This has been on the cards for a while but hopefully it shall soon come to fruition.

We plan to write a modular system which links directly to WyldRyde (as our existing services package does) and provides bot features to channel owners. These can include things like the ability to add !command triggers, parse RSS feeds, update your topic in a specific format and anything else you might want.

However, we need your help. We need to know what you, as channel owners, want from a system such as this. We can then use this information to create a decent modular system that can be constantly added to in the future.

Let us know your channel requirements!

It needs flood protection, obviously. A topic script would be good, maybe games, since a lot of user bots have that. When the channel goes into moderation, saying something that can be customized. All I can think of right now. Cool idea too, thanks Phil!

Sounds great. Is there any way us developers can help and speed up the process? Is this an Anope Module or a completely seperate system? If so, what language will it be in? I'd love to help as much as possible.

Thanks for the question, DigitalMan. I plan to write it in Java. I will be unable to release the actual system code because this kind of thing will give us a huge competitive advantage over the 'kiddie nets' that do insist on trying to clone our every move. It will, as I said, be modular and I can/will write extensive documentation to the API so that other devs can submit modules. It may also be possible to create some form of XML controlled module to allow other languages to interface with the system.

It's something we'll definately look into.

Interesting. Yes, unique features are the key to a successful IRC network. It's odd how kids think people will choose their networks over larger networks just because they run the standard Unreal/Anope deal. That's why I'm proud to call myself a WyldRyde user. WyldRyde has taken the initiative to customize the ircd as well as offer great extra services such as this; All with a strong community backing it up.

Unfortunately I do not know Java. However if you need any help with HTML, CSS, PHP, MySQL, and soon to be C++, let me know. :P

Some good features to add would be social networking API's. Being able to "tweet" from your channel would be very nice. Heck, you could even have an Anope Module that exchanges data between services and this new system, so your Twitter credentials could be set directly in your services account. Anything is possible.

I like what Bkil is saying, but I was wondering if we could have the freedom to put in custom scripts like we would usually do with traditional bots.

That exists as a channel mode, although I'm not sure of its sophistication (e.g. banning repeat offenders), so a feature integrated into services would not be bad at all. For example, one could turn flood protection on and set it to silence the offender (a ~q and ~n ban) for a set amount of minutes. If multiple users are silenced for flooding within a set time period, the channel could be moderated (though this should be on a timer and considered with caution - this could easily be abused as a denial of service vulnerability)

Just my 2¢



I don't think writing a script parser and dealing with a multitude of potential vulnerabilities is worth it, really.

Since the core of the system will be hosted by WyldRyde I don't see this possible. Unless they have some sort of Web based channel management system where you could add scripts for your channel.

DigitalMan: I think an Anope module will be necessary because the two systems would need to share the same channel access credentials.

hsushoe: Not for a long time - it's a massive job to write an interpreted language. The basis of it will be that it's a modular system and feature sets (modules) can be requested by users. It is designed as a system for the non-coders and it will never be as powerful as a custom bot a coder can create but it shall hopefully provide some useful features.

Remote channel operations from iPhone/iPod Touch apps even when not in IRC (enables you to see what the bot sees and performs actions through it); has the ability to lock modes the channel owner set until he logs in next.
Using a command to advertise your IRC channel over Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Most of that is modular stuff, Bowler4Ever, which I'm not too concerned about atm - however, it has been noted for when the modules are written.

Can you explain more what you mean by "has the ability to lock modes the channel owner set until he logs in next."?

Phil

It's important to note:

This system will not be an extension or expansion to BotServ, or be customized eggdrop bots.

It will be an entirely new Bot system that will be made available to channel owners in addition to the BotServ bots already available on all WyldRyde channels.

A twitter posting function that will only work by PM 'ing the bot with something like !twitter <username> <password> <message> or have some nick/twitter intergration. And that has a 140 character limit.

!weather <zip code>
Siccors
!time <Time Zone>

!ping <user>

Games, like RPS, deal or no deal.

Multiple RSS Feeds for the channels.

And with the topic,
<Topic> <Divider> <Owner> <Verb> <Status> <Divider> <Static>
duh || techhelper1 is bored. || website here

something like that.

!ping is pointless since you can just do /ping nick. What nicks is this system going to use, just one or different ones?

I personally don't need it, but people do occasionally ask about the !winner script that is used in #chris.

Some Command Suggestions:
!host <domain> - to do dns lookups
!ison <website> - check if website is online or offline
!tld <tld> - return what country owns the tld
!quote add <quote> - Adds a quote to the WyldRyde website quote system
!quote read <quote> - Reads quote from WyldRyde website quote system
!uptime <nick> - Returns the total amount of time the specified user has been online
!rules - displays the rules of the current channel set by the owner

the !rules is going to be added seperately, when a user adds an !<command>.

A lot of the stuff being suggested are things that can already be done by a simple whois lookup or CTCP message. I don't forsee the system cloning features found in other parts of the network - it's just a waste of time.

Phil

Due to a somewhat unfortunate series of events, my main PC is out of action for up to a week. This means dev of this project will likely start after I return from Gnomdex. However, keep your ideas coming and it should be a good system.

Phil

Thats a great Idea. One of the reasons I choosed WyldRyde was it has a BotServ, because at this time, we hadn't have the resources to setup an eggdrop or something simmilar.
For smaller channels this is really the perfect thing!
Some good features could be autovoice, chanmode protection, and maybe even some "fun-features" like !bomb.
If there's anything i could help, i'm also a developer and (even if I hate it) java is the next language I have to learn.

btw excuse me for my english, it's not my native language.

"/cs help autovoice" and "/cs help set mlock" are for autovoice and chanmode protection

Auto voice and channel mode protection already exist in botserv. Rest is noted.

Thanks for your comments.

If I or another hop/op/admin sets a mode like +m or +i. Maybe have it so the service bot will automatically turn off the mode after a set time, so that way if I set +m and I walk away from my computer for a few hours. I won't have to come back and turn it off. Just a suggestion.

Noted, Snakeyes. It's another module, not a core feature but a good idea that should be implemented some time

I would like a bot that you can add custom commands, some spam protection, some games, the ability to link it up to a twitter account, and to be able to set extended topics (like status and static).

Hi Phil,

I'd like a way of limiting the number of characters in nicks as users join the channel or change nicks. Something like, "nicks can't have more than 10 characters, please enter another nick"

Number one on my wish list is still to have a different indicator for channel owner and admins.

Thanks

The only way the system can limit the number of characters in a nickname is by kicking the user when they join, which is somewhat floody if it gets mixed with the auto join on kick scripts that some clients have.

The distinction between ops, admins and owners is a feature of the IRCD and one we have chosen never to implement because of its incompatibility with some badly written IRC clients.

Phil

This sounds like a very good idea.. and would also hopefully limit the number of bots on the network..

I've had an IRC bot for many years and since many people on IRC has been in the channel #chris it seems like a lot of people wants to be able to add custom "what is <object>" commands.. so there's my suggestion

Hi, Nice to meet you.