|
Bots on IRC
It is almost eneviatable that you will encounter at least one bot while on IRC. These strange creatures can be found lurking in channels everywhere, they can be impossible to detect and deadly even at long range ;)
An IRC bot is simply a user on the server that is controlled by a computer. They used to be quite simple but now the current range of bots are extremely complex and can do lots of things.
There are two types of bots (and two main purposes) :
- War bots : These bots are used to 'attack' users and either do something to their computer or disconnect them from IRC
- Channel bots : Channel security - ops people are supposed to be opped etc.
That is a very simple description of both types, and you can get bots which do both types.
I'm not going to cover War bots at all - they are an undesirable thing to have on IRC and are usually banned whenever they are found by the IRCops.
The main functions of channel bots are to op people, ban people and generally keep the channel secure. It can also be set to kick people when they do certain thing eg flooding.
By far the most popular channel bot is Eggdrop, this bot has evolved over the years and now provides almost everything you could want in a bot. It is available for both UNIX systems and Windows.
As well as the standard channel functions Eggdrop also provides various other features.
- The 'partyline'. This allows people who have enough access to connect to the bot and chat to other people who are also connected. Effectively it's a private IRC with lots of different channels.
- Notes. You can send a message someone who has an account on the bot.
- Botnet. Lots of eggdrops can be connected together and functions can be shared between bots (eg two bots could keep each other opped if one was deoped). You can also chat with people on other bots' partylines and send them notes over the botnet.
- Scripting. Eggdrop can be enhanced by tcl scripts, these scripts can do almost anything you want.
Although bots are controlled by a computer, this doesn't mean they can't talk. Bots can be set to say things when particular events happen, eg when someone joins a channel they can set an 'infoline' which the bot says when they join. For example
*** Knox (knox@mac.tecknoxology.com) has joined channel #chatzone
Frankie: [Knox] Beware of the nawckz
Other things bots say automatically are usually set by scripts. However, bots can sometimes seem human because they sometimes are. If someone is connected to a bot and they have enough access they can make the bot say things to the channel, or send private messages.
Previous | Extras Index | Next
|
|
