GeekShed IRC Network
Watch What You Click!
May 13th
It’s time for a reminder to be careful when you click on links that people share. Recently Naive_One came to #help because he had clicked on a link A_Bad_Guy shared (names changed to protect the innocent). A_Bad_Guy used his server logs to get Naive_One’s IP address and attack his network. Unfortunately for Naive_One, there was nothing GeekShed staff could do. It was Naive_One’s poor judgement in clicking the link that caused the problem.
The morale of this story is clear: If you don’t know the person well or don’t recognize the link, don’t click on it. The link you click can give someone else information about your machine or it may cause your machine to download spyware, malware, or a virus that corrupts your system.
Usually it’s safe to click on these links on GeekShed:
- Links to the GeekShed website.
- Links shared by network staff.
- Links to well-known sites, like Wikipedia or Jupiter Broadcasting.
Unless you know the person who shares the link, it’s best NOT to click on shortened links, because you cannot tell where they will take you. A bit.ly link might take you to Wikipedia or it could take you to a malware site. There’s no way to guess just by looking at the URL.
Finally, let me share a reminder from the GeekShed Terms of Service:
GeekShed is not responsible for the content you may transmit or receive. Due to the real time nature of IRC, we cannot monitor or police the exchange of data. To protect yourself, we highly recommend that you run a current antivirus program and never click on links from people you do not know.
So click safely, and make sure you keep your machine and network protected!
—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny
Updates to Website Command Pages
Apr 21st
You may not notice it right away, but we’ve been busy making the website a little easier for you to use. We’ve added details on the Fantasy commands, and we’ve added the capability to link directly to a specific command on the website. Keep reading for the details.
Fantasy Commands
First, if you use Fantasy commands in your channel, we have good news for you. We’ve added a complete listing of the Fantasy commands to our online documentation. Now you can browse through the commands and easily find additional information on everything from !AKICK to !TKB.
Remember that you have to turn on the Fantasy option to use Fantasy commands. Find all the details on the new page.
Link Directly to Specific Commands
Second, we’ve added internal links to the commands on all of the documentation pages so you can give someone the address of a specific command.
Here’s an example. Previously, if someone asked for the command to add ops to permanently to their channel, you could send them to the ChanServ page and tell them to scroll down to the AOP command. Now you can send them directly to the AOP command.
These naming conventions were used to set up the internal links:
- The link is the command name as listed in the bullet item (so, for instance, AOP).
- The link for Fantasy commands does NOT include the exclamation point (so, for instance, TKB).
- The link will show as one word with no spaces (so, for instance, SETGREET).
- The link is always in all caps (so, for instance, BADWORDS)
To give someone the link to a specific command, use this general format:
http://www.geekshed.net/commands/[Kind of Command]/#[Command Name]
Just replace the info in the square brackets with the pertinent details and remove the square brackets too to get address for the command. Here are some examples to give you the idea of how the system works:
- http://www.geekshed.net/commands/chanserv/#AOP is the ChanServ AOP command.
- http://www.geekshed.net/commands/fantasy/#TKB is the Fantasy TKB command.
- http://www.geekshed.net/commands/nickserv/#SETGREET is the NickServ SET GREET command.
- http://www.geekshed.net/commands/botserv/#BADWORDS is the BotServ BADWORDS command.
If you know the general command, this system should make it relatively easy to figure out the links you need if you’re trying to help someone find details.
—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny
How to Choose Staff for Your Channel
Apr 7th
Once you register your channel, you can add staff to help you keep order or enforce any rules you have for your channel. The commands for making someone a permanent admin, operator or half-operator are relatively simple. You can even add someone as a founder (though we don’t recommend it).
The harder part is choosing people who will make good staff. Promoting someone in your channel gives them control over what happens there. To make sure your channel stays YOURS and that it’s run the way you want it to be, you need to be cautious about choosing your staff.
Before you make someone an op or hop, ask yourself these questions:
- Do I know the person well?
- Do I trust the person?
- Does the person have good judgment?
- Is the person polite, helpful, and knowledgeable?
- Is the person cool under stress?
- Will the person follow my instructions?
- Does the person follow the channel and network rules?
- Has the person been in my channel for a while?
- Is the person active regularly?
If you can honestly answer “Yes” to all those questions, then the person could make a good member of your channel staff. If you answer “No” to even one, you should probably choose someone else.
The worst people to choose are the people who ask to be staff members. Anyone who demands, begs, or continually asks to be network staff does not have the patience for the job. Worse yet, some trolls will ask for ops in a channel only to cause trouble. Save yourself a lot of trouble, and just don’t make these folks a member of your channel staff. You’ll have a lot less drama to deal with!
