On this page you can find answers to questions you may have. If the answer to your question is not listed here, then please open a support ticket on our support portal or ask it in our support channel.

Generic Questions

Is having a chatroom at Chat4All free?

Yes, having a chatroom at the Chat4All IRC Network is absolutely free! You don't even have to place a banner or put up with advertising. However, having a banner or a short line on your website, indicating that you have your chatroom on our network is more than appreciated. :-)

Why don't my commands work?

Usually this is because of a syntax error. Check to see if you have typed the command as required. Also make sure that, in case a chatroom name is needed, the channel name starts with a # (hash-sign).

Also make sure that you have used a space between the actual command and the channelname, and make sure you are not using any formatting codes like colours and bold inside the commands. The first character on the line has to be the / (forward-slash). So, for instance, it is /nickserv identify myP4ssw0rd and not nickserv identify myP4ssw0rd.

Finally, if you still have problems with sending commands to our services, you can try opening a private window for the service you need to send a command to, and enter just the command message to it there. For instance, if the command you need to execute is:

 /msg ChanServ HELP

You can try opening a query window with ChanServ (/query ChanServ) and typing:

 HELP

in that query window.

It is also possible that a certain (channel-related) command doesn't work because you don't have the appropriate rights on that channel. For instance, if you aren't an operator, you can't /kick people off a channel. Or if you aren't an IRC Server Operator, you can't /kill someone off a server. Also, normal AOPs can't add people to the ChanServ AKick list for instance. Usually the message you get back from the server, will indicate this.

Can I become an operator in your Chat4All channels?

Operators for our own rooms are appointed by invitation only. To become an operator in someone else's room, you will have to ask there. However, generally asking to become an operator (generally known as 'op-begging') somewhere is considered rude, and may result in getting kicked, or even banned from that chatroom.

Can I become an IRC-Operator or NetAdmin on Chat4All?

No, and people who ask (or even beg) to become an IRC Operator will not even be considered in case such position comes available. IRCOps are considered by invitation only. To become one, you will need to positively catch our attention; be friendly, helpful to others and be knowledgeable of the workings of IRC and our network in particular. And even then there is no guarantee you will be asked. Just have a good time, enjoy the chat.

Can I advertise my chatroom on your network?

Definitely not. Advertising your chatroom in other chatrooms on our network is considered rude and thus not allowed. Would you want others to advertise their chatrooms inside your chatroom? Most likely not.

However, we do have one exception to this rule: our channel #chat4all. This channel is, to a certain extent, created specifically for promotion of your own channel.

Can I advertise my IRC server or network on your network?

Definitely not! If you own an IRC server, or you are a staff member on another IRC server/network and you advertise your services on our network, we will consider this spam and you will risk being permanently banned from our network and have your network's addresses spamfiltered (blocked/banned).

Can I link to your network?

If you run a server with its own userbase on a stable dedicated (Linux) server, VPS or shell, and have an IP of your own, you can try opening a support ticket on our support portal. Please note that you'd be required to use our services, and will not be able to take your network name with you. Should a link be accepted, you'd become part of the Chat4All network. If you run a Windows server, or your server is running from your home connection, you need not apply.

Security related questions

My firewall software shows an alert every time I enter your network. Why is that?

To keep our network clean of possible hackers, we check certain ports when a client connects to our network. These ports are usually used by people who use (open) proxies to enter the chat through someone else's computer without that person knowing it. People who have these open ports will not be allowed on our network. The alert is harmless when it comes from one of our IRC server addresses:

188.138.95.217 (our European eu.chat4all.org server)
69.64.52.243 (our American us.chat4all.org server).

It takes minutes to get connected, why is that?

You are probably behind a router or a firewall, which is blocking the TCP 113 port which is used for IdentDaemons. Open/forward this port in your router/firewall (visit portforward.com to find out how to do this for your router/firewall) and you'll find that the access time is vastly improved and your ident will no longer be prefixed with a ~.

How can I hide my IP or hostname?

We already mask your IP/Hostname to a certain extent by masking the last octet/part. However, for registered users we also provide custom hostmasks through a Virtual/Vanity Host, also known as a Vhost. Visit the vhost page for a detailed explanation and how to request a vhost.

Keep in mind that you (and the IRC Server Staff) will still be able to see your IP in a /whois on yourself in the 'connecting from' response, however other users can't.

Can you read my private messages?

