Go up to IRC In A Little More Detail
Go forward to Things That Might Go Wrong
IRC, Bots, and Magic (H)ats
Each channel on IRC has associated with it a set of "modes". These
include a list of who is not allowed to join (+b), whether or not
outsiders can get a list of the channel's members (+s), whether or not
a user must have a voice flag to speak (+m), and whether or not a user
must have channel operator status to set the topic (+t). There are
other channel modes and you are encouraged to find more appropriate
documentation to explain them.
A channel operator (or "op") is someone with an at-sign (@) by their
name in most clients. Channel ops have the ability to give ops to other
users, kick, set the topic (if the channel is +t), and set channel modes
(including placing bans).
IRCOPs (IRC-Operators, not IRC-Cops) are the folks who run the IRC
servers that you connect to to get on IRC. They usually appear as
normal users, sometimes with an asterisk (*) by their names. IRCOPs
have the ability to give themselves operator status on any channel
(UWORLD), disconnect someone from IRC, and ban someone from an entire
server (K- or O-line). W and X are IRCOPs.
Neale Pickett <zephyr@nmt.edu>
March 2, 1997