Channel Operator Primer

1.1 Being a role- model As the channel operator for #mormon-friends, you are looked to by everyone on the channel to set the mood and the rules for the channel. Someone who is new to this channel will most likely look at the operators to see what type of behavior is appropriate. It is important to remember this because, your actions are taken as the rules for the channel. There are also many younger participants in the channel. When the younger participants see your actions, they are seeing how adults should conduct themselves.

1.2 Getting involved in things Occasionally, members of the channel will find a subject that they disagree on. It is important that an operator tries to avoid getting involved in any conflict. If the operator takes one persons side, then everyone who disagrees will feel that this operator’s point of view is the point of view of the channel, making them feels as though they are not welcome.When a disagreement arises, the only actions that the operator should take is to prevent the disagreement with interfering with the proper flow of the channel. In most cases, this can be settled by asking those involved to either talk to each other in a private chat, or to take it to another room. Some times, those involved will be so involved in their disagreement, that they will not care about your request. If this is the case, the best solution is to warn them that they will be kicked and banned if they continue to disrupt the channel.
If they contend or badmouth, they may find themself on akick.

1.3 Maintaining control The most important role of the channel operator is to maintain control over the channel. Assuring that the channel is providing the members with a beneficial social environment. Some times, people will join the channel for the sole purpose of disrupting it. As the operator, you are responsible for keeping these disruptions to a minimum. It isn’t always easy to tell if a new person is there to learn or is there to disrupt. The best way to tell is to sit back and listen to what they are saying. If their questions are leading and cause the general members to become angry, then that person has no place on the channel.There are also some people that will occasionally join and spew disgusting obscenities. The best way to watch for these types is to look at their nicks, and look at what other channels they belong to. One of the most common trouble makers is “Satan” who also goes as “Satan666”, any name that is offensive such as this should be kicked and banned immediately. Don’t give them the chance to disrupt the channel.2. Basic rules of #mormon-friends The who purpose of the channel is to provide a place where members and non members can come to talk about the gospel, talk about life, and meet other people. In order to maintain an environment where this is possible, there are a few rules that all members of the channel are expected to follow. To be sure that the operators are maintaining this type of atmosphere, there are a few rules that operators are asked to follow.

2.1 The don’ts of the channel No one is allowed in this channel if they are also in a “Bad” channel. Anyone in a “Bad” channel should be asked to leave either this channel or the “Bad” channel.NOTE: A “Bad” channel is one which, by its nature, is offensive or adult. Examples of these type are: #0!teensexpics, #domination, #sex-chat, etc…Any actions which are obvious attempts to cause conflict, is cause for kicking and permanent banning from the channel.Anyone who distributes offensive or illegal material via this or any other channel will be kicked and banned.Use of offensive or vulgar language is not tolerated.

Abuse of the operators will not be tolerated. Attacking or otherwise defacing of another persons character is result in being kicked and banned.Respect each other.Have fun.

2.2 The don’ts for operators Do not play games with the kicking, de-opping, and banning powers.Never give anyone operator status. Always try to warn people before they are kicked from the channel. (Some circumstances are such that the person does not need to be warned.)When you first become an operator, sit back and watch what other operators do, it is best to understand the flow of the channel first.When in doubt, ask an experienced operator for advise.Remember that being an operator is a privilege, not a right.If you don’t want this responsibility, or show that you can not handle it, you can be removed from the operator list. Teens and younger should not have operator status. The only exception are future missionaries who are awaiting their call, or have received their call.If you have any teenagers who will be using your account, be sure that they de-op themselves when the enter the channel.3. Some helpful commands for a new operators

3.1 Get on your boots and get ready to Kick O.K., the section you have all been waiting for, how to kick someone off the channel.This is pretty simple if you are using mIRC. All that you have to do is highlight the name of the person on the names list, click with the right mouse button, and select controls- kick.It is that easy!If you don’t have mIRC, here is the basic way to kick someone:Type as follows, replacing nickname with the name of the person being kicked./kick #mormon- friends That is it!

