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/msg z ban #channel *!*user@*.netmask 2 100 Reason

which means “Z will you please ban user@netmask in the channel i specified for 2 hours, with op level 100 for the reason blah”

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Ops guide. Rough draft.

The concept of IRC is that of a number of linked servers which people around the world can access via their local server. On these servers, people join together in channels (their names usually indicated with a hash “#” mark at the start). On a tradiitional IRC server, the first person to join a channel (before others) becomes the channel operator. The operator can change channel settings, kick, ban and op/deop others.

On oz.org, for stability of the operator status in channels, people are able to register with AUCS, the Australian Channel Service, to have a bot, Z, manage their channel. Z takes care of operators, settings and bans, including the facility to have levels of ops and allow bans to expire.

In regular IRC, an operator, a person with +o set on the channel, can kick and ban, as well as set channel modes such as the topic. However, Z allows more comprehensive settings, actioned by sending the command in a /msg to Z.

Z allows levels of operator between 1 and 500. Each level has access to various commands that they can msg Z to perform actions. Each level including that below it:

Z Level: Position: Commands

500: Owner part

450: Senior Admin join set+*

400: Admin adduser clearmode* modinfo remuser

100: Op (Normal) op deop invite suspend unsuspend

75: Op (not opped) ban* unban*

50: (Half Op) kick+ topic

25: (Voice control) voice devoice

1: (Can view chan status) banlist status+

Levels between those above are used for ranking only.

A shotgun overview of the Commands that can be used with Z:

part: Not used, removes Z.

join: Asks Z to join channel (automatic, not used).

set: Changes Z settings for the channel.

adduser: Gives a user access to Z in channel.

modinfo: Changes a users access to Z in channel.

remuser: Removes a users access to Z in the channel.

op/deop: Gives/removes +o op status in channel (not Z status).

invite: Can ask Z to invite someone to the channel if it was an invite only channel.

suspend: Allows an op to suspend the Z access of an op of lower level than them.

unsuspend: Removes suspension.

ban/unban: Used to manage bans with Z.

kick: We don’t usually tell Z to kick someone, we just use the regular IRC “/kick” command.

topic: Tells Z to set the topic (we just use the regular IRC /topic command).

voice/devoice: The channel can be “moderated” (+m) to allow only ops and voiced users to chat.

banlist: Lists the bans in the channel.

status: Shows the channel settings and who Z recognises as ops.

Setting bans with Z:

In regular IRC, if someone does /ban it will set that person +b on the channel, they wont be able to talk, and then, if they leave or are kicked, they are banned until either someone removes it, they find a way around it, or the server(s) splits/crashes and the ban disappears.

With Z however, one can set a ban with a reason and a time limit in hours from 1 hour up to 2 months.

An explanation of Z ban settings can be found at any time by typing: /msg z help ban

This will show:

-Z- BAN – Adds a specific *!*user@*.host to the Z banlist of your channel. You may place a ban on

-Z- a nick if the person is online or ban their *!*user@*.host if the person is not online. Bans

-Z- that cover a broader range than previously set bans will replace previous bans. Any user in

-Z- the channel that matches the added ban will be kicked out if the ban level is 75+. The

-Z- duration is in hours, with a maximum of 1440 hours (60 days). The ban level can range from 1 to

-Z- your own level. The ban reason can be a maximum of 128 characters long. If no duration or

-Z- level is specified, the default duration will be 3 hours, and the level will be 75.

-Z-

-Z- * Ban Levels: 1-74 = Prevents the user from having ops (+o) on the channel.

-Z- 75+ = Prevents the user from being in the channel at all.

-Z-

-Z- /msg Z ban < #channel> [duration] [level] [reason]

A ban example would be using my own connection. Typing /whois currawong reveals the following info:

[Currawong] (currawong@ppp121-187.static.internode.on.net)

From that, we can see the following:

nick: Currawong

user: currawong (identd reply)

host: ppp121-187.static.internode.on.net

So my “hostmask” on which we would base a ban is as follows:

Currawong!currawong@ppp121-187.static.internode.on.net

This info allows us to set bans using the syntax above in various ways with varying results, such as:

/msg z ban #apple Currawong!*@* 2 100 Reason

This would ban anyone with the nickname “Currawong” (for 2 hours at level 100 with reason “Reason”) but if i changed my nickname, i could get in the channel.

/msg z ban #apple *!*@ppp121-187.static.internode.on.net 2 100 Reason

Same ban, but prevents anyone connecting from “ppp121-187.static.internode.on.net” for two hours instead. If I was on dialup, i might disconnect, dial in again and have a different host address and get around the ban.

/msg z ban #apple *!*@*.internode.on.net 2 100 Reason

Bans everyone from internode.on.net for 2 hours – bad idea.

/msg z ban #apple *!*currawong@*.internode.on.net 2 100 Reason

Bans a person from Internode with user id “currawong”. The most common way to set a ban, though if the person can access other servers or change their userid string (not hard), they can get around it. Note that the user/ident part should always have a “*” in front of it as some people will show up with a “~” in front of their user/ident string.

When you set a Z ban, Z automatically kicks the person from the channel. The “*” can be used anywhere in a hostmask as a wildcard. If you tell Z to ban just the person by nickname, eg: /msg z ban #apple Currawong then Z will automatically set a ban on *!*user@*.host