A83: New permanent TI calculator channel on EFnet IRC -- we've moved t
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A83: New permanent TI calculator channel on EFnet IRC -- we've moved to #ticalc!
Note: for a simplified introduction to IRC, and an explanation of how you
can get on IRC yourself, skip down to the bottom of this message. Skip down
further for a brief description of IRC bots.
*****
For a long time, EFnet #calc-ti has been the primary center for TI
calculator discussion on Internet Relay Chat (IRC). It was founded early in
'96 primarily by two people, known as "perki" and "Intel" on IRC. As time
went on, more and more people began to frequent #calc-ti. At this point in
time there are dozens of people who visit the channel every day.
During its lifetime, #calc-ti has gone through many shifts in
administration. Originally the channel was held by bots set up by its
founders. They chose which people should be given ops. Some ops contributed
their own bots to the channel. As the channel grew, it became necessary to
improve its organization; the eggdrop bots were joined into a sharebot
network. All the people running the bots which were accepted into the
network were given "owner" status. I will also refer to this as
"administrator" status.
It takes a certain amount of responsibility to be a good IRC bot
administrator. It is a cooperative effort. One should be able to work well
with the other owners, and to use objective judgment in choosing who should
be given ops, given "owner" status, and in the worst cases, who should be
deopped, banned, or de-ownered. Bot administrators must also maintain the
bots when it is necessary to do so, making sure that they run smoothly in
tandem.
Unfortunately, one particular owner demonstrated repeatedly that he did not
have what it takes to be a responsible bot administrator. He often made
decisions based largely on spur-of-the-moment anger, without consulting
with the other bot administrators first. Decisions such as banning people
because he didn't like them, even when they did not disrupt the channel or
offend any other people in any way. Decisions such as opping and deopping
people when he damn well felt like it, without talking to the other
administrators.
He was one of the original founders of #calc-ti. He is known by the
nickname "Intel".
Eventually the other administrators decided that they needed to do
something about this. They revoked Intel's owner status, as well as his
ops. In response, he took over the channel by force. After a while the
situation became such that he was given back his privileges: a second
chance. But, this cycle repeated several times; Intel was given several
chances to change, and yet it never lasted.
Recently, establishing the most recent cycle, Intel was given ops, but no
owners. This situation lasted for a surprisingly long time; it seemed that
#calc-ti might have finally become stable, as Intel made no attempts to
take over the channel. Recently however, Intel, feeling that he now could
do anything he wanted with his ops, went on doing the same old rash things
that he did before, like banning people on spur-of-the-moment anger.
Upon a unanimous decision (excluding one owner who is on summer vacation),
Intel's ops were removed, this time for good. He promptly proceeded to take
over the channel, using an previously overlooked security hole in one of
the bots. We have since plugged up this hole.
Apparently Intel feels that, since he participated in the founding of
#calc-ti, he should have absolute power on the channel. It seems now that
no matter how many times we deop him, reop him, de-owner him, re-owner him,
etc., he will continue to aim towards gaining what he feels he rightfully
deserves; namely, absolutely control of the #calc-ti channel on EFnet.
Due to several reasons, we have decided to permanently move to #ticalc.
#calc-ti will no longer be supported by our bots; they will no longer
attempt even to join the channel. From now on, #ticalc will be the primary
IRC channel for TI calculator discussion.
***** Simplified introduction to IRC *****
Note: this description of IRC is simplified. It provides enough information
to get started and to have a general idea what is going on. As you spend
more time on IRC, you will learn about the many details and
subtleties which have been omitted from this introduction.
IRC is a protocol used to allow people from all over the world to talk to
each other on the Internet. In general, there are two ways in which this is
done. One way is for two people to send messages back and forth between
each other, effectively establishing a two-way private chat.
The other way is to join what are called "channels". On a channel, any
number of people may gather and chat, and everyone on the channel will be
able to see what the others are saying and join in the discussion. Channels
are dynamic, and exist only when people are inside them. Anyone may create
a previously nonexistent channel simply by joining it; but once the last
person leaves the channel, it vanishes from existence.
On IRC, every channel has two types of users: "ops" and "non-ops". The
first person to join (and therefore create) a channel is automatically
opped. Ops are specific to each channel; a user may be an op in one
channel, and a non-op in another. Being an op in a channel allows a user to
have almost unlimited power in that channel; ops can op and deop others,
kick people from the channel, and ban people from the channel so
that they cannot return.
To access #ticalc, you need an Internet account and an IRC client. You may
then connect to any EFnet IRC server, and /join #ticalc.
The most popular IRC client for Windows is mIRC. For information and
downloading, see http://www.mirc.co.uk/.
For other clients and IRC information, try http://www.cdrom.com/pub/irc/.
Here are a few EFnet IRC servers:
irc.cris.com
irc2.blackened.com
irc.gate.net
irc.ionet.net
irc.ced.chalmers.se
irc.df.lth.se
irc.homelien.no
irc.ec-lille.fr
efnet.sgic.fi
***** A brief description of IRC bots *****
Due to the nature of IRC, there are measures which need to be taken to
protect a permanent channel. Specifically, bots are placed in the channel.
Bots (short for "robots"), are automated IRC "users" which run in the
background, opping registered ops and banning those from the channel who
are permanently banned.
The most popular bot is the "eggdrop" bot, written by Robey Pointer and now
being maintained by others. All of the bots on #ticalc are eggdrop bots.
They are linked in a sharebot network. This means that they share their
userlists. The userlist is a list containing a profile for each recognized
user. The profiles include flags indicating whether or not each user is
opped, what hostmasks they have, etc.
---
David Ellsworth
the ticalc.org project
davidell@ticalc.org
---