No we can't. Even though regular IRC private messages are send to/from the IRC server, we cannot, and will not read them. Doing this would be a breach of privacy which is not only unethical, in some countries it is even illegal. We do however use software that automatically blocks messages that contain spamfiltered entries, such as virus spam and exploit attempts. This however is not used to eavesdrop on your conversations.

If you want to be sure your conversations can't be eavesdropped at all, we advise connecting through our SSL port, and only starting private conversations with users that also are on a 'secure connection'. This should enforce end-to-end SSL encryption of your conversation.

An alternative would be to use DCC CHAT, which will only use the server to initiate a DCC CHAT session and after which the rest of the DCC CHAT session will go via a peer-to-peer connection. However, note that in this case the security of your conversation lies without our scope, and without encryption (such as SSL or OTR (Off-The-Record) plugin for your IRC client), anyone between your connection and your conversation partner, such as your ISP, could theoretically eavesdrop the conversation.

To recap: Chat4All staff will not/cannot read your private conversations, nor can they follow conversations in rooms they are not present. However if you need an improved sense of security, we advise you to connect to our SSL port to enable SSL encryption when possible (such as a PM with another SSL-enabled user, or in a +Z channel). Additional security, sometimes at the cost of convenience/compatibility, can be obtained by using client-side encryption plugins such as OTR. For instance OTR for irssi, for weechat, for XChat, or for Pidgin.

User related questions

Why haven't I received a confirmation mail even though I registered through NickServ?

Make sure you enter the correct e-mail address before you finish your nickname registration. Also check to see if your mailbox isn't full. Finally, nowadays many people (and ISP's) have spam filters in place which can error in detecting what is spam or not. Check to see if your spam filter is not set too high or if your registration/confirmation e-mail has ended up in your junk/spambox. Especially yahoo addresses seem to have problems receiving our confirmation e-mails.

If you still don't receive a confirmation mail, contact a Chat4All Services Operator. They can drop your registration request, so you can try with a different e-mailaddress, or possibly see on the server what the problem is.

Why doesn't the NickServ confirmation code work?

When you register your nickname through NickServ, you get an e-mail with a confirmation code The E-mail will look somewhat like this:

Subject: Nickname Registration (YourNickname)
From: registration (AT) chat4all (DOT) org
Content:
----
Hi,

You have requested to register the following nickname YourNickname.

Please type " /msg NickServ confirm 50m3c0d3h3r3 " to complete registration.

If you don't know why this mail is sent to you, please ignore it silently.

PLEASE DON'T ANSWER TO THIS MAIL!

chat4all administrators.

of course the confirmation code will be different ;)
So, just follow the instructions, copy the entire line

 /msg NickServ confirm 50m3c0d3h3r3

to your chatwindow to confirm your registration.

You should now get a Notice-Message from NickServ again, this time stating that the registration has been completed:

NickServ : Nickname YourNickname registered under your account: *your@*.host.name
NickServ : Your password is YourPassword - remember this for later use.

If, however, you get a different message, stating that the giving confirmation code was incorrect, then you should check for errors in your typing; perhaps you misjudged a zero (0) for an 'O'-character or a capital i for a lowercase L. The code is case-sensitive.
The best way to prevent typos is, to select the line from your E-mail, copy it (by holding down the CTRL-key and pressing the 'c'-key), and paste it in your chatwindow (by holding down the CTRL-key again and pressing the 'v'-key).

Also make sure you are not copying the double quotes that are around the confirmation line. Commands always start with a /

User x is no longer online, can I still leave a message?

If both you, and the person you want to leave a message for, are registered through NickServ, you can use our MemoServ services bot to send a message:

 /MEMOSERV SEND recipientNickname Your message goes here.

For instance, if you want to send the user JohnnyExample the message "Hei, shame we missed each other online. Can you give me a call when you get this?", then type:

 /MEMOSERV SEND JohnnyExample Hei, shame we missed each other online. Can you give me a call when you get this?

When JohnnyExample comes online, he'll get a notice from MemoServ that he has a new message waiting. He can then read this message with:

 /MEMOSERV READ NEW

Note: you can only send to registered users, and you need to be identified for a registered nickname as well.

Why does my nick keep changing to Chat4All_124354?

You (or someone else) has registered that nickname and enabled the KILL feature. The KILL feature will automatically change the nickname to Chat4All_ followed by a random number when a user does not Identify for that nickname within 20 or 60 seconds (depending on the KILL setting).

