This is the text of a short presentation given by Itsy in #Townhall on 25 Aug July 2002 to provide some information about the network and the staff of StarLink-IRC

Session Start: Sun Aug 25 22:02:35 2002 EDITED FOR FILE

This session is about those little things.. why things are the way they are
If you have questions, type /msg #SLIRC your question here and we will get to them
<Itsy> First often asked question is: Why dont we have a nickser/chanserv
<Itsy> Answer: We dont have a nickserv because its been seen not necessary It's been brought up a few times.. but it is subject to abuse .. and takes a lot of babysitting .. I will get to that in a bit
<Itsy>As for chanserv .. we have one .. it is CStar
<CStar> hi
<Itsy> Cstar is a chanserv, but it just shows up in channels as a 'bot' when actually its a server unto itself.
<Itsy> Cstar performs authentication services .. which is one reason we dont need a nickserv for channels.
<Itsy> Cstar needs a matching mask, userid and password in order to authenticate users and gives you the freedome to use any nick you like.
<Itsy> In 6 years we've not run into a conflict that needed or required a nickserv to resolve.
<Itsy> And remember a nickserv doesnt stop spoofing. If a nick 'expires' and someone else picks it up . .you STILL need to verify who you are talking to
<Itsy> hope that answers your question scraggles
<Wullie> we dont fight over nicks this way
<Itsy> ok
<Itsy> As many know, we have a requirement that it takes 7 supporters to register a channel
<Itsy> That is a compromise between zero and 10 .. the lowest and highest numbers in common use and it is related to another question .. why isn't it automatic?
<Itsy> Why does it have to be set up in person?
<Itsy> Maintaining a CURRENT channel list is a bit of work for the staff here.. that is done willingly
<Itsy> Mainly it is to ensure that the list is an honest list.. of real people who ARE using channels
<Itsy> Other nets let the channel lists just grow forever
<Itsy> We prefer this method .. for one thing, folks who want to open a room know that the list is pretty close to current topcis
<Itsy> The reason we require 7 supporters.. and that we verify them.. is so that we know there is some effort being put forth on YOUR part to get a channel registered before we go to the trouble to getting it set up.. and have at least a little assurance it wont be taken down in a few days.
<Itsy> We do that because we set them up in PERSON..
<Wullie> We try very hard to do all we can for new channel owners
<Itsy> Each channel is set up by a channel services rep so that we know folks understand cstar at least as well as needed to run the channel, make ops, set defaults and other things
<Itsy> Plus the people get to know US, how to reach help and everything else
<Itsy> Many nets have 'distant' staff who barely know the users and the users dont know them
<Itsy> We prefer our way... its more work but its worthwhile we believe
<Itsy> Anyway thats the long answer for why 7 supporters

<Itsy> Another question asked is: 'Why 45 day expiration on channels' ?
<Itsy> Well .. it needed to be SOME number.. so 30 was too short and two months is a long time
<Wullie> Unregistered channels are free to do what they will Scraggles
<Itsy> And if the owner hasnt been on ONCE in six weeks, there is a good chance the channel is abandoned
<Itsy> We do send out reminders to be sure it is.. and if no reply we close it
<Itsy> Again.. this keeps the channel list here accurate as well as we can
<wildchild> Unless they have a bad topic then staff will say something to them in the channel
<Itsy> The last couple of topics here....
<Itsy> First is .. why do we require channel names and topics to be english?
<Itsy> The reason is in our Charter.. we try to make this a safe place to chat for the whole family ... and we cant really do that if we can't read the channel names and topics.
<Itsy> Note we dont really care if the chat is in another language, but we do need an equivalent in topics just so we know whats up
<Itsy> Otherwise,we come and ask and probably get in the way of your chat ..so this way is easier
<Itsy> Last but not least ..
<Itsy> Why do we let channel owners do what they want (within limits of the charter)?
<Itsy> The answer to that is simple.. StarLink-IRC is a cyber village.. and the channels are the houses
<Itsy> As long as the rules of the net arent being broken, then its up to the owners and ops to handle it as they would their own home. Its not a perfect model, but its the one we use here.
<Itsy> SL-IRC isnt like most other chat nets, and we are somewhat proud of the difference.
<Itsy> If there are any other questions about the 'quirks' about this net, please go ahead and mention them.
<Itsy> Thanks for your time.