Hello to whomever is taking the time to read this.

I feel I need to explain why AOL had to be domain banned on undernet, and I don't have the time or energy to explain this to each and everyone of you in private messages, and you do all deserve a full explanation, so here goes....

#madlib, like all other IRC channels, has had its share of problems with AOL users. Up until now we've just been setting ban after ban against these individuals. Of course, all they had to do to get back in was change their nick and username, which meant the ops had to set another ban.

I had always resisted the urge to domain ban AOL because many of our regular players are AOL users and should not have to get punished because of the actions of others. However, recent activity on channel has left me with no other choice.

Someone has been assuming the identity of other players and submitting crude answers fixated on my sexual orientation. While using other player's nicks, this person has also claimed I tried to cyber him/her, and they have msg other players asking them to cyber. These actions disgust me more than words can express.

Unfortunately, any ban that could be set would affect the person whose identity was stolen and not the person who actually deserves the ban.

I am very sorry for those individuals whose identities were assumed. This individual obviously wants to takes stabs at me, but is too much of a coward to use his/her own nick and identity. I'm sorry that s/he chose you as a means to get at me. (It seems that s/he was just taking random AOL nicks and not choosing people for personal reasons, though who knows for sure.) I hope the other players know you well enough to know you would not behave like that.

As for the ban and how long it will last, well, to be honest I'm not sure yet. Logs have been sent to AOL, and hopefully they will do something about it. However, AOL is known for doing very little about people who abuse their service (this is why AOL gets banned in many channels and IRC nets). It's too easy to get an AOL account these days. . . .

In the meantime, the ops have been discussing various solutions, and keep coming up with technical flaws or other problems with most of them. For now what we've decided to do is have all AOL users register (details below) and then they will have to find an op to invite them on channel. This is an inconvenience (for both players and ops) but I hope we can work through it and keep making #madlib the fun place that it's supposed to be.

To Register:

send an e-mail to: mtraas@tm.net.my
The e-mail *must* be sent from an AOL account. That way if any abuse occurs we can e-mail AOL with the individual's login name. I would be the only one who would know your actual AOL address, and that information will not be given to others. (Not even for large sums of money and/or chocolate)

Once you are registered you will have to msg a madlib op to get on channel. They will ask you for your password so they know it's you and not an imposter. Please do not share your password with others. Any abuse by AOL users will, of course, be reported to AOL.

Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions/comment/suggestions.

samoyed