IRCDumb

IRC sucks. More specifically, the configuration and setup of a new IRC daemon sucks.

I’ve been setting up an internal IRC server at work, so that we can chat and goof off without having our traffic go through someone else’s network. After banging on it all day yesterday, I’ve gotten the recalcitrant config file to work almost properly, with the exception of allowing multiple connections from one host.

The main problem with the config file for ircd is that it was written by computer nerds in the 70s, so the config files go something like “By default we disallow all access. If for some weird reason you actually want someone to be able to USE your server, you’ll have to edit the Y line. The format for editing the Y line consists of rolling 6d8 [using standard D&D dragon dice], multiplying that result in octal by the hex value of e, and then placing colons after every second prime number in the result. Append that with your users’ expected Class rating. [Class ratings are not covered in this document, and the appropriate document may be found via Gopher at the University of Helsinki’s site. Or not.]”