GeekShed IRC Network
Who owns GeekShed IRC?
Dec 26th
GeekShed IRC is owned by Geek Shed Ltd. GeekShed Ltd. is a UK registered company (company #07055433) boarded by Allan Jude and Phil Lavin as directors and Marcus Joyce as secretary. Allan, Phil and Marcus all have equal share holdings.
GeekShed Ltd. exists for administrative purposes and GeekShed IRC is run as much as a democracy as possible. Reasonable caution is taken with access to the network and not all staff hold the same access rights. Access is granted as appropriate for the task each staff member is required to perform.
GeekShed Ltd. is funded solely by donations and uses these for administrative costs and for projects that directly benefit our users.
GeekShed Ltd. exists for administrative purposes and GeekShed IRC is run as much as a democracy as possible. Reasonable caution is taken with access to the network and not all staff hold the same access rights. Access is granted as appropriate for the task each staff member is required to perform.
GeekShed Ltd. is funded solely by donations and uses these for administrative costs and for projects that directly benefit our users.
IRC Clients
Dec 21st
At least once a week, we get asked about IRC clients that people can use. Although GeekShed offers the TFlash flash-based chat client that can be used and embedded on one’s site, unless you’re a casual chatter on a few channels, it is often beneficial to use a dedicated IRC client. By using a client, you are able to have more features such as scripts, logging, and more advanced channel moderation tools.
Below is a list of some IRC clients. It is not an exhaustive list, so if you do not like any of the clients, search around the web for one that you do like.
Do you recommend any of these clients, or one that isn’t listed? Feel free to add a comment, and let us know.
Below is a list of some IRC clients. It is not an exhaustive list, so if you do not like any of the clients, search around the web for one that you do like.
| Client | Supported Platforms |
| mIRC | Windows |
| IceChat | Windows |
| X-Chat 2 | Windows |
| Colloquy | Macintosh |
| X-Chat Aqua | Macintosh |
| Linkinus | Macintosh |
| Konversation | *nix |
| ChatZilla (Firefox addon) | Windows, Macintosh, *nix |
| Opera | Windows, Macintosh, *nix |
| BitchX | Windows, Macintosh, *nix |
| Irssi | Windows, Macintosh, *nix |
Does GeekShed have IPv6 Support?
Nov 18th
As of 17 November, 2009 – We do! This is currently a purely experimental feature but we would greatly appreciate your testing and feedback on it. You can connect to GeekShed’s IPv6 Round Robin at ipv6.geekshed.net.
If you require any help with anything IPv6, come see us in #help.
Why should I register my nickname and how do I do it?
Nov 9th
Registering your nickname on GeekShed provides a number of benefits. The most notable of these is that registering your nickname prevents other people from using it. Once a user starts using the nickname, they will be asked to ‘identify’ to it with a password. If they fail to do so, their nickname will be changed. This helps to stop people posing as you.
Once you register your nickname, you can be added to the auto voice and op lists in other people’s channels. This enables you to be a permanent staff member in channels. You are also entitled to a vhost once you have been registered for 90 days.
Registration provides you with many benefits and is completely free.
To register your nickname on GeekShed, you must first be using it. If you are not currently using it, change to it with the command:
/nick <nickname>
For example:
/nick CrazyUser
Once you are using the nickname, you may register it in one of two ways. If you’re using GeekShed’s Flash client, register your nick from the “Options” menu at the top of the window. In most other clients, use the following command:
/ns register <password> <e-mail>
Note that some older clients do not recognize the abbreviated /ns syntax. Instead you must type out the full command:
/msg nickserv register <password> <e-mail>
For example:
/ns register supersecretpassword crazyuser@hotmail.com
Following this, you will be sent an e-mail giving you the details required to finish off the registration. Follow the instructions in the e-mail.
