScrollZ, TalkSoup, Xaric, Zircon (chat client) *Mac OS: Colloquy (IRC client), Conversation_IRC, Fire (instant messenger), IRCle, Minerva IRC, ShadowIRC, Snak, X-Chat Aqua, Xirc *OS/2: EZIRC, GTIRC, IRC/2, Openchat/2 *AmigaOS: AmIRC *BeOS: Baxter, BIRCH, Bowser, Felix, Vision *DOS: ircabi, jpirc *MenuetOS: AIRC *Emacs: ERC_(software) ZenIRC *Cell Phone: jmIrc, Virca, WLIRc mIRC is widely believed to be the most popular IRC client on Windows based systems. ircII is the canonical Unix IRC client, but its userbase has declined with the appearance of competing clients such as Enhanced Programmable ircII Client, BitchX, irssi, X-Chat etc. A framework designed to incorporate IRC into other various other applications, such as games, is LibIRC, although it is still heavily under development. Mac OS X can also run most Unix-like command line and X Window System IRC clients. ===Bots=== There are also many automated clients, called bots. The first bot was written by Greg Lindahl and provided moderation for the game of Wumpus, but most modern bots are usually used to exercise operator privileges (controlling channels and acting quickly in case of abuse), to annoy other users (perhaps by spamming them with lots of messages), to answer repetitive user questions and provide help when channels are not attended, or serve as permanent points of contact for information exchange (an answering machine, file transfer, etc.). The most popular IRC bots today are Eggdrop and EnergyMech. More recently, bots have been written using the mIRC client's built-in mIRC script. The modern IRC services are implemented via bots. They're often used in channel maintenance: banning users, keeping a list of operators, keeping the channel topic, etc. ===Bouncer=== A program that runs as a daemon (computer software) on a server and functions as a persistent proxy server is known as a bouncer (IRC). A bouncer's purpose is to maintain a connection to an IRC server, acting as a relay between it and the connecting client. Should the client lose network connectivity, the bouncer will archive all traffic for later delivery, allowing the user to resume his IRC session without externally perceptible disruption. A feature-rich bouncer is [http://znc.sourceforge.net ZNC]. ==Modern IRC== IRC has changed much over its life on the Internet. New server software has added a multitude of new features. *IRC services: Network-Operated bots to facilitate registration of nicknames and channels, sending messages for offline users and network operator functions. *Extra Modes: While the original IRC system used a set of standard user and channel modes, new servers add many new modes for such features as removing color codes from text, or obscuring a user's hostmask ("cloaking") to protect from denial of service attacks. *Proxy Detection: Most modern servers support detection of users attempting to connect through an insecure (misconfigured or exploited) proxy, which can then be denied a connection. An example is the [http://www.blitzed.org/proxy Blitzed Open Proxy Monitor] or BOPM, used by several networks. *Additional Commands: New commands can be such things as shorthand commands to issue commands to Services, to network operator only commands to manipulate a user's hostmask. *Encryption: For the client-to-server leg of the connection Transport Layer Security might be used (messages cease to be secure once they are relayed to other users on standard connections, but it makes Man in the middle attack on or wiretapping an individual's IRC sessions difficult). *Ident: Provides identification to the IRC server. *Connection Protocol: IRC can be connected to via IPv4, the current standard version of the Internet Protocol, or by IPv6, the next-generation version of the Protocol. ==Abuse== In addition to the denial of service attacks and netsplit abuses mentioned above, there are varied groups with malicious intent on the servers. One group consists mostly of Leet users knowledgeable about computers. They tell new users that ask questions about how to use IRC to type in specific harmful commands. Examples are: * format C: /Y (reformats hard drive in Microsoft Windows) * rm -rf / (wipes a Unix/Linux system) * Ctrl+Alt+Delete twice (forces a reboot in earlier versions of Windows) * Alt+F4 (closes current program in Windows) Other methods of abuse include typing in questions the answers to which cause the user to quit the server and trying to get another user to quit by flooding him with packets. Advertising of channels or websites (sometimes through the use of bots) in public and private channels is a problem, too. ==Filesharing== Using scripts like [http://www.sysreset.com Sysreset] and [http://www.polaris-central.com Polaris] users can create file servers that allow them to share files with others. In addition to the normal pros and cons of file-sharing (see Copyright infringement of software), there are also groups that set up anime fansubbing networks, allowing American audiences to see anime that would normally be