Frequently Asked Questions

This is meant to be a more direct and straight-to-the-point aid compared to the other /getting_started/ wiki guides. However, they are more in-depth so please read those if you have additional questions before contacting staff.

Anything in angle brackets (< >) denotes a required parameter, and anything inside of brackets ([ ]) denotes an optional parameter.

How do I register my nickname?

/msg NickServ REGISTER <password> <email>

How do I identify (login) to my nickname?

You can use SASL (documented below), or use /msg NickServ IDENTIFY <password>. If you wish to specify your account name, the command is /msg NickServ IDENTIFY <account name> <password>.

Note: If you forget your password, you can reset it! Read below on how to reset your password.

How do I register a channel?

/msg ChanServ REGISTER <#channel> [description]

How do I speak in third person?

You might see something like this: * Techman whacks Pyrrhic with a stick. To speak in third person, use /me:

/me <text>

How do I join a channel?

/join <#channel>

How do I part (leave) a channel?

/part <#channel>

How do I quit (leave) the chat?

/quit [optional message]

How do I open a chat with a specific user?

/query <nick> [optional message to start chat]

How do I directly send a message to a specific user?

/msg <nick> <message>

On most clients, this won't open a new chat window with just that user. If you are unsure, use /query.

How do I ignore a user?

On most clients, /ignore <nick>.

How do I stop ignoring a user?

Depends mostly on your client. Some clients support /unignore <nick>, but if your client has a built-in ignore list function, use that instead.

How do I group (add) another nickname into my account?

  1. /nick <newnick>

  2. /ns group

How do I drop (unregister/delete) a nickname?

/ns drop <nick>

NickServ may ask you to confirm your drop, to make sure you aren't performing such an action on accident. Deleted nicknames are instantly made available for other users to take, but there are backups available in case a mistake is made. However, we'll only restore accidental deletions if they can be proven in good faith to be an accident.

How do I reset my password?

/msg NickServ RESETPASS <nick> <email>

If the email you list matches the one on the account, you'll receive a password reset email. Please check your spam, and if you don't get an email within 5 minutes, try again.

How do I add people as owners, admins, ops, half-ops, and voices in my channel?

The easiest solution (if you have ChanServ or another BotServ bot in your channel):

  • !qop add <nick> - to add someone to your channel as an owner (the person who registered the channel still remains the ultimate owner, though)

  • !sop add <nick> - to add someone to your channel as an admin (more privileges)

  • !aop add <nick> - to add someone to your channel as an operator (standard privileges)

  • !hop add <nick> - to add someone to your channel as a half-operator (less privileges)

  • !vop add <nick> - to add someone to your channel as a voiced user (no privileges)

If you don't have ChanServ or a BotServ bot in your channel, You have to use the ChanServ commands instead, such as /msg ChanServ qop <#channel> add <nick>.

How can I "hide" my channel?

To hide your channel from the public channel list, you may enter the following command:

/mode <#channel> +s

However, the channel will always remain visible to members who are already joined.

How do I replace ChanServ in my channel with another bot from BotServ?

/msg BotServ BOTLIST

/msg BotServ ASSIGN <#channel> <bot>

Do you folks support SASL?

Yes. We support PLAIN and EXTERNAL authentication. DH-AES and DH-BLOWFISH are both obsolete mechanisms, and they actually aren't secure at all, and thus have been removed.

Shorter ways to use services (NickServ, ChanServ, etc.)

  • NickServ: /ns

  • ChanServ: /cs

  • HostServ: /hs

  • MemoServ: /ms

These are the services that most users use. There are other shortcuts for other functions as well, but those won't be documented here.

How can I restrict users from joining my channel?

There are a few ways to do this:

Password Entry

Set a password on your channel by typing /mode <#channel> +k <password>. Then, all users who want to join your channel will need to know the password beforehand. They will need to join your channel by typing /join <#channel> <password>.

ChanServ Restrict

If you'd prefer to whitelist users and ban all others, setting the RESTRICTED flag using ChanServ is the best option./msg ChanServ SET RESTRICTED <#channel> <ON|OFF>. This will ban anyone who isn't on the access list. This could also possibly ban users who join the channel before logging into NickServ, but you can use /msg ChanServ UNBAN to unban yourself if you are a half-op and above.

Invite

You can make users request an invite to join your channel. To enable this, set +i on your channel by typing /mode <#channel> +i. Users can "knock" on your channel to be invited in by typing /knock <#channel>. You can even use the invite-exception list, similar to the ban list, that can store hosts to "always let in", but that's more advanced. You can also use ChanServ to invite yourself to the channel, /msg ChanServ INVITE <#channel>.