diff --git a/operator.md b/operator.md
index 404149de5cc32f5539086824ca0eb5702b7bafb5..25c90627579f533af54ffbb0178d1fa3aa67daf6 100644
--- a/operator.md
+++ b/operator.md
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-See also http://www.stack.nl/~jilles/irc/charybdis-oper-guide/index.html
+# Operating the IRC network
+
[[_TOC_]]
-# What is an IRC Operator?
+## What is an IRC Operator?
Being an IRC Operator means that you have quite a bit of power of the IMC
-IRC network, this power is not glamerous, it can be difficult to deal with
+IRC network, this power is not glamorous, it can be difficult to deal with
at times. Please understand that being an IRC Operator does not mean that
you can abuse your power, you should not kill or kick off anyone from any
channel or the server who you disagree with or you don't like. Being an IRC
@@ -17,11 +18,11 @@ so it is light for everyone.
IRC Operators are not police, you can't stop illegal activity and are not
responsible for any that happens on the server, you are an operator not a cop.
-
+
An IRC Operator is identified by most IRC clients when you do a /who * in a
-channel they are in and you will see a '*' by their name ('@' is a channel
+channel they are in and you will see a `*` by their name (`@` is a channel
operator, server operators can also be channel operators, these people will
-have "*@" next to their name). Also doing a /whois <nick> will show you that
+have `\*@` next to their name). Also doing a `/whois <nick>` will show you that
this person is an operator:
```
@@ -34,16 +35,17 @@ this person is an operator:
## What is required of an IRC Operator?
-IRC Operators must have a registered nick with nickserv, be subscribed to
-the ircd@indymedia.org mailing list, hang out in #ircd when on IRC, help
-out with irc issues and not abuse their power.
-IRC Operators should know the services nickserv, chanserv, and operserv
-(knowing memoserv, statserv, etc. is good too, but isn't necessary). These
-are easy to get to know if you spend some time doing /msg nickserv help,
-/msg chanserv help, etc.
+IRC Operators __must__ have a registered nick with nickserv, be connected to the
+network via TLS (no plain text connection!), be present in an `oper block` in
+the network configuration, be subscribed to the ircd@indymedia.org mailing list,
+have ssh access with admin privileges to all network machines, hang out in
+`#ircd` when connected to the network, help out with irc issues and most
+importantly not abuse their power.
-IRC Operators have to have access, both server operator access, and operserv
-access and only be an IRC Operator when connected via SecureIRC.
+IRC Operators __should__ know the services nickserv, chanserv, and operserv
+(knowing memoserv, statserv, etc. is good too, but isn't necessary). These
+are easy to get to know if you spend some time doing `/msg nickserv help`,
+`/msg chanserv help`, etc.
## How to become an IRC Operator
@@ -56,57 +58,65 @@ listservs, help people out in #tech, or work closely on one of the active
coding projects. Demonstrate to others that we can trust you, and you will
find that you will be welcomed with open arms.
-# How to create a new IRC Operator
+## Access management
- 1. On che edit /etc/ircd/etc/ircd.conf and search for the operator blocks (search for operator), they look like the following:
+### How to create a new IRC Operator
-```
-operator {
- name = "micah";
- user = "*@*127.0.0.1";
- password = "ADESPASSWORDGOESHERE";
- class = "opers";
- global_kill = yes;
- remote = yes;
- kline = yes;
- unkline = yes;
- gline = yes;
- die = yes;
- rehash = yes;
- nick_changes = yes;
- admin = yes;
-};
-```
- Copy an existing block, paste it in and then make the appropriate changes:
- change the name, the hostmask and the password.
+This needs to be done by an existing operator for the new person.
+
+1. In the `sharedconf` git repository, edit the file `opers.conf`. Each
+ operator should have one `operator` block in there and they should look
+ like the following:
+
+ ```
+ operator "micah" {
+ user = "*@*127.0.0.1";
+ password = "A_PASSWORD_HASH_GOES_HERE";
+ snomask = "+Zbfkrsuy";
+ privset = "admin";
+ };
+ ```
+
+ Copy an existing block, paste it in and then make the appropriate changes:
+ change the name, the hostmask in the user line and the password hash.
+ Note that you can have multiple user lines to permit yourself
+ connections from more than one host.