unavailable in English and outside of Japan. ==See also== *Bash.org *Depot channel *Direct Client-to-Client *Idle RPG - A role playing game for IRC *Instant messaging *IRC Services ** By service: *** ChanServ *** NickServ *** MemoServ *** OperServ ** Services daemons: *** Anope *** Epona *IRCX *Multicast - IRC is one of the few technologies equipped with a real one-to-many strategy. *Online chat *Peer-to-peer *XDCC *Wikipedia:IRC channels *IRC floods *SILC (protocol) - a promising alternative to IRC *Shell Account *BBS *Chat *Chat room *Internet forum ==External links== *[http://daniel.haxx.se/irchistory.html History of IRC summarized by Daniel Stenberg] *[http://www.mirc.com/servers.html mIRC server list, most of the larger IRC networks] *[http://irc.netsplit.de/ Andreas Gelhausen's extensive IRC statistics] *[http://irc.alien.net.au/chanmodes.html List of channel modes that various IRC Daemons use] *[http://www.irchelp.org Large archive of IRC-related documents, somewhat EFNet biased] *[http://searchirc.com/whois/ cross network whois search] at [http://searchirc.com/ ''Search IRC'', an IRC search engine] *[http://www.ircimages.com/ Raw images spidered from IRC channels] *[http://www.irc-junkie.org/ ''IRC Junkie'' - IRC news] *[http://www.irchelp.org/ ''IRC Help'' - Learning the basics of IRC, including netiquette] *[http://irc.alien.net.au/ An extensive list of different ''numerics'' and modes used by various IRC networks] IRC ms:IRC vi:IRC
Internet Relay Chat
== |BUDD| == The current page says that IRC was created by |BUDD|, while other pages (including earlier versions of this one, I believe) tend to say that it was created by Jarkko Oikarinen. Whichever might be the case, would it be possible to explain who this |BUDD| is? User:129.240.106.220 01:05, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC) I see it was already reverted. Thanks! User:129.240.106.220 01:07, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC) == Destruction == Hello I got to this page from the Wikipedia:Replies to common objections, which mentions (somewhere in the middle of the page) "destruction like that which has come to the IRC network, defenseless against true malice". I guess that this refers to some historical or ongoing problem -- does someone want to write about the social history of IRC, and in particular address the problem mentioned above? I really don't know anything about IRC so I can't help here. Happy editing, User:Wile E. Heresiarch 00:22, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC) :I'll add it to my to-do list on my user page. I don't know when I'll get to it, but if no one else gets to it, I guess I will, eventually. :-) :User:Cprompt 00:30, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC) : It probably refers to the known incidents in IRC history where denial of service attacks were able to terminate entire networks: I believe the largest such so far was the shutting down of DALnet after a series of DDoSes some time in 2003 (IIRC). --User:Shallot 01:28, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC) == B1FF == Some source and clarification for the B1FF claim might be required, as IIRC the Jargon File states that "he" was actually the work of several different people at different times. :''Humorously enough, the famous "idiot user" B1FF, who was allegedly a Bitnet user, was actually a well known IRC operator.'' This comment is a complete non-sequitor...I'm removing it until it's explained a bit better. -- user:RobLa == OPN/freenode == how do i get on irc.openprojects.net?? User:Lir 11:29 Nov 10, 2002 (UTC) is anyone even there? : openprojects IRC is dead. Try irc.freenode.net (geared towards programming projects), which seems to be similar to openprojects, although I never used openprojects. -- User:Olathe November 23, 2003 :: For the record, openprojects and freenode are actually the same thing -- they changed their name for various reasons. - User:Lady Lysine Ikinsile 10:07, Jun 8, 2004 (UTC) == Non-proprietary nature == I removed this: ''* IRC operators do not discourage connection by other, non-IRC clients, as the commercial instant messaging services often do.'' By definition, any client that connects to an IRC server is an IRC client, even if it is not the primary function of the program. I think what the author of that snippet intended to say was that IRC operators do not endorse any single client, whereas some commercial instant messaging services, (probably most notably AOL Instant Messenger) require you to use a client created by them. User:Cprompt 14:10 Feb 3, 2003 (UTC) == @find file sharing == I deleted this chunk of text because it goes into a level of detail on one tiny aspect of IRC which isn't even in the standard IRC set of commands. It might be useful to add back in, but some thought should be applied with how to reinsert it. It might make sense as a section titled "Exchanging files using IRC". -- User:RobLa 09:22 Feb 24, 2003 (UTC)