[If you ended up on this page because you were looking for information on becoming a member of GeekShed network staff, visit Can I be an Oper on GeekShed?]
—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny
Welcome to Felicia Day and Geek and Sundry!
Apr 1st
Have we got a great April Fool’s Day present for you! GeekShed got a lot geekier today.
Join us in welcoming Felicia Day of Geek and Sundry to the network, along with the cast and crew of the great Geek and Sundry shows.
The Geek and Sundry Subscribathon is underway today, and the official chat is taking place in channels across GeekShed. You can see what’s going on by checking out their related Google+ Hangout.
How can you welcome the Geek and Sundry crew? Visit their site, subscribe to them on YouTube, and check out their channels!
Did you know that when you look up “GeekAndSundry” in Wikipedia, it asks if you meant “gunfoundry”? Someone needs to make them an official Wikipedia page.
—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny
Choosing a Nickname
Mar 25th
One of the first things that you do when you join us on GeekShed is choose and register a nickname. The basic guidelines are pretty simple. Just choose something that is unique, that is easy to type and remember, and that doesn’t give away private information.
Beyond that, there are some restrictions on nicknames. Your nickname
- Cannot start with a number
- Can only use letters, numbers, and these characters: [ ] { } \ | ^ ` – _
- Cannot include a space
- Can only be 30 characters long
Nicknames on GeekShed have to be unique. In other words, there can only be one login for any particular nickname. The first person to register a nickname gets it, and following people who want that nickname will have to choose something else. For example, the nickname Rob is registered on GeekShed. No one else can use the nickname Rob.
GeekShed has a list of words that cannot be used as a nickname, either because they are impolite or they could cause confusion. For instance, you cannot use many rude and explicit words as well as most racial or religious slurs. The list of forbidden nicks is not public (After all, who wants to put a list of rude, impolite words on their website?). Other words are forbidden because they can cause confusion, including server names and words associated with IRC and the services on GeekShed.
If you try to use a forbidden nick, you will see an error message in your status window that says:
Erroneous Nickname: This type of nick is not welcome on GeekShed. Please choose a different nickname.
Please choose another nickname if you encounter this situation. Nicknames will not be removed from the forbidden list. Your choice of nickname is not protected by free speech.
Protecting Network Staff Nicks
In order to guard against imposters, your nick cannot contain the name of any member of network staff. In most cases, this rule will not cause any problems, but there are some tricky cases. For instance, because a member of network staff is named Atri, you are not able to register nicknames like Patrick, Patricia, or Atrium.
While the server may allow you to use a nickname, network staff has the last word. If a member of staff asks you to change your nick, please do so immediately.
Channels May Have Additional Restrictions
Channels on GeekShed are free to create their own rules. Even though you may be using a nickname that is allowed on the network, the moderators in a channel may ask you to change your nickname or leave the channel. Channel staff are within their rights to do so. Please follow their instructions.
—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny
Using Channel Modes to Hide Your Channel
Mar 18th
You can use channel modes to make dozens of customizations to your channel. Last week, I talked about using channel modes to set a channel key, which works like a password for your channel. Today I’m going to talk about another way to keep your channel a private place: the channel modes +s and +p.
Secret vs. Private
There are two modes you can use to hide your channel: +s, for a secret channel; and +p, for a private channel.
Originally (that is, in earlier days of IRC), there was a difference between these two modes. On GeekShed, the two commands do the same thing. If you set your channel to +p or to +s, your channel will not show up:
- in the channel listing that someone gets after using the /LIST command
- on the website’s list of channels
- in a /WHOIS list for a user who is in the channel (unless the person using the command is also in the secret channel)
Since the two commands do the same thing, you can only set one or the other.
Setting the Secret or Private Mode
To set the secret mode, use this command:
/mode #channel +s
In that command, replace "channel" with your #channel. For instance, for my super-secret channel, I used this command:
/mode #baconmylove +s
To set the private mode, use this command:
/mode #channel +p
For instance, I used this command:
/mode #baconmylove +p
Restrictions on the +s and +p Modes
If you set your channel to +s and then decide to set +p, the server will respond by removing the +s setting. You’d see something like this:
* tengrrl sets mode: +s * tengrrl sets mode: +p-s
In the second line, the server set +p (adding the private setting), and -s (removing the secret setting). This is normal. Since the commands do the same thing, you only need one or the other (never both). As long as you have the channel set to +s or to +p, it will be hidden.
