Archiveteam:IRC

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Revision as of 00:13, 11 January 2020 by JustAnotherArchivist (talk | contribs) (→‎hackint specifics: Clean up and extend everything)
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IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is an internet protocol that allows multiple users to connect to a server and chat. Each IRC "server" can be connected to by a person, then someone joins a "channel" with the particular subject they are interested in.

The ArchiveTeam uses IRC as its one-stop shop for coordinating official and unofficial AT projects.

Before you go ahead and jump in, if there's nothing else you read on this page please at least take a moment to review the Special ArchiveTeam IRC rules section below.

How do I chat on IRC?

You will need an IRC client, or you can use a web interface.

EFNet, the network that Archive Team uses, provides a web interface called Webchat. Enter a nickname (such as your first name, your pet's name, or a cool pseudonym of your choice) and then the channel's name, ie #archiveteam.

Since September 2019, most project-specific channels have been hosted on the hackint IRC network due to desires like less netsplits, channel/nickname registration, secure IRC by default, etc. It too also has a web interface.

Archiveteam1.png Please learn IRC netiquette.

Do not barge into an IRC channel demanding help or disparage installation instructions.

Archive Team is not a professional support team.

Do I have to use IRC?

We prefer IRC because there is no central point of failure, but see the question about social media on Frequently Asked Questions.

Why does IRC need chat logs?

Unlike a bulletin board or SMS, IRC is a transient medium of communication. As a result, if you aren't there to receive the message, you will never receive it at all.

If you check the chat logs, your question may already be answered. Unfortunately, some channels are not logged. Don't worry if you accidentally interrupt someone's conversation or repeat a question.

See the section IRC Logs.

I asked a question and waited but it scrolled off the window and was ignored.

Don't get discouraged; do ask again. Topics get intermixed and timezones break up normal conversations. Be persistent but friendly.

How do I get someone's attention in a public channel?

Some chat clients will alert the user if you say their nickname.

Some clients support nickname auto-completion. Start typing the first few letters of their nickname and press tab.

Why won't anyone respond?

If no one answers, please be patient. We're volunteers so we can't always respond immediately. We eat, drink, sleep, and archive just like you! Note that IRC channels are not like Discord, Telegram, Slack, or similar channels - do not expect real-time responses the next second. Wait a few minutes, but be prepared to stay around for a little bit.

Sometimes it may be the bystander effect. Try an icebreaker to get the conversation going.

I can't wait; I need immediate attention. Who's in charge?

See Who We Are.

Special ArchiveTeam IRC rules

Besides the expectation of being civilized, patient and tactful, there are some rules you should follow when in ArchiveTeam IRC channels. Breaking them makes you become annoying in the community and you can easily find yourself banned. The most pertinent of these are as follows:

  • #archiveteam is generally reserved for short and important information exchange, e.g. concise announcements about websites shutting down, project status updates, easily answerable important questions, etc. All general and in-depth archiving-related discussion happens in #archiveteam-bs (this channel is monitored and you will very likely not need to wait hours for an answer). Project-specific discussions go in their respective channels. General topics not related to computers and/or archiving at all are not welcome even in #archiveteam-bs (try #archiveteam-ot for such topics instead).[1]
  • Don't ask too many questions, don't demand answers from others. Sometimes you can look it up yourself, sometimes you need to filter your questions for important ones. You can also search the logs.[2]
  • Don't maliciously/demandingly criticize Archive Team, its members, nor the Internet Archive, especially in general, empty phrases.[3][4] If you have a remark/idea, be concrete and constructive (and polite and patient), and if you can, realize it yourself (we're volunteers otherwise busy). Remember the money-back guarantee![5]
  • Don't try to convince ArchiveTeam about that archiving is bad. We make very few exceptions when it's about archiving. Also, our rule of thumb is "archive first, ask questions later".[6][7][8] Our IRC channels are the #1 worst place to ask "why we are keeping this"![9]
  • Don't be childish.[10][11][5]
  • Don't feed the trolls. (Don't engage into arguments with people not behaving appropriately.)[12]
  • Don't explain us evident things in detail.[13]
  • Don't let your IRC client flood the channels with join/leave notifications due to you unstable connection.[14][15]

ArchiveTeam on IRC

Below is a list of ArchiveTeam's general-purpose IRC channels. Project-specific channels can be found in the Projects' list. All the channels listed below are on the EFNet network.

