| Channel ops by Ryunosuke and updated by Tye |
Channel Operators, otherwise known as Ops, are the 'guiding force' in
any given channel, due to their ability to kick (remove) or ban
(permanently remove) people from their channel.
However, there is more to being an Op than kicking and banning, and
more to kicking and banning than a simple /kick or /ban command.
Channel Ops are signified on a channel by the @ (at-sign) next to
their nick. This is not part of their nick, but merely a reminder
that that person has special powers (and duties) in a channel. Being
a Channel Op is nothing special, and just because someone is an Op
does not mean you should inherently trust them, nor that they have
any sort of authority outside a given channel.
Ops generally have the responsibility of keeping order within a
channel, with their ability to remove users, control who may enter
a channel, and perform other channel maintenence.
Note that Ops typically do not have to answer to anyone, and can do
whatever they want, including kicking users out of the channel for
absolutely no reason. If you find yourself being 'harassed' in this
way, go to another channel.
A simple kick command or popup is usually aimed at a single nick,
and is one of the easier commands to execute. A quick /kick
#channel Nick kicks 'Nick' from '#channel'. (assuming you are
an Op in that channel.) You may optionally give a reason after the
kick. For example, /kick #mirc bob Go away, you bother me.
A kick will simply remove a user from the channel. You can kick
anyone, even another Op, and they are free to rejoin at any time.
To keep a user out, you will need a ban.
A ban is placed against a user (more specifically, a user's address)
and will prevent that user (more specifically, any user matching that
address) from joining the channel.
In mIRC, the /ban command is used to ban a user. To do a
basic ban, type /ban #channel Nickname and mIRC will set a
ban against that nickname. As a user can change their nickname
instantly using the /nick command, this ban is very easy
to "dodge", or get around. Instead, use /ban #channel Nickname
3 to ban a user using a 'standard' banmask that will prevent
most users from rejoining. (The 3 is a code for this mask.)
(if you get confused, feel free to skip this
subject as it is not crucial to being an effective op.)
To get into advanced banning,
first you need to understand how IRC identifys users. A user has
three pieces of info that identify them- Their nickname, their
ident, and their host. /whois a user, and you should see
a line similar to the following-
Ryunosuke is Fnord@dlp272.spring.eri.net
'Ryunosuke' is the user's nickname, 'Fnord' is the user's ident,
and 'dlp272.spring.eri.net' is the user's host. The @ is used to
seperate the ident and host, similar to an e-mail address.
For banning, you need to add the nick, seperated with an !
(exclamation mark) to get
Ryunosuke!Fnord@dlp272.spring.eri.net. Notice
how you have the nickname, then a !, then the ident, then a @, then
the host. This format is VERY important to remember.
A banmask follows this same format, however it contains special
characters called "wildcards". Usually, * characters (asterisks) are
inserted into a user's address to make a banmask. A * wildcard matches
any characters.
Let's illustrate this with an example- The above user's address is
Ryunosuke!Fnord@dlp272.spring.eri.net. Replace any of
the characters with a * and you get a banmask that would ban this user.
For example, *!*Fnord@*.spring.eri.net would do this. So
would Ryunosuke!*@*, as would *!Fnord@*, and even
*!*@* or Ryu*suk*!F*d@dlp*.spring.*net. (Note-
bans are not case sensitive.)
Once you understand this, banning is a lot easier. A
ban must match a user's address to be effective. A user can usually
change most parts of their address (with varying difficulty and
inconvienience) so it is your job to pick a banmask most suited to
the user and situation.
To ban a specific mask, just type /ban #channel *mask*. You
can also type /ban #channel Nickname n where n is a number
from 0 to 19, to choose from various 'standard' ban types.
There are five standard types of bans-
| Nick bans |
Nick bans are just that- they ban a specific nick. This ban is usually for offensive nicks, and not for banning someone specific, as a user
can change their nickname easily to dodge a ban. For example,
Bob!*@* would ban any user with the nickname 'Bob', or
*lamer*!*@* would ban any user with 'lamer' in their nickname.