Removing the Secret or Private Mode
If you no longer want your channel to be hidden, you can remove the secret or private mode easily:
To remove the secret mode, use this command:
/mode #channel -s
To remove the private mode, use this command:
/mode #channel -p
Once you remove the setting, your channel will be visible to everyone on the network.
Two Tips on Using the Secret or Private Mode
- Remember that even though your channel is hidden, the people you ask to join you in the channel can tell others about it. Only invite people to join your channel if you trust them to maintain your privacy. If you cannot trust someone not to tell others about the space, don’t ask them to join your channel.
- Any moderator (half-ops, ops, and admins) on your channel can change the channel mode. Don’t add someone as a moderator in the channel if you cannot trust that person to leave the channel with the settings you want.
—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny
Using Channel Keys
Mar 12th
If you ever had a secret password to get into your clubhouse, you understand the way that channel keys work. You can set a channel key for your channel, and only those people who have the key will be able to join the channel. If you want to have private conversations, using a channel key is a simple way to make it happen.
Setting a Channel Key
To set a channel key, use this command:
/mode #channel +k channelkey
In that command, replace "channel" with your #channel and replace "channelkey" with your channel key (your password). For instance, for my super-secret channel, I used this command:
/mode #baconmylove +k nomnomnom
When you set a channel key, everyone in the channel will see the new key. When I set my channel key, for instance, the server announced this in the channel:
* tengrrl sets mode: +k nomnomnom
TIPS
- Be sure that you choose a strong password that others will not easily guess. Follow these guidelines for strong passwords to make your choice.
- Make sure you remove anyone you do not want to have the key before you set it. You can ask him to leave OR kick and ban if necessary. Remember that the server announces the key in channel when you set it, so everyone in your channel will see the new key.
- Anyone who has half-op status or higher in your channel can change the channel key. If you cannot trust someone, don’t make that person a moderator. He could easily change the password and lock everyone out of the channel! See the Troubleshooting information for what you can do if you get locked out.
- The channel key will only remain as long as someone is in the channel. If everyone leaves, the next person who joins will be able to do so without knowing the channel key. The easiest solution to this problem is either to add a bnc user to the channel or create a private bot to occupy the channel. Note that services bots will not hold a channel open.
You need to provide the password to join your channel now once you set your key. Here’s how to use the JOIN command with a channel key:
/join #channel password
For my super-secret channel, I used this command:
/join #baconmylove nomnomnom
You’ll need to give your password and this command to everyone who you want to grant access to your channel. Only give your channel password to the people you trust with access to your private space.
Changing your Channel Key
To change your channel key, just use the same command with a new password:
/mode #channel +k newchannelkey
The command is exactly the same. You just indicate the new channel key when you use the command.
You see this error message in your status window: #channel :Cannot join channel (+k)
Either you didn’t include the password or you used the wrong password. Check with the channel owner for the correct password or to ask for access to the channel.
You get locked out of your own channel.
If you forget your password or someone else changes it, you can just change your channel key and join with the new key. If a moderator in your channel changed the password without your permission, you may want to talk to that person or remove his access. Remember you should only add people as half-ops, ops, or admins if you trust them completely.
—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny
What Is A Hostmask?
Mar 4th
When you connect to GeekShed, the server reads information from your client and sets a hostmask that is used to identify you on the network. Perhaps obviously, your hostmask hides (or masks) some of the specifics about your connection (in other words, your host). Your hostmask will take this general format:
nick!user@host
For example, here’s the hostmask for the LordBaconCheeseburger:
LordBaconCheeseburger!~TFlash@protectedhost-DC62ACB5.hsd1.va.comcast.net
For that example:
- nick = LordBaconCheeseburger
It’s whatever nickname the person is using.
- user = ~TFlash
It’s the name set in your client. If there’s a leading tilde (~), the client is not running identd.
- host = protectedhost-DC62ACB5.hsd1.va.comcast.net
It’s the masked hostname of your connection. Your unmasked hostname is never publicly available.
You may have noticed that some people have vhosts, a virtual hostname, which hide their real connection’s name. On the GeekShed network, you can be assigned a vhost if you donate to the site or if you have been registered for 90 days or longer. If LordBaconCheeseburger donated $5 to the network, for example, his hostmask could change to LordBaconCheeseburger!~TFlash@nickel.supporter.geekshed.net. If someone has a vhost, you can still see the person’s actual hostmask with the command, /userip <nick>.
—posted by Tengrrl/Bunny