Each time you connect and start using the registered, you will be told that “This nick is owned by someone else”. You must ‘identify’ to it using the following command:
/ns identify <password>
For example:
/ns identify supersecretpassword
If you use mIRC, you can load the following script into the Remotes section of your script editor (press alt+R to access this) to identify you automatically. Just replace ‘YOURPASSWORDHERE’ with your actual password:
on 1:NOTICE:*This nickname is registered and protected*:?: {
if ($nick == NickServ) {
ns identify YOURPASSWORDHERE
}
}on 1:NOTICE:*This nick is owned by someone else*:?: {
if ($nick == NickServ) {
ns identify YOURPASSWORDHERE
}
}
If you require help, come and see us in #help on irc.geekshed.net
How did GeekShed Start?
Nov 8th
GeekShed was formed on 23rd October, 2009. It was originally comprised of all of the servers – and most of the staff – from the WyldRyde IRC network. Many of WyldRyde’s users chose to move their channels to GeekShed. Full information can be found in the original migration notice.
Can I be an Oper on GeekShed?
Nov 7th
In short, no. You cannot apply to join the GeekShed staff team. When a vacancy for a staff position comes up, current staff will nominate and vote on how best to fill that position. These nominations will be based on…
- Time spent on the network – Every current staff member has been on the network for at least 3 years – some more than 10 years
- Activity on the network – People who chat in different channels regularly will have a better appreciation of how the network runs
- Work ethos – Managing an IRC network is not an easy job. It takes much time and much patience to do effectively. It is certainly not about power as, with power comes great responsibility. As a representative of Geek Shed Ltd. your actions are accountable to the company. Staff must be able to work hard and always present GeekShed in the best possible light.
- Helpfulness – Nobody will be considered for a staff position if they do not regularly help out in #help
- Communication skills – It is very important that staff can effectively communicate with users and other staff. If you cannot spell or lack the ability to use punctuation, you will not be considered for a staff position
- Technical knowledge – A strong technical knowledge of programming, networking protocols, *nix server administration and IRC server administration is a definite bonus for staff to have
- Problem solving and decision making – Staff must be able to logically solve problems and make calm and collected decisions. Without this ability, you cannot effectively moderate an IRC network
- Adaptability – You must be able to adapt to changing situations. Every situation you must deal with is different and there is no place for “canned” responses.
Please do not ask to join the staff team as you will only be referred back to this page. Take on board the points above and, one day, you might be asked to join us.
Can I make my own BotServ bot?
Nov 7th
Yes, you can! There are 2 classifications of botserv bots, Public and Private. These are detailed below.
Public Bots
Anyone may request a public bot absolutely free. These bots are available for all users to assign to their channels. However, they must be completely generic and not channel specific – for example a Spooks themed bot called HarryPearce is acceptable, whereas a bot named ChillsBot for #chills would not be acceptable.
You may request a bot be added in #help on GeekShed. When you ask, you must state a nickname, ident, hostname and Gecos – e.g. “HarryPearce harry@runs.MI5 Harry Pearce from Spooks”. Bots must be creative and worth adding. If a staff member deems your suggestion is a good one, your bot will be added and an unused bot will be deleted.
This whole process should help us provide a better range of bots to our users.
Private Bots
Anyone who has made a donation of $50 or more may request a private bot. Private bots can have any credentials that you like and will not be available to all users. When you request a private bot, you must state a nickname, ident, hostname, Gecos and channels to which the bot should be assigned. After initial creation, you may request a single change to your BotServ bot every 30 days. A single change is counted as a change to any of the bot’s credentials or the set of channels in which it resides.
If you would like a public or private bot, come and see us in #help on irc.geekshed.net.
Can I link a server to GeekShed?
Nov 7th
GeekShed is not linking any servers at this time. If our server status changes, we will update this post to let you know that we are linking servers again.
