Services -- a system of IRC services for IRC networks
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Services is copyright (c) 1996-1997 Preston A. Elder. Services may be freely
redistributed; see the GNU General Public License (in the file "COPYING")
for details.
1. INTRODUCTION
Services is a system of services (as the name implies) to be used
with Internet Relay Chat networks. Services provides for definitive
nickname and channel ownership, as well as the ability to send messages
("memos") to offline users, and gives IRC operators considerably more
control over the network, enabling them to change modes in any channel and
place network-wide bans, among other things.
Services runs as a server on an IRC network, and is designed to use
the RFC 1459 IRC protocol, with some additions discussed at the end of this
document.
Also, Services will not work with the reference implementation of RFC
1459 (irc2.x); an extension to the code is required to allow Services to
change channel modes without requiring channel operator status. The DALnet
extension to ircd (which can be found at ftp.dal.net:/pub/dalnet/server) is
one implementation with the necessary extension.
*** Note as of version 2.2.22: Basic support for non-DALnet servers
is present. However, it has not been tested; problem and success reports
both appreciated. In particular, I'd like to know of any equivalents to
the IRC commands (AKILL, RAKILL, GLOBOPS, GOPER) discussed at the bottom of
this file.
2. CONFIGURATION, COMPILATION AND INSTALLATION
In order to compile Services, you'll need a Bourne shell or
compatible shell (such as GNU bash), GNU make or a compatible make (which
needs to support the "include" directive), and an ANSI C compiler (gcc
recommended).
Before trying to compile Services, there are some manual configuration
tasks that need to be done: run the "configure" script, edit config.h, and
edit the top section of the Makefile.
The "configure" script will try to learn how things work on your
system, and set up appropriate Makefile and C source definitions. It will
also ask you a few questions about how you want Services set up. (It will
ask all of the questions before doing any of the automated tests.) If you
get an error while running the script, get bash (if you don't already have
it) and run "bash configure". IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure you select the
correct IRC server style! If Services compiles correctly but you only get
messages like "Sorry, registration failed", the most likely cause is that
you chose the wrong IRC server style.
config.h contains all of the basic definitions for Services -- uplink
server, data directory, etc. Most of these can be changed with
command-line options (see below), but you may find it more convenient to
set them as defaults.
The Makefile has a section at the top allowing you to configure
Services' general mode of operation.
Finally, there's one definition in operserv.c (which really should be
moved out, I know) which you'll want to edit: s_GlobalNoticer, which sends
out global notices when OperServ's GLOBAL command is used. It defaults to
"DarkerNet", which is probably not appropriate for your network. ;^)
Once these steps are done, you should be able to compile Services with
little trouble. If Services fails to compile on your system, or if you
have to tweak configure's output to get it to work, let me know what went
wrong so I can try and incorporate a fix into the configure script or the
main code.
Once Services is compiled, type "make install" to copy the programs
files to their destinations. If you are installing Services for the first
time, you also need to run "make install-data" to copy the data files to
the destination data directory. Care should be taken that only authorized
people have access to these files; passwords are NOT encrypted at present,
so unauthorized access to the files could be a big problem!
There is a test suite available for Services ("make test"); however,
it is still under construction and does not test very many things yet.
NOTE: The HelpServ data files (data/helpfiles/*) are set up for the
DarkerNet IRC network; you'll want to change them before starting up
Services on your own network.
NOTE 2: Services databases are endian-specific; that is, databases
created on a little-endian machine won't work on a big-endian one and
vice-versa (except in the degenerate case of an empty database).
Currently, this means that Services can't be moved from or to an Intel x86
machine without manually converting the databases, until Intel gets their
act together and starts making big-endian processors like the rest of the
world.
3. OPERATION
This section does not detail the operation of the individual pieces of
Services; that information can be found in the online help files
("/msg *Serv help" or read lib/*serv/index). It only describes how to
start Services itself.
Normally, Services can be run simply by invoking the "services"
executable. Services will then use the defaults specified in the config.h
file, and connect to the specified uplink server. Alternatively, any of
the following command-line options can be specified to change the default
values:
-remote server[:port] Connect to the specified server
-name servername Our server name (e.g. hell.darker.net)
-desc string Description of us (e.g. DarkerNet Services)
-user username Username for Services' nicks (e.g. services)
-host hostname Hostname for Services' nicks (e.g. darker.net)
-dir directory Directory containing Services' data files
(e.g. /usr/local/lib/services)
-log filename Services log filename (e.g. services.log)
-tz timezone Name of Services' timezone (e.g. EST)
-update secs How often to update databases, in seconds
-debug Enable debugging mode--more info sent to log
-relink secs Specify seconds to re-attempt link if SQUIT
-norelink Die on SQUIT or kill -1
-level level Specify services level (>1 = backup)
Upon starting, Services will parse its command-line parameters, open
its logfile, then (assuming all went well) detach itself and run in the
background. If Services cannot connect to its uplink server, it will
terminate immediately; otherwise, it will run until the connection is
terminated (or a QUIT command is sent; see OperServ's help texts).
