The IRC server (aka IRCD) I'm running is Ratbox-1.3-1 which is basically an adapted version of Hybrid 7 IRCD. The server it is hosted on is a Virtual Machine on a P4 3ghz, 2gb DDR, 120GB, 100Mbit connection, running Debian GNU\Linux. This is located in the Redbus datacentre, London.

There are two main methods for connecting to the VoicesUK IRC server, one is through the Java applet on the website, the other is via a dedicated IRC client, such as mIRC for Windows, or X-Chat for Linux (there are plenty more, but these are two which I would recommend)

Other IRC Clients.

I've put together a tutorial for setting up mIRC here which should contain all the information needed when setting up a different IRC client. The tutorial also contains info about the Nickserv feature implemented on the chat server (explained below) so I would recommend reading it.

I would encourage everyone to at least try to use mIRC for the chat - it is pretty simple to use.

Extra Features.

Bopm - The server has a proxy monitor which helps stop people from attempting to bypass channel bans & klines (server bans) by connecting through (open / insecure) proxy servers.

Services - A package of addons for the server, the two most important being Chanserv & Nickserv.

Nickserv - This allows users to register their nicknames with a password to stop others from imitating them. More info on this can be found at the bottom of my mIRC tutorial.

Chanserv - This keeps channels (so that they do not 'disappear' when all users have quit) & also gives out operator & voice status to users who have these permissions (& who have registered with Nickserv).

Feel free to setup your own channels if you wish, just type "/join #channelname" without the "" I can then get Chanserv to retain your channel once you quit.

Eggdrop Bot - The bot is called 'Eggbert.' Eggdrop bots are usually used to keep channels when Chanserv is not available, this is a bit of a redundant feature on the VoicesUK server due to the presence of Chanserv. So the main reason for the bot is for a few extra features & entertainment.

Bot Commands:

If you want to find out when someone was last on IRC, type "!seen nickname" & the bot will reply with the last time the person quit the channel.

The "!lastspoke nickname" command is essentially the same, but will output the last sentence someone said & the time.

"!g something" will search Google for the word 'something' & return the first result. "!i something" will search Google for an image of 'something'

If someone says something amusing/stupid etc & you want to keep the quote for future entertainment, type "!addquote thequotegoeshere" Eggbert will reply with a 'Chi-Chinga' notice & the quote will be added to the database.

To output a random quote, type "!quote" and to output a quote matching a name or word, type "!quote *name*"

(all commands without the " " natch)

Channel Stats - I currently log all channel activity through the Eggdrop bot & generate statistics pages every evening. These can be viewed by going here. This is currently still in it's test phase, there will be quite a lot of work going into the stats pages shortly, (thanks to Al for his advice & tips ) They will eventually be viewable by visiting http://www.voicesuk-chat.co.uk/stats

Other issues you may encounter (I'll be adding to this section in the future)

The server allows up to 3 connections from each host, so if for some reason you go above this level, you won't be able to initiate any further connections!

The bot has flood protection enabled, this means that if someone triggers the protection by writing too many lines within a certain amount of seconds, they will be kicked from the channel. These are currently set to quite a high threshold so there shouldn't really be any problems. It's just to prevent annoying people from connecting & flooding the channel with crap. If you do get kicked, don't worry, just rejoin - Chances are I will have noticed it & will adjust the settings accordingly.

Along with flood protection, the bot also limits the amount of users who can enter the channel. This prevents people loading large numbers of flood bots into the channel in an attempt to annoy the chatters (a rare occurance but it does happen ) The bot sets a user limit of "the current number of users in the channel +5" so with 6 users, the limit is set at 11. As people join / leave, the bot adjusts the limit accordingly, but with a slight pause - if the limit was changed immediately each time, it would defeat the point of the limit being there in the first place This means that if a lot of users join at the same time, there may be a very short period where no one else can join the channel - this shouldn't be more than a few seconds. So if you ever see the message "#voicesuk Cannot join channel (+l)" just wait 5 seconds & then type "/join #voicesuk" to try again.

The limit is indicated by the "+l <number>" flag which you will probably see the bot setting in the channel. (Note for Ops: If a problem with the limit occurs, simply set the mode "-l" or if using mIRC, double click on the channel 'background' & in the window that appears, untick the "Limit to..." box. If the bot then sets +l again, deop the bot & untick the "Limit to..." box).

Please contact me if there are any problems which I have not covered above or if you have any questions...

Enjoy the chat service, hope to see you all there!