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To do a nick ban, type /ban #channel Nickname or /ban
#channel Nick!*@*.
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| Port bans |
Port bans will ban *one* dialup port on an ISP. For the majority of
users, this will ban them until they disconnect from their ISP and
reconnect. This is usually good if you want someone banned for an hour
or two. For example,
*!*@pool018-max8.ds7-ca-us.dialup.earthlink.net will ban that
specific dialup port from earthlink.
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To do a port ban, type /ban #channel Nickname 2 or /ban
#channel *!*@port123.domain.con.
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| Standard bans |
A standard ban is the one most widely used. It's designed to ignore
the users nick, and ban according to the ident and host. In the host
section, it will ignore the local dialup port, and simply ban the
entier host. For example, *!*goddess@*.earthlink.net
bans anyone with the ident of 'goddess' that uses Earthlink for their
ISP.
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This is the most commonly used ban as it is least likely to ban
innocent users, and is inconvienient to dodge. (a knowledgable user
can change their ident, but this requires reconnecting to IRC and
other inconvieniences.)
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To do this standard ban, type /ban #channel Nickname 3 or
/ban #channel *!*ident@*.whatever.net.
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| Domain bans |
Domain bans are the simplest and most powerful bans at your disposal. They simply ban an entire ISP, country, or other area. These should
be used sparingly, as they are pretty much gaurunteed to ban innocent
users. However, a domain ban is impossible to dodge for the majority
of users.
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Some examples- *!*@*.aol.com would ban everyone who uses AOL,
*!*@*.earthlink.net would ban anyone using Earthlink,
*!*@*.it would ban anyone with an Italy address, etc.
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To do a domain ban, type /ban #channel Nickname 4 or
/ban #channel *!*@*.stupid.net.
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| Ident bans |
Ident bans are, to be honest, an afterthought. They're not as useful
as a port ban, nor as powerful as a domain ban. But they
are useful to weed out those with annoying scripts (Some mIRC scripts
change the user's Ident to a name similar to the scripts.) and those
who travel in groups with the same ident.
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For example, *!*sphere@* would ban anyone who uses 7th
Sphere without changing the default ident. To do this ban, type
/ban #channel *!*sphere@*.
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This banning information is written assuming the offender(s) have the
standard alphanumeric addresses, those with words, letters, and
numbers. This is not always the case (we could only be so lucky).
IP addresses (numeric) are just as common, and are a bit easier to
ban.
When a user has a numeric IP address, they appear as such-
Ryunosuke is Fnord@207.90.115.51
There will always be four numbers, seperated by periods. IP bans
are handled *exactly* like other bans, except you add wildcards
at the right of the host, instead of the left. Banning
*!*Fnord@207.90.115.* is the same thing as a 'standard
ban' discussed above. Similarly, banning *!*@207.90.115.* will ban
all local ports, effectively a 'domain ban'.
Although kicking and banning are major functions of being a Channel
Op, there are other things an Operator can do. One of them is the
ability to give operator status to another user, as well as take
operator status away. Note that there is no limit on whom you may
Op (give operator status to) or Deop. (take operator
status from) as long as you are an operator yourself. All ops are
'equal'. You can even remove operator status from the person who
originally gave you that operator status.
Opping and deopping a user is similar to banning, and is done using
the /mode command. The general syntax is /mode #channel
mode(s). In our case, the mode will be +o to give ops to someone,
and -o to take ops from someone. This is then followed by the nickname
of the user. For example, /mode #anime +o pai would give ops
to pai on the #anime channel, or /mode #mirc -o idiot would
take ops from idiot on the #mirc channel.
There are a lot of other modes that can be set using the /mode
command. (even banning a user is a type of mode.) Remember that the
general syntax is /mode #channel mode(s).
