Bot policy to be strictly enforced

Due to recent issues caused by unofficial bots and their owners we must remind everyone of our Bot Policy and begin strictly enforcing it. If you operate a bot please reread the policy and the rest of this post carefully.

The biggest issue of late is the rise of complaints of unofficial bots joining channels without the channel owner's permission. This violates our bot policy which states in part, "...bots may only be placed in channels with the channel owner's permission. If you don't have permission from the channel owner you might find yourself and your bot banned from the channel."

Since several bot owners have been ignoring this requirement and its been causing disputes and unnecessary drama, we must now insist that bot owners receive specific and clear authorization from the channel owner that they want the bot in their channel.

Furthermore, bot owners may not solicit other channel owners by asking if they want their bot in their channel. (The channel owner must seek you out and ask you!)

Due to these changes it is crucial that all bots ignore channel invites. If your bot is invited to a channel by any user and the owner doesn't want the bot, you and your bot will still be banned as it's your responsibility to have the bot ignore channel invites!

Bots and their owners found violating the Bot Policy after 11:59:59PM Eastern November 08, 2008 will be banned without further warning. (This post serves as your final warning.)