+
+ To generate a password, ssh to one of the network machines and use:
+
+ ```
+ charybdis-mkpasswd -s $(head -c 12 /dev/urandom | base64 -)
+ ```
+
+2. Save the file and commit it to git. Push your change to all network
+ machines.
- To generate a password use: @charybdis-mkpasswd <thepassword> -s $(head -c 12 /dev/urandom | base64 -)@
+3. Rehash the config file in IRC by typing `/rehash` while you are an IRC Operator.
- 2. Save the file
+4. See if the new operator can type `/oper`, type their password, and then
+ become an operator.
- 3. Rehash the config file in IRC by typing /rehash while you are an IRC Operator.
+5. TODO The location of the configuration has changed. We should find where this
+ is and fix the documentation?
- 4. See if the new operator can type /oper, type their password, and then
-become an operator.
+ On the server which hosts the services (as of this writing, it is chat1),
+ edit `/usr/local/hybserv/opers.conf` to add in the new person. There is a
+ `mkpassword` in that directory you can use to generate a password for this
+ file. The description of the different flags at the end of each line are
+ found in `/usr/src/hybserv/doc/README-FLAGS`.
- 5. On the server which hosts the services (as of this writing, it is che),
-edit /usr/local/hybserv/opers.conf to add in the new person. There is a
-mkpassword in that directory you can use to generate a password for this
-file. The description of the different flags at the end of each line are
-found in /usr/src/hybserv/doc/README-FLAGS.
+6. Identify with operserv (`/msg operserv identify <services_password>`) and
+ request a rehash of the config file (`/msg operserv rehash`)
- 6, Identify with operserv and request a rehash of the config file (/msg operserv rehash)
+7. Have the user attempt to authenticate with operserv (`/msg operserv identify
+ <services_password>`). If everything is ok, do the last thing:
- 7. Have the user attempt to authenticate with operserv (/msg operserv
-identify <password).
-
-If everything is ok, do the last thing:
-
- 7. Send an announcement to ircd@lists.indymedia.org to let everyone know that there is a new operator on board.
+8. Send an announcement to ircd@lists.indymedia.org to let everyone know that
+ there is a new operator on board.
-# IRC Operator duties
-
-## Securing a channel's operator status
+## IRC Operator duties
+
+### Securing a channel's operator status
Sometimes channels lose their channel operators, due to lost connections, or
whatever, and the only way they can get them back is by making everyone
@@ -118,27 +128,24 @@ status through following these instructions, but if nobody is on the channel
that you know, it would be wise to pay attention to the channel to figure
out who should have access.
-To return channel operator status to a channel follow the steps in
-http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Sysadmin/IrcD#Getting_OP_privileges
+To return channel operator status to a channel follow the steps in (NOTE: dead
+link) <http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Sysadmin/IrcD#Getting_OP_privileges>
If you need to give someone else operator access in the channel after it has
-been secured do so through /mode #channel +o <nick>.
+been secured do so through `/mode #channel +o <nick>`.
Once you have secured a channel, try to instruct the people there about
chanserv and how to use it so that they will always have operator access on
the channel.
-## Services are unavailble, how to reconnect them
-
- where is nickserv?
-
- where is chanserv?
+### Services are unavailble, how to reconnect them
- where is operserv?
+NOTE: the text in this section seems to be deprecated. judi is not a network
+host anymore and we don't use hybrid services anymore. atheme services seem to
+be more reliable with regards to reconnecting automatically. There is still some
+information that we may want to keep around. We should rewrite this section.
- where is memoserv?
-
- The services are down, the server which runs them is not connected
+The services are down, the server which runs them is not connected
to the network. At the moment, that server is judi. We have attempted to set
this server up to autoconnect after it drops off, but this isn't exactly
reliable, so if you find yourself in a situation where services aren't
@@ -151,11 +158,12 @@ when you are an IRC Operator.
Once it comes back online, you should get messages from nickserv if your
nick is registered.