If Services is compiled with SERVICES_LEVEL > 1, it can serve as a
"backup" to the full version of Services. A "full" version of Services
(of level 1) will automatically reintroduce its pseudo-clients on nick
collide, while a "backup" Services will not, thus allowing full Services
to be brought up at any time without disrupting the network (and without
having to take backup Services down beforehand).
Two additional programs available in addition to the main executable:
"listnicks" and "listchans", both installed as hard links to the main
executable. The programs will list all registered nicknames and channels,
respectively; or, if given the -c option, will display the number of
registered nicknames or channels.
If you have anykind of "relink" mode active (ie. you didnt undef the
SERVER_RELINK define or set it to -1, or didnt use the -norelink flag),
only an OperServ QUIT or SHUTDOWN or a kill -9 will stop services. A SQUIT
will just cause relink (after period specified with SERVER_RELINK or the
-relink flag), as will a kill -1 (both causing the databases to be reloaded).
4. OVERVIEW OF SERVICES CLIENTS
This is a brief introduction to the various clients available from
Services. All *Serv clients can be /msg'd with "help" for a general
introduction.
NickServ is the nickname server; it allows users to register and
control nicknames, and will (at the user's choice) /kill any unauthorized
user who tries to use that nick after a warning.
ChanServ is the channel server; as NickServ, it allows users to
register and control channels. There is a much wider array of controls
available via ChanServ than NickServ, since there are considerably more
features available. These include automatic mode setting, topic
retention (active by default, this will cause the channel's topic to be
saved while the channel is empty and restored when a user joins it again),
and automatic opping (and kicking) of selected users.
MemoServ allows users to send short messages to other users, which can
be stored and retrieved at the recipient's convenience.
HelpServ is Services' help system; it will, on request, send a help
text to a user. Other Services clients also call on HelpServ for their
own help functions. (So, for example, "/msg ChanServ help register" is the
same as "/msg HelpServ chanserv register".
IrcIIHelp is HelpServ under another name, and allows ircII users to
simply type "/help <topic>" to get help on the ircII client.
OperServ provides services to IRC operators, including the ability to
change the mode of any channel, kick any user from a channel, and add and
remove network-wide bans (similar to classic K:lines, but applying to all
servers on the network). A certain set of operators can be defined (in
config.h) as Services operators, and can perform additional functions, such
as manually updating Services' databases or shutting Services down. (Note
that Services will not recognize a user as a Services operator unless that
user is both in the SERVICES_OPS definition and has identified with
NickServ.) Obviously, all these functions should be used with care.
DevNull is just like its Unix equivalent /dev/null: it ignores
anything sent to it. It can be removed without affecting the rest of
Services in any way.
Death is the global noticer: when Services is instructed to send a
notice to all clients on the network, this nickname sends the message.
Obviously, you should change it to the name of your network (or some other
useful name)! See operserv.c for the name definition.
5. IRC PROTOCOL ADDITIONS
Services has not been tested on bare (non-TS8) irc2.x servers; please
report any problems.
The following commands, not defined in RFC 1459, are used by Services:
AKILL
Syntax: AKILL <hostmask> <usermask> <reason>
Adds an AutoKill to the network; this is like a K:line, but is
propogated to all servers. Any user matching the usermask and
hostmask will not be allowed to connect.
Example: :hell.darker.net AKILL *.lame.com lamer :Flooding
Disallows any client matching "lamer@*.lame.com" from connecting
to the network.
RAKILL
Syntax: RAKILL <hostmask> <usermask>
Removes an AutoKill line from all servers.
Example: :hell.darker.net RAKILL *.lame.com lamer
Removes the AutoKill described in the previous example.
GLOBOPS
Syntax: GLOBOPS <message>
Sends a message to all users with user mode +og.
Example: :PreZ GLOBOPS :Watch out for flooders from *.lame.com.
GOPER
Syntax: GOPER <message>
Sends a message to all IRC operators, regardless of other user modes.
Example: :hell.darker.net GOPER :WARNING -- clones detected from
ppp1-9.lame.com
ALSO for recent DALnet ircd's (4.4.15+) the specialised services code is
used to enable greater control via. services, and enable greater intergration
including things like setting mode +r for registered nicks, etc.
6. REACHING THE AUTHOR
I can be reached via E-mail at prez@antisocial.com. Please feel
free to send comments, suggestions, problem reports, diffs, or whatever,
though you may not receive any reply. Please do NOT ask for or expect
direct online help, as I am quite busy and cannot spare the time to set up
Services myself on every system where it will be used. If you do ask,
expect to be abruptly dismissed or ignored.
If you are on the DarkerNet or DALnet IRC networks and want to leave me
a memo via MemoServ rather than sending E-mail, please include your problem
or suggestion _in the memo_. Don't just say "I need to talk to you"; such
memos will be ignored.