The swordcoast.net IRCu: Changes
================================

(The swordcoast.net IRCu is part of the [swordcoast.net development
effort][scde])

swordcoast.net's ircd is based on [Undernet's ircu][ircu] and adds a few changes
we deem useful for swordcoast.net. More information will follow.

sc-0.7 = ircu 2.10.12 +...

* Asuka patches (i.e. forward ports of some of those QuakeNet patches), namely:
  * umode +R to only receive private messages from logged in users
  * /check for opers to gather information about network entities
  * some of Asuka's documentation
  * cmodes +Ccn to block, respectively, CTCP messages, messages with control
    codes and notices
  * friendlier error messages ("cannot join channel #foo (+y)")
  * nick-based glines (to block nicks from being used)
* services overrides:
  * Services servers (those with the +s flag) must be U-lined everywhere, lest
    all changes performed by services will be bounced.
  * The number of recognized services servers will be tracked (and announced
    in /lusers)
  * Services clients (umode +k) on services servers can override pretty much
    everything (channel privs, modes of other users, ...) without warnings.
    This umode can be used by operators (now called server technicians) only
    if there are no services connected to the network.
  * Quite some overrides are no longer usable by ordinary opers; instead,
    override privileges are required.
* Grant classic oper powers to opers only if there are no services on the
  network. For example, opers cannot perform remote kills while services are
  present.
* Host hiding (and sethosting) make way for a hybrid, dubbed arbitrary host
  hiding. It works like umode +h in Asuka but there are no S-lines.
  Additionally, the special parameter '\*' sets the user's hostname to
  '<account>.<hidden.host.feature>'.
  Alternatively, with a special feature, host hiding is changed so users
  appear as (~anonymous|accountname@hidden.host.feature) in nearly all places,
  and ident@garbledfirstpartofhost..rest.of.host in WHO\*. We hope to
  discourage DNS spam this way.
* There is a 'magic' channel admin password now. Only settable by services,
  '*' is not usable to gain manager status. This can be used by a channel
  service to register and hold a channel and use oplevels without anyone being
  able to remove +A. Umode +U works as usual.
* Channel mode +c now blocks BEL characters along with the others.
* NICKLEN/ACCOUNTLEN increased to 20.
* Default features set to more open values (i.e. more information is
  accessible, etc.)
* umode +f: free targets and no recvQ limitation. Great for network-level
  bots.
* Epithets, aka. WHOIS info lines. Similar to "is an IRC Operator", epithets
  are arbitrary informative strings about a user, set by services and
  displayed in every WHOIS response.
* {|}[\\]^~ finally become what they should've been all the time: punctuation
  characters. Now, [a] is another nickname than {a}.
* AWAY messages are broadcast in the net.burst.
* When someone is hit by a SILENCE mask, they're notified.
* User can be shunned by services, preventing them from sending anything that
  might be seen be other clients/servers except for messages to services.
* Per-channel maximum oplevels are supported to allow stricter control over
  who can op others.
* With channel mode +J, JOINs are redirected to services as requests. The
  services can then either join the client or send back an error message. +J
  also prevents channels from ever being destroyed. It can only be set by
  services.

[scde]: /link:en/smorgasbord/sc-devel
[ircu]: http://coder-com.undernet.org/