Modes are prefixed with a + (plus) to set a mode, and a - (minus) to
remove a mode. Multiple modes can be specified. If you are setting (+)
or unsetting (-) multiple modes, you do not have to specify the + or -
multiple times. For example, /mode #chan +tnp would set three
modes- 't', 'n', and 'p'. /mode #chan -sn would unset 's'
and 'n'. /mode #chan +im-nt+p would set 'i' and 'm, unset
'n' and 't', and set 'p'. Some modes (such as 'b' which bans a user,
and 'o' which is used to op and deop) require a parameter or target.
All parameters or targets are specified after the modes, seperated
by spaces. For example, '+ooo' to op three users requires three
targets. As an example, you might use /mode #chan +ooo Person User
SomeGuy.
The following are standard channel modes supported by most IRC servers.
| +b |
This mode requires a target, and bans all users matching an address
or mask. See earlier sections for examples of bans. Remember that you
can use -b to unban a user.
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| Ban |
| +i |
When this mode is set, a user cannot join the channel unless invited
by a channel op. The next section covers inviting.
|
| Invite-only |
| +k |
A channel key is like a 'password'- a user cannot join the channel
unless they know it. This mode requires a parameter (the password)
both when setting and unsetting it. To join a channel with a key,
use /join #channel key.
|
| Channel key |
| +l |
This mode limits the number of users allowed in the channel at one
time. When setting it, specify a parameter for the user limit. When
a user tries to join, if the channel already has that many users, they
will not be allowed to join. Do not specify a parameter when unsetting
this mode. This mode has no effect on users already in the channel.
|
| Limit users |
| +m |
A moderated channel is one where only ops can speak, or users given
special privledge to speak. ('voiced' users.) To voice a user, give
them the +v mode. (below)
|
| Moderated |
| +n |
This mode is set in 99% of all channels. When set, a user cannot
speak in a channel unless they are in the channel. If this mode is
not set, a user can use /msg #channel to speak in a channel
they are not in.
|
| No external messages |
| +o |
This mode requires a target, and gives or takes ops from that user.
See an earlier section for details.
|
| Channel op |
| +p |
When this mode is set on a channel, the channel will be hidden in
any /whois, /who, or /names reply. This
prevents a user from knowing who is on the channel unless they are
on the channel. The channel will still be shown in a channel /list.
|
| Private |
| +s |
When this mode is set, the channel will be hidden entirely from
anyone not on it. Not only will the channel not be shown in a
/whois, /who, or /names but the channel
will be hidden in a /list. Unless a user is on the channel,
they will not be aware that it exists.
|
| Secret |
| +t |
When this mode is set, only ops can change the channel topic. (covered
in a later section.) This mode is set in over 95% of all channels.
|
| Topic by ops only |
| +v |
This mode requires a user as a target, and gives or takes voice from
that user. (for example, /mode #chan +v User.) This typically
places a + (plus) next to their nick. A voiced user has no special
privledges unless the channel is moderated. (mode +m, above.) In this
case, the user can speak freely on the channel.
|
| Voice user |
Some other modes exist (for example, +r and +R on DALnet) but these
are the standard channel modes. Note that all modes are case sensitive.
You can invite a user to a channel using the /invite nick #channel
command. This allows an op to invite a user into an invite-only
channel. (mode +i) On some networks such as Undernet, a user can
also be invited through a ban (mode +b) or a limit. (mode +l)
You can change the channel topic (shown when you join the channel
and in the titlebar of the channel) using the /topic command.
The syntax is /topic #chan Your new topic. Usually only
channel operators can change the topic, as mode +t is usually set.
If mode +t is not set, anyone can change the topic.
mIRC has an easy way to change the channel topic, channel modes, and
unban users. Simply double-click in the channel to open up mIRC's
Channel Central. From here you can modify the topic and modes, if you
are an operator. You can also view all current channel bans. Select
one or more bans and press 'Unban' to unban users.
Also note that the default mIRC contains popups (select a nickname in
the channel nicklist, and right-click) to perform many op-related
commands such as kick, ban, op, and deop.