In the event our needs change, servers linked to GeekShed must fulfill the following requirements:
Hardware
- 1GHz+ CPU
- 512MB+ RAM
- 3GB available hard disk space
- 100Mbit FD NIC
- Currently 60+ days uptime
Network
- 10mbit downstream
- 10mbit upstream
- 1 spare IP that can be dedicated to GeekShed
- Firewall allowing unrestricted connections to and from TCP ports 843, 1494, 1755, 4400, 4401, 6660-6669, 6697, 7029 and 7070
- The server must allow both inbound and outbound connections
- You will also be asked to host a 100MB file (create it with dd if=/dev/zero of=/path/to/100mb-zero.bin bs=1MB count=100) for download with http, sftp or scp to test throughput
- Server owners must be aware that their server will suffer from frequent denial of service attacks (DDOS) and servers hosted with ISPs sensitive to DDOS will not be accepted
Software
-
The following libraries must be installed:
- openssl
- zlib
- For Linux, all -dev packages for installed libraries must be installed.
- A full toolchain, including gcc, binutils, coreutils, etc. If you cannot compile software, we can’t use the machine right now.
- Full SSH access (including sftp and scp)
- If the server has a restricted firewall, we must have the ability to add ports to it promptly, not wait around for 30 days for an email tag to get them allowed.
- Server owners should be prompt in updating for security updates and updating the system itself.
- FreeBSD 7+ and Linux 2.6+ kernels have priority – Windows servers will NEVER be accepted.
- Must be able to run a small C file via a super-server daemon on port 843 – This typically requires root access or co-operation from the server administrator
- Have hard and soft FD limits greater than or equal to 2048 (ulimit -Hn ; ulimit -Sn)
Network Staff
Server owners will rarely be given an O:Line on their server. Server owners must earn their position on the network staff team, like everyone else. Server donations, however, will be considered as a positive when considering new staff. Please do not ask to link a server simply because you want to be network staff!
—updated by Tengrrl/Bunny on 2014/07/01; originally posted by Phil on 2009/11/07.
Can I have a vhost on GeekShed?
Nov 7th
Providing you and your selected vhost meet certain requirements, you can! These requirements and regulations are…
- Your nickname must have been registered for at least 90 days
- Your vhost must either be a domain that you personally own or must end in “.vhost”
- We cannot grant vhosts to users who do not own the requested domain. You must be able to prove that you own the domain by allowing us to send an e-mail with a passcode to the e-mail address shown in the domain WHOIS record. If e-mail is not shown in the WHOIS, we may ask you to create a custom DNS record. If you own the domain, you may grant other users permission to use that domain as their vhost, providing they meet the 90 day requirement
- We do not do vidents – only vhosts – i.e. you can have domain.com not user@domain.com
- If you abuse your vhost (e.g. use it to evade a channel ban) it will be removed, you will be banned from the network and, on your return, you shall not be permitted to have a vhost again
- You may only change your vhost once every 6 months
If you donate to GeekShed you can request a donor vhost (or other custom vhost) be set on your nickname – regardless of how long it has been registered. Donor vhosts are still subject to abuse regulations but will be changed if you donate more money and reach a new donor level. The donor levels are listed below with the donation amounts required. The format of the vhosts will be xxxx.supporter.geekshed.net where xxxx is the donor level.
| Donor Level | Minimum Donation Required (USD) |
| Platinum | $1000 |
| Gold | $500 |
| Iridium | $250 |
| Osmium | $150 |
| Palladium | $100 |
| Rhenium | $75 |
| Germanium | $50 |
| Beryllium | $30 |
| Silver | $20 |
| Aluminium | $15 |
| Copper | $10 |
| Nickel | $5 |
If you meet these requirements and would like a vhost, come and see us in #vhosts on irc.geekshed.net.
Can I have a forum for my channel?
Nov 7th
Providing your channel has an average of 40 or more users, you can.
You must first talk to a staff member in #help and request the forum be added. Providing you meet the above requirement, a forum will be added for your channel. We will also add a user group of moderators for your forum. This can include up to 5 registered forum users. You may request a single change to this moderator group every 30 days. A single change is counted as adding a user, deleting a user or swapping one user for another.
If you have any questions, come see us in #help.