IRC Channel Rules


 * Relevant to all editions of PCLinuxOS.

Suitably modified from a post by TheDarb here in the forum.

Our official public channels on Freenode are:
 * PCLinuxOS Chat - This would be the main hang out channel and general discussion area. Like the lounge used to be.
 * PCLinuxOS Support - This would be the tech support channel. Here is where you ask your support questions. But please remember to try searching the forums for an answer first with our forum search field. We also have a Wiki {the one you are now browsing}, and then there is Google. Sure it can be a minor hassle to check these places first before asking in IRC, but you might be surprised at other relevant information you'll learn from this searching.

To keep the channels sane and manageable, there are some rules. Thanks to the #Amiga channel for laying the foundation on a good set of rules. We've borrowed heavily from them.

There are a set of guidelines defined for the channel operators of #pclinuxos channels regarding kicking or banning users from the channel. Note '''that the chan-ops still reserve the right to kick at will; there is no official need for us to justify our kicks, and we have no official requirement to even let you on the channel in the first place. Running to Texstar will only worsen your problem, because then you didn't just commit an infraction, you tattled like a kid'''.

That said, 95% of the kicks or bans on #PCLinuxOS channels happen for the following reasons : • Do not contract English words or phonemes by using single characters (ne1 "anyone", r u "are            you", etc). • Do not use numbers to replace similar-looking letters (7/T, 3/E, 8/B). • Do not replace letters with other similar-sounding letters (s/z, f/ph, etc) • Do not use crazy uppercase / lowercase letter combinations (wHeRz tHe El3eT wArEz, D00deZ?) These things all make your text difficult to read, and we can't be bothered dealing with it. If you have something to say, say it properly. If you don't, you might as well leave IRC.
 * Non-English  Please use English in these channels. If you have need of a channel based in another language, please feel free to start one. I suggest naming it something like #pclinuxos-german, #pclinuxos-french. You get the idea.
 * Elite speak  Spell out your words completely. Spell them correctly.
 * Elite nicks  Please keep non-alpha characters out of your nick. If your nick has been stolen, we'll accept an appended _ or 2, but otherwise there are no exceptions to this rule. The rules mentioned under Elite speak also apply to nicks. Our channel IRC moderators / robot will instantly remove you from the channel if your nick does not follow our rules.
 * Excessively poor grammar, spelling, or keyboarding  Again, these things make your text difficult to read. Take the time to word your text correctly. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors reduce our impression of your overall intelligence and your ability to participate properly in a conversation. We don't expect perfection, but we do expect at least a small effort on your part to keep your text readable.
 * Including ^B, ^_, ^V, or ^G codes in your text  These items not only make your text hard to read, but distract readers from other, more important text on the channel. ^B and ^_ are acceptable when used very sparingly and for good reason (such as underlining a book title), but ^V and ^G should never be sent to the channel. Use of either will result in an instant kick.
 * Typing in caps  Same 'ol reason. It's distracting, and it makes your text harder to read. If your keyboard is broken, or you are too lazy to properly format your text, don't even bother to load an IRC client. IRC is a text-based medium. If you're not willing to make proper text, there's no use wasting bandwidth.
 * Excessive profanity  On #PCLinuxOS channels, we have a pretty strong collective stomach. Discussion has been known to get pretty raunchy at times (see the quotes page for more detail), and we generally do not kick users for swearing. However, there ARE limits. You may find yourself turfed out of the channel for excessive or gratuitous profanity.
 * Other distro discussion  We have a strong policy of not discussing the promotion of nor the dismissal of other distros. In plain words, do not start or add to any discussion about other distros.
 * Floods  Sending any sort of ASCII art, sending the same line three times, XDCC offers, and sending four or more lines of unrelated text to the channel are all examples of flooding. It results in an instant kick, and in most cases a ban. It's a complete no-no. Don't do it.
 * Auto-away scripts which send text to the channel  We do realize that people have a real life, and frequently walk away from their keyboards. If you want to use a magic script to set you AWAY after a few minutes of idle time, that's fine with us. If said script sends any text whatsoever to the channel in the process, however, you will be kicked. If your client has an activated auto-join-on-kick feature, you will be banned as well.
 * Discussions of pirating software  We do not condone software piracy of any sort, and we do not allow open discussion regarding software piracy on the channel. We'll kick you. If that doesn't wake you up, we'll ban you. If that doesn't wake you up, we'll e-mail your sysadmin.
 * Stupid questions  We are human. We can only answer the same question so many times. We put the answers in FAQ's, on Wiki's, in searchable forums... but people still like to pop into IRC and ask an old question anyway without having done any home work at all. Sometimes, this may cause us to snap, kick you, and remind you to please try one of these other sources.
 * Repeated questions  #PCLinuxOS is made up of only a few regulars, who spend a lot of time on the channel. If we don't know the answer to your question the first time, we probably won't know it five minutes later. We probably won't even know it the next evening. Repeatedly asking the same question, especially if it is a stupid one, will result in you being kicked off the channel.
 * Begging for ops There is a method to our madness on #PCLinuxOS. Because the channel regulars have ops, and frequently there are only channel regulars on the channel, you may be the only un-opped person on the channel. Live with it. If we don't know you, and you beg for ops, we'll assume you are a channel-hacker and deal with you accordingly.
 * Unsupported Test Releases  Releases that we announce as Alpha test, Beta test, and Release Candidates are NOT supported. They are for folks who are advanced enough in Linux to try a test release so that they can file bug reports. We do not spend time helping folks fix their issues with the test releases, we spend it fixing the bugs on our end, so that we might reach a true release, one that *is* supported. Ask for support on these test releases, you will get warned. Ask again, you will be kicked. Third time, banned. Please instead file a bug report in the appropriate test release forum.
 * Unexpected CTCP queries  CTCP Version requests, and other CTCP requests are seen as nosey and rude. They are usually used by folks wanting to hack your IRC client, steal channel ops, or to send spam. If you send someone in the channel such requests, we will assume the worst and ban you right away. We won't listen to explanations about why, either. Don't break this rule. The only exception? CTCP PING. If you suspect yourself or someone else in the channel is timing out or lagging, you may CTCP PING them or the channel up to twice in 30 minutes.
 * Private Messaging  If we don't already know you, you aren't already a friend, please don't private message us. Talk in the channel. If you need to discuss something privately with one of us, please request in the channel to have a private message with us. We almost always accept if you ask first. Just popping up in our IRC in a new window or tab when we don't already have a friendship is kind of rude. Also, most bans are temporary. Some an hour, some a day, depends on the severity. But if you try to private message us after we ban you to try to talk your way out of it? You'll just end up permanently banned. We are not going to waste out time explaining our actions to anyone. If you want, wait out the ban, and ask nicely about it on your return by requesting a private message with the one (or more) folks who banned you. A day for us to cool off makes us much more likely to listen.

Any one spamming or messing with the moderators / bot in any of channels that also includes running any scripts from your client after being asked to stop, will be banned at our discretion.