=== IRC commands === The @FIND command is used in Internet Relay Chat to look for and interchange archives. To use the command, one must go to a depot channel, where this command is allowed. In the depot channel, a user can type the @find command, followed by the search string (singer and/or song title). The wildcard characters * and ? can be used in the search string. If an archive is found on a channel user's machine, the command will return a list of matches. Grabster returns a unique match list. To request the archive, the user must type in the depot channel "!nick" and the archive_name. The @nick command can also be used on the depot channel to obtain information about a user and his or her files. See also: *Peer-to-peer *MP3:: For sure, I included it in the article "At find", but somebody put it in the IRC article. IRC file interchange it´s very important nowadays, like a IRC response to Napster and compatible interchange clients. :::What about the @find peer-to-peer command ??. Where can one include it ??. I will create a new article about it, because it´s vital for peer-to-peering. :: I've put that in depot channel now. --User:Shallot 00:02, 25 Feb 2004 (UTC) Could someone please point me towards some resources where I can read about the technology used by "At find" and Grabster, since all I can get out of Google are links to this page :) Cheers! -- User:Dbaser 10:52, 18 Jan 2004 (UTC) == Charsets == One of the sentences made little sense : : Its biggest disadvantage is the lack of a well-defined character encoding for the messages, making it unsuitable for modern communication requirements. What does "modern communication requirements" mean ? I can chat using IRC just fine at the current time, so all requirements for communication in this incredibly modern time (right now) have obviously been met. This should be changed to "...making it unsuitable for ''insert task here''". -- User:Olathe November 16, 2003 :I believe that's in reference to lack of explicit UTF-8, UTF-16 and unicode goodies. If you are willing to live with 7-bit US-ASCII, then life is great. If you want more, prepare for interop problems. -- User:RobLa 03:05, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC) :: I have edited the article to be more specific about that. Thanks for the info. I will be deleting this question chain due to it being out of date after at least a week from now (since the problem in the article is fixed), unless there are objections -- User:Olathe November 23, 2003 == #wikipedia == I wonder, is there an official channel on IRC for the wikipedia, there must be! --Alex :Wikipedia:IRC Channel User:MadEwokHerd 00:52, 19 Dec 2003 (UTC) == "Internet Relay Chat" versus "Internet relay chat" == It sure seems like "Internet Relay Chat" needs to be fully capitalized. "Internet relay chat" could refer to any method of using the Internet and relays to enable chat. "Internet Relay Chat" is the very specific form of Internet relay chat referred to in this article. -- User:RobLa RFC 1459 uses "Internet Relay Chat". The German and French Wikipedia use "Internet Relay Chat". "Internet Relay Chat" is the term used almost exclusively; it refers to a specific protocol. It is never used to describe any other chat system. I moved the article to reflect the more common capitalization. --User:Cprompt 23:40, 2 Jan 2004 (UTC) == WebChat == I've removed WebChat since it's not actually a large network (it only appears to be because their irc server software has about 30000 fake ''Service Agent'' users, while checking each local user count per server gives about 7000-8000 real users making it a medium-size network) --User:SimonArlott 15:16, 10 May 2004 (UTC) == channel/user modes == I removed the following text because a) I'm not convinced it's useful, and b) it'd have to be accompanied by an explanation of what modes mean (why are they single letters? what does p/+p/-p mean?) and I'm *really* not sure that's useful -- WikipediaIsNotAManual? * b (ban) : ban a hostmask from the channel and prevent him from coming back * i (invite) : channel can only be joined if invited by an operator * k (key) : set a password for the channel * l (limit) : limit the maximum number of users in a channel. * m (moderated) : only operators and voiced users can send messages to the channel * n (no outside messages) : users need to be in the channel to write to it * o (operator) : to grant or remove operator status of a user * p (private) : channel does not show up in WHOIS * s (secret) : channel does not show up in LIST * t (topic) : channel topic can only be changed by an operator * v (voice) : grant or remove voice status of a user And several "non-standard" modes which are nonetheless supported in many IRC server implementations: * a (protect) : keep a user from being kicked from the channel * c (colourless) : stop coloured text from being sent to the channel * e (exception) : allow a hostmask that would otherwise be currently banned to join the channel * h (half-op) : to grant or remove partial operator status of a user (can kick, ban, but not op) * q (owner) : grant or