-What to do if this doesn't work? Generaly this means that the services on
+What to do if this doesn't work? Generally this means that the services on
the services server need to be restarted. To do this, follow the directions
-in http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Sysadmin/IrcD#Restarting_Hybrid_Services
+in (NOTE: dead link)
+<http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Sysadmin/IrcD#Restarting_Hybrid_Services>
-## How to deal with bad users
+### How to deal with bad users
Sometimes people show up on channels to cause problems, flooding the channel
with nick changes, obscenities, or whatever. This is not tolerated here,
@@ -165,57 +173,59 @@ What I think is the best way to deal with someone like this is to take it in
steps, sometimes steps have to be skipped if the person seems to be totally
out of control:
-1. Talk with the person (if you can), and tell them that you are an IRC
-Operator and that they will be removed from the server forceably if they
-don't stop their behavior.
+1. Talk with the person (if you can), and tell them that you are an IRC Operator
+ and that they will be removed from the server forcibly if they don't stop
+ their behavior.
-2. Kick them from the channel that they are causing problems with, if they
-keep coming back, ban them from the channel. /kick <nick> reason
-/kickban <nick> reason (this depends on your client, you might need to issue
-a /ban and then a /kick separately, or there might be a more convenient
-alias for this), /ban <channel> <nicks>
-for example:
+2. Kick them from the channel that they are causing problems with (`/kick <nick>
+ reason`), if they keep coming back, ban them from the channel (`/kickban
+ <nick> reason` -- this depends on your client, you might need to issue a
+ `/ban` and then a `/kick` separately, or there might be a more convenient
+ alias for this). For example:
-```
-/BAN looser - Bans the nick 'looser'
-/BAN -host looser - Bans the host of nick 'looser'
-/BAN *!*@*.org - Bans all the users coming from any .org domain (don't do
-this)
-```
+ ```
+ /BAN looser - Bans the nick 'looser'
+ /BAN -host looser - Bans the host of nick 'looser'
+ /BAN *!*@*.org - Bans all the users coming from any .org domain (don't do this)
+ ```
-be very careful that you don't ban the irc@localhst address or you are going
-to keep out a lot of people...
+ Be very careful that you don't ban the `*@localhost` address or you are going
+ to keep out a lot of people (e.g. all tor-connected users)...
3. If they keep causing problems, kick them from the server (use operserv's
-command /msg operserv kill <nick> reason)
+ command `/msg operserv kill <nick> reason`)
-4. If they keep coming on and causing problems, they will have to be kicked
-and banned from the server. (use operserv /msg operserv gline <user@host>
-[reason]) -- again, **DON'T** gline irc@localhost!! Ban them for something
-like an hour and a half (see second example below):
+4. If they keep coming on and causing problems, they will have to be kicked and
+ banned from the server. (use operserv's `/msg operserv gline <user@host>
+ [reason]`) -- again, **DON'T** gline irc@localhost!! Ban them for something
+ like an hour and a half (see second example below):
-```
-Examples:
+ ```
+ Examples:
-/msg operserv GLINE *@*.lamers.org Don't come back
- Creates a permanent gline for *@*.lamers.org.
+ # Creates a permanent gline for *@*.lamers.org.
+ /msg operserv GLINE *@*.lamers.org Don't come back
-/msg operserv GLINE 1h30m *clone@clone.com no clones
- Glines *clone@clone.com for an hour and a half, with the message
- "no clones"
-```
+ # Glines *clone@clone.com for an hour and a half, with the message "no
+ # clones"
+ /msg operserv GLINE 1h30m *clone@clone.com no clones
+ ```
-## How to send a global notice
+### How to send a global notice
Sometimes you need to alert everyone on IRC that things need to be
restarted, or whatever, this should be done for technical reasons only!
-Use: /notice $$*.indymedia.org to hit all servers
- or /notice $$judi.indymedia.org for just that server
+Use: `/notice $$*.indymedia.org` to hit all servers or `/notice
+$$judi.indymedia.org` for just that server
+
+### Cloaks
-## Cloaks
+The NickServ service provides a default cloak templates that users can
+self-request. See
+[user cloak documentation](getting-a-cloak#grab-the-generic-cloak-by-yourself).
-To provide cloaks for users, you can use the following commands:
+To provide arbitrary cloaks for users, you can use the following commands:
```
/msg NickServ vhost <nick> [<host>]
@@ -226,10 +236,3 @@ For example, to show myself as anarcat@koumbit.org, I used:
```
/msg NickServ vhost anarcat koumbit.org
```
-
-# Reference
-
-Here is a good operator reference page:
-http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/ircd/ircopguide.html
-
--- Main.MicahA - 26 Feb 2003