If it wasn't you who registered that nickname, then you should pick a different nickname instead. If you had registered (and confirmed) that nickname within the last 50 days, you should remember to identify for your nickname with:

 /NICKSERV IDENTIFY replaceWithYourPassword

Why am I no longer registered?

Your nickname will automatically expire if you haven't identified for it in the past 50 days.

Your nickname will also be unregistered if you use the

 /NICKSERV DROP

command. If you are sure that you identified in the past 50 days, and that you haven't manually dropped your nickname, please open a support ticket on our support portal, explaining your problem and including your nickname, your IP and, if you remember, when you registered your nickname. (You can maybe find your confirmation e-mail for this).

How can I unregister my nickname?

If you no longer want your nickname and e-mail address registered at Chat4All, you can manually drop your nickname yourself with the following command:

 /NICKSERV DROP

Note that you first need to identify for your nickname. If you can't remember your password, as a Chat4All services operator to have it send to the e-mailaddress linked to the NickServ account with the SENDPASS command.

How many nicknames may I register?

You may register 1 (master/main) nicknames per e-mail address. Should you need multiple nicknames, then you can group up to 4 more nicknames to the main nickname using the NickServ Group command:

 /NICKSERV GROUP replaceWithMainNickname replaceWithMainNickname'sPassword

For instance, if you have already registered the nickname MeatPie with the password '0hs0juic3y!' and you want to group/link the nickname BlueBerryPie to it, you first do:

 /NICK BlueBerryPie

To make BlueBerryPie your currently active nickname, and then you enter:

 /NICKSERV GROUP MeatPie 0hs0juic3y!

So, per e-mail address you can have up to 5 registered nicknames through the use of the NickServ GROUP command. Please note though, that every single nickname in your group needs to be identified for at least once every 50 days. This is to prevent people from hogging too many nicknames and then not using them anymore.

Someone is using my registered nickname. How can I get it back?

If your nickname has not been dropped by NickServ, you can 'force a nickchange' on the the user who is using your nickname illegally by issuing the RECOVER command. This will change the other person's nickname to Chat4All_12345 (where 12345 is a random number). The services will then put a temporary hold on your nickname, so the other person can't quickly change their nickname back to it again. You need to drop this hold with the RELEASE command and then /NICK to it yourself. So, to recap, if your nickname is TheRealJohnny, and your password is H3r3sJ0nny and someone else is using your nickname, you can to use the following commands:

 /NICKSERV RECOVER TheRealJohnny H3r3sJ0nny

To recover the nickname. Followed by:

 /NICKSERV RELEASE TheRealJohnny H3r3sJ0nny

to release the hold the services have on them. Quickly followed by:

 /NICK TheRealJohnny

to change your nickname to TheRealJohnny. Finally you need to identify for your nickname with:

 /NICKSERV IDENTIFY H3r3sJ0nny

It is also possible that you lost your connection. When you get back on the server, you may find that your nick is still in use. The server usually notices this a bit late, resulting in a socalled 'ghost connection'. You can remove your ghost by issuing the GHOST command:

 /NICKSERV GHOST replaceWithTheGhostNickname replaceWithYourNickServPassword

So, for instance if your ghost connection TheRealJohnny (registered with password H3r3sJ0nny) is still active, you have to use the following commands:

 /NICKSERV GHOST TheRealJohnny H3r3sJ0nny

to terminate the ghost connection. Followed by:

 /NICK TheRealJohnny

to change your nickname to TheRealJohnny. Finally you need to identify for your nickname with:

 /NICKSERV IDENTIFY H3r3sJ0nny

Note that it is very impolite to GHOST a real other user who is using your nickname. Use the RECOVER command instead then.

If that did not work, then it is likely that your nickname was dropped because you have not authenticated to NickServ within the set time of 50 days. You can then try to re-register it as soon the person who is using it now quits. If he registered it, then there is nothing else you (or we) can/will do.

Website and Applet questions

Why can your applet be used free of charge?

Other applets, such as www.javirc.com are usually not free of charge. Our chatnetwork offers server side access. You can access our network with different kinds of client side software. That software is not created by us, and thus the creator of that software is free to ask money for it. However there are for example previous versions of javirc available which are less pretty, yet free. On the other hand, we do offer a webchat through our site. Also, free of charge.

Why does the applet show 2 more unrelated channels in the dropdown?