remove owner status of a user * r (registered) : channel registered with a service such as ChanServ Note that in many implementations, +p/+s are the same thing, and include the functionality of the other. There may be other channel modes depending on the server implementation. Similary, users can set modes on themselves, both the standard ones: * i (invisible) : render user invisible * o (operator) : irc operator flag (cannot normally by set by a user) * s (server) : allow reception of server notices * w (wallops) : allow reception of wallops And extensions: * r (registered) : registered with service such as NickServ * x (IP mask) : IP address is encrypted Many other varied channel and user modes are used by different implementations of the IRC protocol, and no real standard exists. -- User:Lady Lysine Ikinsile 16:15, Jun 10, 2004 (UTC) :I have written some stuff on the idea itself, less manual-like User:Betterworld 00:31, 13 Jun 2004 (UTC) :I could put those "modes" in a subpage of the IRC article, if you wish. Denelson83 20:50, 15 Jul 2004 (UTC) ::The external link should do it --User:Betterworld :Actually, on almost all IRCDs, +p and +s are mutually exclusive, and both hide from /whois. The real difference is a +p channel shows in /list, but with a name of "*" and no topic, so all that's seen is the number of users in it. A +s channel doesn't show in /list at all. User:Goplat 18:28, 7 Aug 2004 (UTC) ::Except on hybrid-6 (and therefore ratbox, and I think +CS might be doing it this way... but who knows about them :-) where +p has changed into a completely unrelated function, much to the confusion of users and clients alike. In any case the current article doesn't seem to mention either +p or +s. User:Kate | User talk:Kate 18:43, 2004 Aug 7 (UTC) == Miscellanea == I removed this section because I think that like the above it's not really ... very informative. :Miscellanea :Because major IRC servers support clients from different parts of the globe that interact in real time, UTC time is generally used for international meetings. :IRC has been described (by a quote from Bash.org) as "multiplayer notepad." I hope I'm not removing too much here, but I'm trying to make a useful and coherent article rather than just a long one -- and I do think there's a lot more that could be written. -- User:Lady Lysine Ikinsile 16:35, Jun 10, 2004 (UTC) == Grnet == Grnet was added by User:SimonP with no explanation why. According to [http://searchirc.com/network/Grnet SearchIRC] it only has about 200 users so it's not a large network. -- User:SimonArlott 12:00, 11 Jun 2004 (UTC) *According to [http://irc.netsplit.de/networks/details.php?net=GRNet&point=years netsplit.de] it has about 5000 users, which is still not a large network. -- User:SimonArlott 12:02, 11 Jun 2004 (UTC) : I think this just shows that we may need List of IRC networks. --User:Shallot 13:10, 11 Jun 2004 (UTC) == Services == I want to point out that I disagree with what the IRC page says about 'services' being implemented by bots. By definition, bots are automated =clients= and services are (nearly) always implemented as servers. The actual services agents that you see (ChanServ, NickServ, and so on) are just the user interface. For example, when services wants to kick someone out of a channel, it tells the IRC network that 'ChanServ' did it because the network needs some sort of identity to pass on, but there is no actual 'ChanServ' client, so it cannot be a bot. (By the way, I'm was one of the coders on DALnet's services, was Technical Director of DALnet, and am currently the CTO of a company thats product line includes an IRC services implementation.) -- JoelKatz :Well, being as this is a wiki, you could always Wikipedia:Be bold and change it yourself :-) User:Lady Lysine Ikinsile | User talk:Lady Lysine Ikinsile 01:22, 2004 Jul 17 (UTC) == the '!' type of chan is missing == ''The basic means of communication in an established IRC session is a ''channel'' which users can ''join'' and then send messages to, which are then relayed to all other users in the same channel. Channels which are available across an entire irc network are prepended with a '#', while those local to a server use '&'. The prefix '+' is supported by some servers for 'modeless' channels - those without operators.'' What is missing is the ! prefix, you can have !chan on some neworks as well as #chan &chan and +chan, though before someone starts to link wp:bb i didnt add it because i only know that it exists, not it's specific nature and how it differs from the rest. --User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason/ User talk:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason/ [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:%c6var_Arnfj%f6r%f0_Bjarmason&action=edit§ion=new Bjarmason] asdf 14:40, 2004 Jul 22 (UTC) Common is only #channel. +channels and &channels are pretty specific, so are !channels. You might want to read http://ircnet.irchelp.org/channel.html, which reflects what it really means and why this