(Back then we had a separate list of project-specific IRC channels, under the general channels. For historical interest, you can find them on the IRC/Old page.)

Channel name Channel hashtag Channel description
Archive Team #archiveteam The main ArchiveTeam channel, mainly used for news, announcement and early project planning.
-bs #archiveteam-bs Lengthy discussion for general archival and projects which don't have a separate channel.
-dev #archiveteam-dev Discussion about general (i.e. not project-specific) ArchiveTeam software development
-ot #archiveteam-ot Off-topic discussion
-twitter #archiveteam-twitter We have a twitter bot and it owns you. All tweets by us, to us, or about us used to be displayed here by swebb bot, until twitter killed API v1.
Warrior #warrior Channel for the discussion and development of the ArchiveTeam Warrior
ArchiveBot #archivebot Channel for controlling ArchiveBot. Discussions about ArchiveBot development also take place here.

IRC Logs

You can log the channels where you are using your client, generally. But if you want a 24/7 bot logging your channel, you can use a script like this (change the server and channel variables).

chfoo is hosting chat logs of some channels at http://archive.fart.website/bin/irclogger_logs. It also has a search function.

hackint specifics

This section is documenting how to properly and successfully run ArchiveTeam channels on the hackint IRC network.

Connecting

hackint enforces secure connections with TLS (aka "SSL"). The servers have valid certificates, so do not disable certificate verification in your client when connecting to hackint (or enable it if disabled by default, e.g. use -ssl_verify on irssi and WeeChat).

Services & authentication

hackint has the usual services one would expect from a sensible IRC network: NickServ to register user accounts, ChanServ to manage channels, HostServ for hostmasks, MemoServ for sending messages (memos) to users currently offline or groups, and GroupServ for groups of people.

The most important part for most users is registering and authenticating a user account. To register, issue:

/msg NickServ REGISTER password email@example.org

A verification email is sent to the email address entered here; this email address is needed for recovery in case you ever lose the authentication data for your nick.

After registration, you need to authenticate on every connection. There are several ways how you can do that: CertFP (see below), different SASL methods, or the traditional but least reliable /msg NickServ IDENTIFY password.

CertFP

To authenticate using CertFP, you need to generate a client certificate. For example:

openssl req -nodes -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout /secure/path/nick.key -x509 -days 36500 -out /secure/path/nick.cer

Depending on the client and/or its SSL/TLS library, you may need to combine the two into one file:

cat /secure/path/nick.cer /secure/path/nick.key >/secure/path/nick.pem
chmod 600 /secure/path/nick.pem

Then, instruct your client to use this certificate on connecting to hackint. For example, on irssi, you need to add the -ssl_cert /secure/path/nick.pem option to the /server add command. Instructions for other clients can be found on the CertFP documentation by OFTC.

On the first connection using this certificate, you need to add its fingerprint to NickServ (after authenticating with IDENTIFY):

/msg NickServ CERT ADD

On any later connections, you will get authenticated automatically and immediately.

Creating a channel

If you're opening a channel for ArchiveTeam usage, it is recommended to register it and set the right flags for the !archiveteam-core group. Make sure you're identified with NickServ.

Registering the channel is done with:

/msg ChanServ REGISTER #example

And setting the flags is done with:

/msg ChanServ FLAGS #example !archiveteam-core +*SF

This grants everyone in that group full control over the channel.

Virtual hosts (vhosts)

If you are part of the !archiveteam-core group in GroupServ, you can use an ArchiveTeam vhost with:

/msg HostServ TAKE archiveteam/$account

($account is not a placeholder; enter it literally.)

If you are not part of the group, you can use the general hackint vhost:

/msg HostServ TAKE hackint/user/$account

The vhost is activated automatically when you authenticate. Note that your actual host address may still be visible to others.