NickServ Command Reference
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Written by PJKevin pjkevin@dreamspaceworld.net on 18 January 2006
Introduction
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This document has been written for newbie users to familiarize themselves with the NickServ commands on DreamSpaceWorld. DreamSpaceWorld uses SirvNet IRC Services due to the stability and features. Should you encounter any difficulties while using your nickname, please do not hesitate to contact a helper or an IRC Operator for further assistance.
As a general reminder, passwords are something private and confidential. You should never give or share your passwords with any user. DSW IRC Operators and helpers will never ask you for your nick or channel passwords. Our Admins are trained to assist you with password loss and takeovers. To find a Services Administrator, type /motd services.*. The ones in bold are the ones online but does not necessary mean they are active.
1. Registering your nickname
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Registering your nickname is an easy procedure. All it takes is an email address and a password to do it. When registering your nickname, keep in mind that passwords used must not be easy to be guessed by others e.g. your mother's name or your first/last name. It is recommended that you use a mixture of alphabets and numbers (alphanumeric) and mixture of cases (upper and lower). Due to security issues, we advise against the use of using freebased web emails e.g. Yahoo and Hotmail. Preferably use your email given by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
To register your nickname, you will type:
/nickserv REGISTER <password> <email_address>
For example, if I want to set my password as "a1b2c3" and my email is rotteneggs@dreams.net, I will type:
/nickserv REGISTER a1b2c3 rotteneggs@dreams.net
Once done, you will need to check your email and look for the authentication code. The reason behind the nick authentication is to prevent bots from registering nicknames and also secure an email address with your nickname. Once you have received the email from services, look for something like:
/nickserv
AUTH G11475A12442
Copy and paste this in your client's status window and hit enter. Once done, you will receive a confirmation from services that your nick is fully registered and you can start using it to register channels and send memos.
2. Identifying to NickServ
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Each time you login to DSW, you will be prompted to identify to NickServ:
-NickServ- This nick is protected and registered to someone
else. Please choose another.
If
you are indeed the owner, please type: /NickServ IDENTIFY <your-password>.
If your nickname has the enforce option turned on, you will see another line:
-NickServ- If you do not choose another within one minute,
your nick will be changed.
To identify to NickServ, type /nickserv IDENTIFY <password-here>. Example, if your password is a1b2c3, you will type:
/nickserv
IDENTIFY a1b2c3
Note: For better security, always type identification/password change commands in your status window of your IRC client. This is to prevent the password from being shown to others in case you have omitted the front slash (/) key.
3. Using NickServ
Access List
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The NickServ access list has been created to provide the user of using his/her nickname without the need of fully identifying to NickServ. NickServ will recognize the user by the hostmask which is entered. If the user does not match a mask, NickServ will prompt the user to identify to services. A reminder you should never add *@* in your access list as that will give access to everyone to use your nickname. Also avoid adding dynamic masks with a wider masks e.g.
To add a mask to the access list, you will type:
/nickserv ACCESS ADD username@host
Example: To add pjkevin@i.rule.dreamspaceworld.net, you will type:
/nickserv
ACCESS ADD pjkevin@i.rule.dreamspaceworld.net
To delete a mask from the access list, you will type:
/nickserv
OR
/nickserv
To list the NickServ access list entries, you will type:
/nickserv
ACCESS LIST
To wipe the NickServ access list, you will type
/nickserv
ACCESS WIPE
4. Viewing channels you have access in
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You don’t need to type /chanserv #channelname ACC on every channel on the network or login to a website. All you need to do is type:
/nickserv
LISTCHANS <yournickname>
5. Lost nick password
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The one thing good about services is it remembers what you can’t remember. If you forgot your nick password, you can easily recover it by typing:
/nickserv SENDPASS <nickname> <e-email address>
However, if the nick’s MAILBLOCK option is enabled, this command will not function. You will need to contact a Services Admin for further assistance.
6. Ghosted nickname
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Ghosted nicks are caused when the user quits or disconnects in error, the server does not recognize it thinking the user is still connected. So when the user connects to the network using his original registered nick, he gets an error message saying his nickname is in use. There are 2 ways of dealing with the issue. One is by waiting patiently for the nick to timeout or you can remove it using the GHOST command.
If you have a ghost and want to remove it, you will type:
/nickserv GHOST <your-nickname> <your-password>
Example: If my nick PJKevin is ghosted and my password is a1b2c3, I will use:
/nickserv
GHOST PJKevin a1b2c3
However, if you have a matching hostmask in your nickname access list, you do not have to provide the password.
7. Recovering your nickname
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If someone is using your registered nickname, you can recover it by using the RECOVER command. You do this by typing:
/nickserv RECOVER <your-nickname> <your-password>
Example: If my nick PJKevin is being used and my password is a1b2c3, I will use:
/nickserv
RECOVER PJKevin a1b2c3
Doing this will forcefully remove the user from the network and place an enforcer to hold the nick preventing others from using it. To remove the enforcer, read the next command.