If you are chatting with us through one of our applets on a website, you might (incorrectly) think that all channels belong to that website. However, the channel that belongs to your website is just one of the many chatrooms that the Chat4All IRC Network hosts, most of them belonging to all sorts of different communities.

Since some of these chatrooms that belong to websites are usually empty, we also list Chat4All's main channel, #lounge, in the channel dropdown list at the top of the applet, so these people will have an active channel to find to talk in. However, not all community websites make it clear that that channel (and others) does not belong to their website.

For the same reason we also list our technical (IRC) Support channel #help in that list, so people know where they can ask their (technical/IRC-related) questions. Please note that we cannot help you in #help with questions regarding the game or website you are chatting from.

Do you offer channel and network statistics I can use on my website?

You can check our Denora stats for the entire network and public channels.

Can i show a list of online chatters on my website?

Yes, we offer a 'who is online' service to website owners. This consists of a small piece of HTML code that can be included on your website to show who is inside your IRC channel. Visit the following URL for more information:

Who Is Online Service

How do I add my chatroom to my website?

Our webclients

At the moment we offer 3 different kinds of chat 'applets'

Java Applet our implementation of JPilot's java applet
Flash chat our implementation of the LightIRC flash client
Our AJAX webchat, which uses our fork of qwebirc, based on html, css and AJAX technologies.

Flash Chat

This is our main alternative to the old Java applet. Our Flash chat uses the LightIRC Flash IRC Client to connect to the Chat4All IRC Network. Flash is more commonly available on modern operating systems than Java, and thus has a higher compatibilty. You can use our Flash Chat Code Generator to generate the HTML code to add this IRC client to your website. This generator might change in the near future though, due to updates to the LightIRC client.

Webchat

This is our alternative client, which uses our own fork of the qwebirc project, which is a web-based IRC client that uses HTML, CSS and AJAX techniques to connect you to IRC servers. The added benefit of this client is that it does not require outgoing IRC ports to be opened on your network, since all your traffic will go through the default HTTP port 80 (or HTTPS port 443 should be open up an HTTPS version of the webchat). This will allow people to connect to Chat4All from networks that have strict network settings, such as blocking all non-HTTP ports.

To generate the code for your website, go to the Chat4All Webchat and click on the icon in the top left corner (the 2 speech balloons) and select the 'Add webchat to your site' option from the popupmenu that should appear. From there, follow the instructions and configure the appearance and settings of the client. At the end of the wizard, it will give you the HTML sourcecode for the iframe you can place on your website.

Java Applet

This Java applet will slowly be phased out as it is no longer being updated, and the Java interface has several issues with modern browsers, such as popups being blocked, or security confirmation requests not being shown. However, for now you can still generate the HTML code to put it on your website, using the Java applet code generator. We would recommend using the Flash or Webchat instead though, since they have a higher compatibility with modern browsers.

Third Party Webclients

There are also some third party webclients available. Here are some alternatives:

Mibbit, another AJAX-based webclient that offers widgets for your site, and a web-client and an iPhone app.
wsIrc, another AJAX-based webclient. They also offer a mobile version.
PJIRC, another Java applet

Channel related questions

Why is the chatroom empty?

If the chatroom belongs to a website, it is possible that the chatroom just isn't that popular yet. It often happens that people join a chatroom, see that no-one is there, and leave again, while perhaps 5 minutes later another user does exactly the same thing. You could suggest to the founder of the channel/website to organise chatevenings. Have a fixed time on which users of the site can get together to have a live chat. You can also start filling the room by always staying connected and in the room and be have a notification when there is activity in the room. If more people do the same, the room might start filling up quickly.

Why is nobody talking?

Don't panic, you aren't being ignored, not everyone watches their screen at all times. Some even leave their computers on whilst away. Give it 10-20 minutes or so and somebody will usually respond; otherwise perhaps try again at another time. Highlighting someone's nickname once, might also get some attention. (However, don't overdo this, because some people might not like being highlighted repeatedly).

How can I add an operator to my channel?

Please read our ChanServ xOP article and the How to Add section in particular.

Why am I not getting an @ in my channel?

Why is there an ~ sign instead of an @ in front of my name?

If you are getting an ~ sign in front of your name, it means you are recognised as the Founder of the channel instead. This is a higher rank than a regular operator (@). You still have all the powers that you would have as an Operator (@). In addition to this, you have other rights, such as changing the AOP list. You can read some more about the Founder status on our ChanServ#Register manual page.