is so. iio will also tell you more about other specifica, which do not necesseraly need to apply to all networks or ircnet server versions. What kind of features are supported by a server is also mentioned in the 004 Numeric upon connecting to any server. (Though 004 is an extension also and not supported by all irc servers. sigh - the IRC Protocol is a single mess. use silc instead. :) :Actually, &channels are standard (RFC1459). +channels and !channels aren't (unless you count IRCnet's RFCs), but this is mentioned in the article. By 004 do you mean 005? This includes CHANTYPES=, and while it isn't yet standard, will hopefully be at some point (there is an internet-draft describing the draft specification). User:Kate | User talk:Kate 14:53, 2004 Aug 9 (UTC) == searchirc == After I trimmed the external links section to only include articles which are useful to someone reading about IRC (as opposed to those useful to users of IRC, which is what DMOZ is for), someone added back the "[http://searchirc.com searchirc]" link. What does this link add to the content of the article? The implied precedent there (that any random site about IRC can be added to the article) is not a good one. User:Kate—User:Kate | User talk:Kate 23:08, 2004 Aug 4 (UTC) : I don't actually know how useful this site is, as they've blocked my user agent, but I agree that the external links section should only contain links to sites which expand on information relevant to the (already comprehensive) article. A cluttered list of links is only going to demotivate a person from actually following the links therein. User:Austin Hair 04:30, Aug 5, 2004 (UTC) == It should be added that IRC is pronouced as "irk" == IRC, is commonly pronouced as three, independent letters in a row, like acronym fashion. Though several documents that speak of IRC in its early days, explictly use the pronounciation "irk." — 64.233.204.182 : Depends where you are; I've been using IRC for a decade and have never heard anyone call it "irk". We don't tend to pronounce initialisms like that much in the UK anyways, though. — User:OwenBlacker 15:39, Aug 8, 2004 (UTC) == Smaller, more niche based IRC network == i added "Smaller... blah blah blah" into the articale, as a way for wiki's who want to submit smaller, niche based , high quality networks. Please do not remove this, as the above little subsection gives the user more choices in the kinds of networks he/she wants to visit. AND it does not break the wiki rules. -NightDragon : Yes, it does. Wikipedia is not a link repository, and it's also not proper to include external links in the article body outside the external links section. --User:Joy 09:51, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC) :Then care to explain to me why some not-so-big networks are on there? :--User:NightDragon 03:05, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::According to netsplit.de, the user counts for the networks in the article are currently as follows: ::*EFNet: 99628 users, 42025 channels ::*IRCNet: 90317 users, 53393 channels ::*QuakeNet: 135018 users, 177729 channels ::*BRASnet: (no listing) ::*DALnet: 28815 users, 15571 channels ::*EnterTheGame: 9023 users, 8525 channels ::*Freenode: 16027 users, 6579 channels ::*GameSurge: 36239 users, 48123 channels ::Obviously "not-so-big" is subjective. But these networks all have several thousand users online. Certainly it is not necessary to list every server in the world in the context of this encyclopedia. User:TrbleClef 06:30, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::: ISTR BRASnet also being on netsplit.de stats, but anyway, their site shows a graph saying they now have over 60,000 users. --User:Joy 10:30, 4 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::Where's Undernet? User:Lysdexia 21:43, 14 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::: us.undernet.org and eu.undernet.org --User:Huwr 05:50, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC) == Multicast? == "IRC is one of the few technologies equipped with a real one-to-many strategy." I can't fully agree with this. Only the server-to-server communication can be considered multicast (spanning tree). Each link connected to the irc server (either a client or another server) can be transferred identical data, but nothing is in place to have the packets multicast (at least not in the original RFC and common implementations). If a network (meaning a collection of linked servers) has 1000000 clients, and a message is to be sent to EACH client, the network will ultimately transmit the same data AT LEAST 1000000 times. The servers share the burden amongst themselves. I guess the statement is true, but I find it slightly misleading.
Internet Relay Chat
#REDIRECT Wikipedia:IRC channels
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IA | IB | IC | ID | IE | IF | IG | IH | IJ | IK | IL | IM | IN | IO | IP | IR | IS | IT | IU | IW | IX | IY | IZ |Words begining with Internet_Relay_Chat:
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