8. Releasing your nick from an enforcer
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An enforcer appears if the RECOVER command is used or if the ENFORCE option is on and the user fails to identify to NickServ for that nick within a minute. If this happens, you will need to use the RELEASE command to remove the enforcer. As such, you will type:
/nickserv RELEASE <your-nickname> <your-password>
Example: If my nick PJKevin is being held by an enforcer and my password is a1b2c3, I will use:
/nickserv
RELEASE PJKevin a1b2c3
Note however, if you have used the RECOVER command previously, you do not need to include the password.
9. Using NickServ
SET options
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To help you use your nickname better, services has included a few options for you to use. Please read this section carefully before applying any of the options.
9.1 Preventing others from using your nickname
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Some users don’t know that they are using a registered nick or some don’t even bother to read notices sent by services. To prevent people from using your nickname, you will type:
/nickserv
SET ENFORCE ON
Anyone who attempts to use your nickname will be warned to change their nickname in 60 seconds or their nick will be changed into a guest nick by services.
9.2 Preventing your nickname from being added
to channel access lists
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There are times people add you to the channel access lists without you knowing or wanting to be in. To prevent this from happening, you will type:
/nickserv
SET NOOP ON
Anyone who attempts to add you to the channel access list will receive an error message from ChanServ telling that the nick has NOOP enabled.
9.3 Preventing services/someone from opping you when you join a channel.
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Sometimes, you may be on the channel
access lists but do not wished to be opped on joining
the channel. Use the following command to prevent yourself from being opped on join. However, you can op yourself when needed by
using /chanserv OP
#channel nickname.
/nickserv
SET NEVEROP ON
9.4 Securing your nickname (added security)
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Enabling this option will force you to identify to services before you can use other features of the nickname regardless if you have or don’t have a mask in your nick access list. When using RECOVER and RELEASE, passwords must be included when using this option.
/nickserv
SET PROTECT ON
9.5 Displaying your email on info
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This setting enables you to display your email address which is set to your nickname. However, this is not recommended considering the number of spam mails that goes round these days. To enable this option, type:
/nickserv
SET SHOWEMAIL ON
9.6 Hiding your nickname from NickServ lists
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If you do not want people to see your nick in NickServ’s LIST, type the following command:
/nickserv
SET PRIVATE ON
As a reminder, this option does not block others from using the INFO command.
9.7 Changing your nickname’s password
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You can change the nickname’s password by using the following command:
/nickserv
SET PASSWORD new-password
For example, if I want my new password to be d4e5f6, I will type the following command:
/nickserv SET PASSWORD d4e5f6
An email with the authorization code will be sent to your email address. Read carefully and follow the instructions to authenticate the change of password.
9.8 Assigning an email address with your
nickname
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This is to attach an email address to your nickname which will be used also for SENDPASS and any correspondence with services. To change your address, you will type:
/nickserv
SET EMAIL your_email_address
For example, if you want to set your email address at pjkevin@cows.go.moo.net, I will type:
/nickserv SET EMAIL pjkevin@cows.go.moo.net
You will then need to check your email for further instructions on completing the change. Once this is done only will the change take effect.
9.9 Assigning an ICQ number with your nickname
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You can assign your ICQ number to your nickname using the following command:
/nickserv
SET ICQ #uin
For example, if your ICQ number is 1224541445, you will type:
/nickserv
SET ICQ 1224541445
To disable, it, you will type:
/nickserv
SET ICQ NONE
9.10 Assigning a URL for your nickname
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You can also assign a URL to your nickname e.g. your personal website or favourite page, an ftp URL or another email address. Please note that the email address you set in URL may or may not be the same as the one you have set during nickname registration. You can do this by typing the following command:
/nickserv SET URL http://www.mynet.com
/nickserv SET URL ftp://shuttle.bozo.net
/nickserv SET URL mailto:moo@mooserv.net
To disable the URL assignment, use /nickserv SET URL NONE
9.11 Preventing password from being sent to
your email
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You can block your password from being sent to your address. Using the MAILBLOCK option, all SENDPASS commands to NickServ and ChanServ will be disabled. This command must be used with caution for once the password is lost; it can only be recovered by a Services Admin at his discretion. To enable this option, you will type:
/nickserv
SET MAILBLOCK ON
In order for this option to be active, you must check your email for the authentication code. Read and authenticate the option. You can reverse this by typing replacing ON with OFF.
Conclusion
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The NickServ commands mentioned in this document applies to SirvNET services and should not be assumed that all commands are the same on all IRC Networks. Different networks may or may not have some functions that we do and vice versa. For more details on SirvNET services, please visit http://www.sirv.net .