You can also, in chat, do:

 /CHANSERV HELP

to get a list of the commands available to you through ChanServ as founder.

The full list of the signs that can appear before a user's nickname is as follows:

~ Founder of the Channel
& User with +a (Admin/SOP) status
@ Regular Operator  
% Half-Operator
+ Voiced user

ChanServ doesn't recognise me on my channel

If ChanServ doesn't recognise you at all on your channel (you are not getting Voiced/VOP (+), Operator/AOP (@), SOP (%) or Founder (~) status) even though you are certain you have registered your nickname, and are on the channel's ACCESS list (or registered the channel), then you might have forgotten to identify for your nickname. Please identify for your nickname with:

 /NICKSERV IDENTIFY replaceWithYourPassword

If you still don't get the appropriate access rights, and the channel is registered (the channel's modes should include +r), then contact an IRC Staff member in our support room, or open a support ticket on our support portal.

Why is my chatroom no longer registered?

A Channel registration can be (automatically) dropped for several reasons:

The nickname of the owner expired ChanServ requires that a channel at all times has a Founder. Therefor, should the NickServ registration of the Founder be dropped (for instance because they haven't identified for their nickname within the past 50 days, or because they manually dropped their nickname), ChanServ will check if a Successor has been set for the channel. If there is no Successor set (or the nickname of the Successor is no longer registered either), then the channel will also automatically be dropped/unregistered.

The Founder/Owner hasn't entered their channel, nor used ChanServ IDENTIFY, in the past 50 days. To prevent channels from being unmanaged, a channel needs to be kept active by its founder. The Founder needs to visit their channel at least once every 50 days while being identified for the Founder nickname, or use the /CHANSERV IDENTIFY command to identify as founder of the channel. If the founder does not show this kind of activity, the channel will automatically transfer Founder-status to the Successor. If no successor with a registered nickname is set, then the ChanServ registration will automatically be dropped.

The Founder used the DROP command A channel can be manually unregistered/dropped with the ChanServ DROP command. If you want to drop your channel registration, make sure you are identified for your Founder nickname, and issue:

 /CHANSERV DROP #replaceWithYourChannelname

In rare situations your channel might have been dropped by the Chat4All Network staff due to abuse. However, you probably would have been notified already in that situation.

If you are certain your channel was registered and now it isn't anymore, and you still don't know why your channel is no longer registered, then please contact a Services Operator in our support channel, or by opening a support ticket on our support portal

How can I have ChanServ auto-voice everyone on my channel?

If you are using the ACCESS LEVELS system instead of the xOP systeem, then you can have your chatters be autovoiced by:

setting the SECURE option to OFF:

 /CHANSERV SET #replaceWithYourChannelname SECURE OFF

and setting the AUTOVOICE level to 0 or -1:

 /CHANSERV LEVELS #replaceWithYourChannelname SET AUTOVOICE -1

How many chatrooms may I register on chat4all?

A NickServ registration may register up to 10 chatrooms. This should be more than enough for most people.

How many chatrooms may I join on chat4all?

You can be in a maximum of 15 channels per connection. This should be more than enough for most people.

How do I get a bot on my channel?

Chat4All only offers ChanServ/BotServ aliases. We have a Wiki article that explains how to request a BotServ Bot. We do not offer bots with custom features though. Should you need one, you need to run it yourself on your own internet connection, and make sure the bot is using usermode +B to identify it is a user bot. Please note that your bot needs to offer a service to your users. We do not condone fake bots just to increase your channel's usercount. Also, we do not allow bots that have a malicious purpose, such as (D)DoS'ing hosts, spreading credit card information or other malicious/illegal purposes.

Can I get a game/statistics bot inside my chatroom?

You are (as room owner) allowed to have 1 bot (outside chanserv) inside your chatroom. This may of course be a game/statistics bot, and it may be using different software. However, this is not software supplied by us. We suggest searching the internet for software like eggdrop, or scripts that can compliment a mIRC installation.

Can I change another user's nickname?

No, you can't. Nicknames are network-wide and not limited to a channel. Which means that should you as operator be able to change a user's nickname, the user's nickname would change in other channels too. Obviously this is undesired behaviour and as such the IRC protocol doesn't support it.

All you can do is ban a specific nickname from your channel with /mode #yourchannel +b BannedNickname!*@* so the user can't talk on your channel unless they change their nickname.

Or you can ask them to change their nickname with /nick ReplaceWithTheirNewNickname

EN/FAQ

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