channel operator quick reference

direct discussion about administrative action away from the main channel and into #reddit-diabetes-ops. the goal is to minimise disruption to the channel caused by debates about administrative enforcement and rules-lawyers. our -ops channel is the place where users should come to ask for our help. examples:

any sort of operator request or discussion of channel administration in the main channel
PMs asking why a ban was set
reports of harassment (unless the user is confiding in you)
any request for operator action

changing channel access permissions

consider a mute instead of setting a ban, unless they are an obvious troll/flooder/spammer
a /kick without a ban can be used as a warning
if a ban is necessary, try to keep your nick from publicly appearing as the user who set the ban. this is especially important if you have interacted with the user in the channel, to prevent any suspicion of bias. using chanserv for enforcement accomplishes this nicely.

hostmasks

about hostmasks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat#Hostmasks
to ban a user by IP address, use a hostmask like *!*@1.2.3.4 or *!*@ip-4-3-2-1.city.dynamic.someisp.net
think twice before setting bans for pools of ip addresses with masks like *!*@1.2.3.* or *!*@*.someisp.net, but if abuse is persistent and correlates strongly with the pool it is better to set a ban that is too broad than too narrow and refine it after you have regained control of the channel

the copypasta

note that requesting chanserv to do anything will require you to be authenticated to your nickserv

to op yourself: /msg chanserv op #reddit-diabetes
to kick a user out of the channel (requires op): /kick nick
to mute a user: /msg chanserv quiet #reddit-diabetes [email protected]
to unmute a user: /msg chanserv unquiet #reddit-diabetes [email protected]
to list muted users: /mode #reddit-diabetes +q
to set a mute mode (requires op): /mode #reddit-diabetes +q [email protected]
to ban a user: /msg chanserv akick #reddit-diabetes add [email protected] ban reason | private notes
to unban a user: /msg chanserv akick #reddit-diabetes del [email protected]
to list bans: /msg chanserv akick #reddit-diabetes list
to list ban modes: /mode #reddit-diabetes +b
to set a ban mode (requires op): /mode #reddit-diabetes +b [email protected]

handling troll/flood barrages

try to handle it with quick /kick commands and subsequent akick rules
hilight or PM other ops for help
if you are overwhelmed, you can regain some stability by muting unregistered users with /mode #reddit-diabetes +q $~a while you ban the ip addresses that the troll is wielding. if you need to do this, throw this link in the topic to explain the situation: http://git.io/zrffqw
if the channel is deluged with joins/parts you can temporarily block unregistered users from joining the channel with /mode #reddit-diabetes +r

resources for operator advice

https://freenode.net/channel_guidelines.shtml
https://freenode.net/using_the_network.shtml
##chops-lounge is a great source for advice

reference information to link to users

our old community rules post would work well enough if a user asks why their behavior is not allowed http://www.reddit.com/r/diabetes/comments/1677wz/meta_rules_for_our_community/
#freenode https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=freenode if they are having general technical issues

awaxa/channel-op-cheatsheet.md