3.2 Banning: “And Stay Out!” Now that you got the trouble makers out, how do you keep them out? Well, you ban them from the channel. If you intend to kick and ban a person, it is easier to ban them first, this will prevent them from returning to the channel before you have a chance to ban them.There are several types of bans, please read over all of them before you decide which type to use.The first type is a Nickname ban. This will ban any person using the specified nickname, no matter who they are. This is good for people whose nicknames are offensive. The text for this type of ban is:/mode #mormon-friends +b One of the major problems with this type of ban is that the person can change their nickname and return to the group. A better type of an is a user specific ban.A user specific ban will prevent that specific user from the channel.The text for this type of ban is:/mode #mormon-friends +b *@*.*This does bring up some of it’s own problems. The major flaw with this type of ban is that many times user names are generic, like $USERID, so it will ban anyone with a generic user name. To prevent this, instead of just banning the user name, you can ban the user name from a specific domain. The text for this type of ban is:/mode #mormon-friends +b *@This is the preferred type of ban.The final type of ban is a domain ban. This will ban anyone from the specified domain. The ban feature on mIRC uses this type of ban. To use this type of ban in mIRC, as with kicking, you highlight the persons name, then right click. Next select controls-ban. You also have the option of kick, ban. If you are kicking someone and banning them, this is the best way to do it, because it will prevent them from jumping right back into the channel after being kicked. After you have done this, I suggest that you remove the domain ban and put a user name and domain ban in place of it.If you need to ban an entire domain, the text for it is:/mode #mormon-friends +b *.*@O.K., now how to remove a ban, this is as simple as putting one on.In mIRC, just double click on the channel window, this will give you a list of all of the bans. Select the one you wish to remove, and press Unban. The text for removing a ban is the same as putting on a ban, except instead of +b, use -b.

3.3 Other common commands for the whole channel Probably the most common questions will be how to get and play sounds, how to do actions, and how to send a private message.So here are the answers to those questions:Sounds If someone is not sure if they are setup for sounds, it is best to send them to a channel which specializes in wav files. But is they just need to know simple things, here they are.To retrieve a sound from someone, type ! filename.wav that is it!If the person is set up to send, it will automatically send the file. If not, they will have to ask the person to DCC it to them.Playing sounds is just as simple, if they are set up for it. All they have to do is type: /sound filename.wav and it will play.ActionsThis is a very fun thing to do, and is very simple. Just type /me and whatever the action is.Example:/me hugs the entire room.It will appear as this:*jedibmc hugs the entire room.MessagesMessages are as simple as actions. All they you need to do is type /msg and your message.Example:/msg jedibmc this is fun!It will appear as this:*jedibmc* this is fun!NOTE: With messages, you and the person it is addressed to are the only ones who see anything.4. Advanced techniques for you and mIRCAll through this, I have been showing you how to do things with both mIRC and other terminals. The next section is specific to mIRC users. If you don’t have it, skip this section or get it and read on.

4.1 Remotes to make Operating easier Many of the operators have remotes for many different reasons. The major type of remote is a sound one triggered by an event. These can be helpful if you like to just monitor the channel while doing other things on your computer. What I, and several other operators, have done is to set it up so that when your name is typed, a sound will play. To do this, open the Remote Control menu (the 9th button from the left). Select the Events tab/bubble, mark Listening if it is not already marked, and type this in the box:1:ON TEXT:**:*:/sound $chan filename.wavreplace with the text you want to trigger the sound.Another useful item is the automatic whois. This will run a /whois on every person that enters the channel you are on. This is very useful for making sure that people are not on bad channels or are not known bad people.To do this, add the following text to your Events box:1: ON JOIN:#:/whois $nick

4.2 Building up your aliases If you have commands that you use frequently, you can make aliases for them in mIRC to shorten them. I use them for such things as who I am and where I am from.All you need to do is open your alias menu (The 7th button from the left). In this area, just type in the new alias in this format:/alias name /actual commandExample:/about /me is a jedi master from yavin 4 If you type in /about in the command line, you will get this:*jedibmc is a jedi master from yavin 4 That is!